6 We Need an Emotional Journey, a Character Arc

One thing that I hope you notice after reading over the outline structure is that the main character goes on more than just a physical journey. They go on an internal journey and over the course of the plot they grow as people or learn about themselves or…well, from an emotional standpoint the main character at the end is not in the same place they were at the beginning. So the outline you create is not just about the sequence of events (the plot), it is also about the main character’s arc. The arc is their emotional journey and is connected to their personal desire; the arc and the personal desire work in tandem.

Let’s go back to Craig Mazin’s point about anti-theme. At the beginning of the movie, your main character represents the opposite of the theme. Your theme, as we discussed earlier, is what you have to say. However, at the beginning of the movie, the main character is far away from fulfilling that theme. Only at the end do they truly embrace the theme.

Think about Elle in Legally Blonde. At the beginning, her entire future is about Warner. She has her life mapped out based on marrying Warner. At the end? She doesn’t even want Warner any more. One way she proves she’s not a stereotype, her personal journey, is realizing she doesn’t need to be with Warner to define who she is as a person. A theme of the movie is do not judge a book by its cover. At the start of the movie, Elle is all cover and no book. She doesn’t accept her own depth. By the end of the movie, she fully represents the theme: she is now the book and not just the cover. How does this happen? How do they go from anti-theme to theme? The plot takes them there.

Now, the character arc is not a straight path from, say, ignorance to knowledge, or self doubt to self confidence. It is an emotional roller coaster. It has ups and downs and peaks and valleys. Some valleys are lower than others (the low point) but there are step ups and step backs on this journey. There will be times when they could accept the theme but don’t.

We’re taking the audience on this ride with us. To truly engage the audience, we need times of laughter and joy, and we need times of hardship and sadness. Everything cannot be all sunshine and roses, nor can everything be darkness and thorns.

We use the full structure of the screenplay to show this character arc.

At the establishment, think about what your main character’s normal is from an emotional standpoint and how they are the anti-theme.

The fallout is after an emotional blow, so now the main character is emotionally down.

The path and the yellow brick road are like a type of adrenaline rush. They have to reestablish their status quo, and here they have a direction to achieve that. This can be uplifting to them.

The midpoint is a time of confusion.

At the low point, the main character is emotionally devastated.

The climax is again an emotional high.

That is the basic plan for the character arc. However, on close examination, we can see how the main character learns and grows over the course of the plot.

Look at Legally Blonde again.

After Warner breaks up with her, we see her devastation. She locks herself in her room and withdraws from everything, which is not like her at all.

During the path and yellow brick road, the main character feels they can get back to the status quo, they can get back to that emotional state. Elle is going to win Warner back so she can  return to her fun, upbeat life. Notice how the obstacles getting in the way here are not changing the main character’s emotional drive. Sure, the obstacles can be difficult and cause consternation to the main character, but the main character still has this feeling that this is all going to work out. Elle is focused here. The character is still anti-theme and thinks they can remain that way by reestablishing the status quo.

At the midpoint, things change. The midpoint brings in confusion. Getting the old status quo back is not going to happen like they thought it would. This is emotionally difficult. This is also where they learn something important about themselves. Elle learns that Warner still thinks she is not serious. She decides to show him and her classmates that have not accepted her that not only is she serious, she is better than they are. This is more emotionally difficult for her. Notice how during this revelation she is wearing a Playboy Bunny outfit, emphasizing the surface and how she still feels like being the cover is what she needs.

As discussed before, at the midpoint, the path shifts. That shift has an impact on the main character’s emotional state. This is a reality check and as such it is an emotional low. Here, the main character feels sadness or maybe anger. Regardless, it is like cold water being thrown in their face. The midpoint, though, is where Elle is starting to move toward embodying the theme. She is beginning to be the book and not just the cover. Her path shifts to becoming a serious student and winning one of the coveted internships.

After the midpoint, the obstacles are harder emotional punches.  This is where the main character has to dig deep to realize what they have inside of them to be able to overcome these obstacles. Elle does get serious and works hard.

This learning is a struggle and ultimately leads to the low point. At the low point they are emotionally destroyed. Shattered. Elle realizes that people think her success is only based on her looks. Notice here, that, even after all of the hard work, Elle is ready to give that up and just embrace being only the cover. This is a major setback for her journey.  Yet, her professor inspires her out of this doldrum.

The climax of course is an emotional high point. After the climax, we see how they have changed and grown. Elle doesn’t need Warner any more.

To reinforce how the emotional arc works, analyzing Winter Soldier via our ten outline points will help.

1. Establishment: Here Cap is trying to fit into his new environment. He’s trying to learn about the modern world (we see his conversation with Sam) but he is still primarily a soldier. He gets an assignment from S.H.I.E.L.D. and goes off. What he knows is being a soldier and he’s, mostly, comfortable with that. A theme of this movie is Cap’s values still matter. He’s not just a relic. Here, he’s thinking his values do not matter because he does not fit into the modern world.
2. World Turned Upside Down: When Cap learns about Project Insight and that secrets are being kept from him, he is shook. Fury tells him, basically, that his values do not matter in the modern world.
3. Fallout: Notice how he goes to visit his past at the Smithsonian. He goes and talks to Peggy. He is feeling he doesn’t fit in at all. He even, gasp!, tells Sam he is thinking about leaving the service. What? He’s so shaken that he might stop being a soldier. This is a very emotionally vulnerable state for him and clearly demonstrates how getting his world turned upside down has punched him in his emotional gut.
4. The Path: Nick Fury showing up at Cap’s place after being shot and with the flash drive pulls Cap out of his funk. He has a mission now. Cap has focus. He has a goal, figure out what is going on with S.H.I.E.L.D., and he has a path, unlock the flash drive. He has to follow his instincts here (his values).
5. On the Yellow Brick Road: He’s clearly in danger and worried about what all is going on in regards to the flash drive and what Fury told him. But in a way he is more comfortable because having a mission is a world he knows. We see even more of his personality come through in the subplot with Black Widow. He is showing her how his values inform his decisions.
6. The Midpoint completely rocks his world. HYDRA has been secretly controlling S.H.I.E.L.D.? This is emotionally troubling. He thought he defeated them in WWII. Did his values not work in his own time either? So they will clearly not work in the modern world? He truly can’t trust anybody…
7. It Gets Real: Except he and Black Widow are becoming friends. From an emotional standpoint, he is learning there is trust in this modern world. Yet, the obstacles also have a deeper emotional impact because he now knows he did not defeat HYDRA. The emotional connection is personal.
8. The Low: Finding out the Winter Soldier is Bucky is an emotional bomb. Taking out HYDRA could mean taking out Bucky? His best friend? The guy who was there for him every step of the way? He couldn’t do that, could he? According to his values, he can save Bucky. But in the modern world, he needs to take Bucky out. He’s lower than low.
9. But Wait We Can Win: However, with the right plan, and more importantly, the help of his friends, Cap thinks he can do this. He is determined. He has a clear mission. He feels his confidence coming back again.
10. The Climax: Cap and friends stop Project Insight. He connects to Bucky and saves him. He has found his values still matter. He has found there are people he can trust. It is an emotional high. He now has become fulfilment of the theme.

You can review your outline to see if the character arc fits. We are not just outlining to create a plot; we are also outlining to create a character arc, so make sure both work within the ten-point parameters.