Josiah DeGraaf

@Aratrea thanks. 🙂 It definitely still needs work, but thanks.

Good point— I’ll watch out for that, definitely.
I don’t want the book ending on a completely sour note— the resolution of Harold’s arc is pretty sour, but as this is the second book of a series, I need it to end with a question that leads into the other books— and that is, sin…[Read more]

Character’s story goal is to find his place in the world. It’s a coming-of-age. Yep, a disillusionment arc coming-of-age. 😛 I didn’t do it on purpose so don’t ask me how it happened. lol
Anyway. His more tangible goal is to find the one man who was kind to him after something particularly tragic happened in his past, and he believes that wherever…[Read more]

Character’s story goal is to find his place in the world. It’s a coming-of-age. Yep, a disillusionment arc coming-of-age. 😛 I didn’t do it on purpose so don’t ask me how it happened. lol
Anyway. His more tangible goal is to find the one man who was kind to him after something particularly tragic happened in his past, and he believes that wherever…[Read more]

@Aratrea The second experiment in living is built off the first. In the first, victory is merely defined by keeping everyone she loves safe. In the second, she has added an element of physical freedom and the overthrow of tyranny as qualifications for victory because she is convinced that the original goal of safety for those she loves will never…[Read more]

@Aratrea The second experiment in living is built off the first. In the first, victory is merely defined by keeping everyone safe. In the second, she has added an element of physical freedom and the overthrow of tyranny as qualifications for victory because she is convinced that the original goal of safety for those she loves will never come…[Read more]

@Aratrea

This is the protagonist of a trilogy. She goes through a disillusionment arc through the first two books, then has a positive arc in the final book. I’ve done some major work on her arcs recently, but some points might still need to be straightened out.

Beginning: Protagonist starts by believing that good will always win and victory…[Read more]

@aratrea OOHHH… I got ya. Competing answers…I knew something was wrong. 😛

@Aratrea I get it now! Thank you for clarifying the difference between the thematic mashes and the plot points. I could never quite understand them until now 😛

And that sounds like a good way to figure out what sort of character arc it is. I guess I’ve never written a negative one before *runs off to experiment with one* 😉

@aratrea I think it’s two closely linked themes. There’s certainly minor themes in the book as well. i’ve tried analyzing its structure and that’s difficult as well.

@aratrea
I’m starting to see that it’s all tied into respecting authority. In the second case it’s respecting the authority a ruler has to bring judgment or offer mercy. Recognizing that they have the right to make such decisions and we shouldn’t fight it or run from it. Accepting forgiveness certainly as a part of it though.

@Aratrea well, I maintain the superior coolness of MBTI (it’s not a system, it’s a concept) *haughty sniff* but I have to admit that is pretty cool. 😉

@aratrea Aha! So that’s what the arrows are for! That was the one thing I could never get my head around.

@Aratrea COOL!

@christi-eaton Thanks! I’m excited about getting to know this place better. I must say, I honestly don’t see how it can get any more amazing. Its already beyond anything I’ve ever imagined. An ESTJ, wow. My complete opposite, this’ll be fun! 🙂 Good luck with those classes! I look forward to seeing you around!

@aratrea Thank you for the welcome!…[Read more]

@aratrea What do the wings mean anyways?

@Aratrea Thank you. My protagonist does have quite a bit of internal conflict, and her problems aren’t completely solved right away.

Hmm…I see. I make the ending more of a realization moment for her, rather than a complete “I-will-always-put-my-hope-in-God” moment (thus leaving room for a sequel 😉 ).

Regarding negative character arcs, is it…[Read more]

@aratrea Yes, sorry, I should have made that more clear. The protagonist doesn’t think helping other races is necessary because the other races aren’t considered as valuable as hers.

Life didn’t want me to do my homework as much as I wanted to 😛 But here’s what I have:

Overview: protagonist is trying various methods of avoiding hopeless during the hardships in her life. Her first experiment is pretending nothing is wrong, the second is relying on other people to keep hope, and third is relying on God.

Characteristic Moment:…[Read more]

@Aratrea Right. Physical consequences. I keep picking themes/messages that are mainly internalized, so outward actions are generally good in and of themselves beforehand. Good, but with the wrong reasons behind them. It makes physical consequences (and before and after character actions) a bit tricky.

Although I guess I do have some physical…[Read more]

@daeus And you counted them? I let my excitement show sometimes. But I shall refrain myself in the future. I do have a reputation to maintain.

@aratrea Well, if your rambling consists of more great information, then all you need to do is just create extra lessons. 😉