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A 3-part framework to build your character's meaningful transformation

The most effective character arcs aren’t complicated – they’re clear.

Your audience needs enough information to understand the change that’s happening, and they need the right information or you risk losing the signal in the noise. In other words, your job is to uncomplicate the process of human transformation.

It might sound simple, but it's definitely not easy to do it well.

Understanding how character arc works is one thing. Effectively dramatizing those ideas in your screenplay is another. Both are necessary to create a meaningful character arc.

But you don’t have to start from zero every time. There’s a basic framework that character arcs follow, and using this as the foundation gives you a place to start. Then, it’s just a matter of finding the nuances specific to your story.

Let’s look at the parts you’ll need in your character arc.

The 3-part character arc framework

Good stories are most often about some kind of change. That’s how we know the story meant something – that it had consequences.

Character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to changing developments in the story. That change shows us what the story is about, underneath the plot.

A character arc is made up of three basic building blocks:

1. The “Before” Picture (Act 1): A character who needs a transformation.
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2. The Transformation Process (Act 2): The character is challenged and moved toward change, or in some way experiences a transformative lesson.
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3. The “After” Picture (Act 3): There may be a bit more road to travel in the journey, but by the end of Act 3 the character embraces the change (if it's a positive arc) and demonstrates the transformation.

All three parts are necessary – they work together to be greater than the sum of the parts. Each has a function that contributes to our experience and understanding of the transformative journey we’re witnessing in the movie.

• Seeing how and why the character needs to change primes the audience for what’s to come. It gets us invested in and rooting for the transformation, often even before the character is aware of what’s happening.
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• Watching the events work on the character and push them toward change is the very definition of “show, don’t tell.” Seeing the effect of the plot on the character makes the change believable and visceral for the audience. Skipping this part and jumping straight to the “after” picture will feel false.
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• Finally, we need to see the change demonstrated, essentially to “prove” to the audience it really happened. This closes that open loop and brings a sense of satisfaction.

That’s the framework you can use to think through and build out your character’s transformational arc. Let's zoom in on each section and look at an example of how to show these ideas in action.

How to show a character who needs a transformation (in Act 1)

Act 1 is where we see the “before” picture, aka the character’s starting point. It shows us an attitude or behavior that’s getting in the way of the character’s happiness, even if they don’t see it that way.

This shows us that the character needs the transformation. It makes clear that if they don’t change, they’ll continue in this unhappy or unhealthy direction.

Now, for this case study I’ll use Old Time Hockey, which we read recently for Script Club. Protagonist Tommy Maloney’s arc gives the screenplay so much heart and genuine emotion. Without his transformation, the story would be little more than a one-note broad comedy; it’s the emotion that gives it resonance.

(If you haven’t yet and want to, you can download the script here. The key moments will make more sense if you've read the screenplay, but even if you haven't they should still give you a feel for how the arc plays out.)

A protagonist's transformation starts here

Act 1 quickly establishes that Tommy is “out of shape, worn down – a man whose life has passed him by. A proud man, saddled by a feeling of insignificance.” That's the description of present-day Tommy on page 3.

A vivid character description is great, but remember that we actually need to see evidence of it or it doesn’t feel true.

In the scenes of Act 1 we see:

• Tommy isn’t willing to stand up to a client who owes him money.
• He’s uncomfortable with his daughter Chloe’s desire to attend the fancy, expensive prep school in a nearby town.
• When Chloe asks if Tommy ever wanted “to do something big” with his life, knowing she sees him that way twists the knife.
• Former rivals mistake Tommy for a janitor, and their ringleader makes a comment that it would be better for Chloe to get out of their blue-collar hometown, Fox River.
• When Tommy’s friends want to retaliate, he tells them, "We’re not gonna do anything … we’re gonna take it … because this is Fox River and that’s what we do."

We get a clear sense that Tommy feels "less than” and doesn't believe he deserves more. This way of thinking is causing pain points in his life. Specifically, it’s interfering with Tommy’s relationships with daughter Chloe and his father, Stan. It’s also keeping Tommy from reaching for more success or happiness in his life.

How to show the transformation process (in Act 2).

Act 2 is where we see the character moving from the old way (the starting point) to the new way (the ending point), as a result of what they experience in the middle.

This is where the magic happens. The plot events challenge the “before” version of the character and drive the transformation into the “after” picture.

And what’s in the middle – that transformation – can be seen as a process of deconstruction and reconstruction. Old ideas and ways of being must be deconstructed if the character is going to change direction, while new attitudes and behaviors must be constructed to forge a healthier path.

In Old Time Hockey, we see:

• At first, Tommy avoids telling Stan – who is also Tommy’s former hockey coach – about the rematch, believing he'll think it's "dumb." (An old idea that needs to be deconstructed.)
• When Tommy does tell Stan about the game, an argument ensues about whether Tommy gave up on hockey too easily or Stan failed him. (Deconstruction / reconstruction.)
• Tommy watches old hockey tapes. The script tells us, "We push in on Tommy’s face as he watches the footage. Maybe that fire’s still there..." (Reconstruction.)
• In the Midpoint sequence, Tommy overhears Hillstone Prep girls call Chloe "trash" and he reconsiders whether Chloe should attend the school. An ensuing argument with Chloe highlights that Tommy’s fear, not hers, is the obstacle. (Deconstruction.)
• Stan begins training Tommy again, showing he believes in him. (Reconstruction.)
• Tommy is finally able to collect from his non-paying customer! (Reconstruction.)
• Tommy’s team plays a girls' team for practice, and are able to eke out a tie by turning a "weakness" into a secret weapon. (Reconstruction.)
• Act 2 ends with the team’s last practice before the big rematch. Tommy learns Stan has called in the substitute goalie. It's Tommy's worst nightmare – being judged unworthy by those closest to him. (A huge challenge to Tommy's deconstruction/reconstruction process.)

Please note that my comments on deconstruction and reconstruction are meant just to get you thinking about what is happening in the story. This doesn't mean your scenes have to fit neatly into one or the other, or that you have to fulfill a certain number of deconstructed or reconstructed ideas. These aren't rules to follow, they're frameworks to support what you're building.

How to show the character embraces the change (in Act 3).

Act 3 is the “after” picture of the transformation. This is where we see the character finally accept the lesson or not, and finally prove they’re changed or not.

In Old Time Hockey, we see:

• Early in Act 3, Tommy struggles against the challenge to his transformation. We see him disappoint Chloe, crushing her dreams, and insists to his wife, Annie, that “I’m nothing” and "those guys" are simply better than him.
• Going into the big game, Tommy chooses to start the substitute goalie, thinking it’s best for the team. But now the team struggles. The fans are glum. Then Stan arrives, and finally clears up the old misunderstanding: there was never a lack in Tommy's skills; his "failings" have only been caused by his own lack of belief in himself.

And by now Tommy is willing and able to accept the lesson – he’s the only thing holding himself back. He needs to get in the game (literally and metaphorically)!

In the story's climax, Tommy plays his heart out and proves to himself that he is worthy. (And the team’s win proves there’s nothing wrong with being from Fox River.)

Character arcs don’t just happen

If you’re struggling to execute a believable and meaningful character arc in your screenplay, try using the 3-part framework to think through the three phases of the transformation.

When you're clear on what needs to happen to create the arc from beginning to end, then you can find ways to dramatize those ideas in scenes and show the arc to the audience.

Not only will this help you create a meaningful story with real emotional impact, but it will also give you a more complete map to guide you through writing the screenplay.

Here are some prompts to get you thinking:

• What are the starting and ending points of the character’s arc?
• How does this plot situation cause the character to transform?
• What must be deconstructed? What must be reconstructed?
• In Act 2, where the magic happens, how is the character challenged to move along the path of transformation?

Until next time,

Naomi
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