: Re: Character Arcs - What if the character doesn't overcome the big lie, flaws or wounds? I've been reading a lot of books about plot and character arcs. Most structuresâ€”and I believe this is

Stories do not require growth of a character; there are many series (Detective series being the most prevalent) in which the MC doesn't really change much at all, even if they do have emotional experiences. They may or may not grow during the series. Often these are adventure series or "mystery" series (the main crew has to solve some mystery).

You can recognize this most readily in TV and Movie series. I don't detect much change in Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean, or Sherlock, or House, etc. James Bond doesn't change much. In the Ocean's XX movies, I don't see much change in the main characters; the movie is about conning somebody out of a fortune, in an entertaining way. Very few episodes of Bones, or House, or Elementary involve any MC actually changing (as distinct from having an emotional experience). For actual Novels, the Rex Stout series about private detective Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin will suffice, I read those when I was a kid and don't think the two main characters ever changed. But the mystery was always very challenging and well written (I thought).

I will agree with Galastel's insights, posted before this; but I don't think character change is absolutely necessary at all; some stories can be just about a clever adventure and interesting characters solving a fascinating puzzle.

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: Has anyone ever written a novel or short story composed of only dialogue? The participants describe everything needed for the story to continue, within the conversation. The environment, the emotions,

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: Term for future-tense technique that isn't exactly foreshadowing Not sure if this has a name, but I think it's best demonstrated with some examples I've seen: Nadia and her family both considered

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: ... an entire species in a fictional setting as outright evil - no matter how one treats them, they reward kindness with treachery and violence. This premise seems incomplete to me, and

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: Doubt about the difference between a "Beat" and a "Event" My main source of research about storytelling/screenwriting/how-to-write-a-book manual is [1]. But, the definition of "beat" given by [1]

: Re: Character Arcs - What if the character doesn't overcome the big lie, flaws or wounds? I've been reading a lot of books about plot and character arcs. Most structuresâ€”and I believe this is

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: Has anyone ever written a novel or short story composed of only dialogue? The participants describe everything needed for the story to continue, within the conversation. The environment, the emotions,

: Term for future-tense technique that isn't exactly foreshadowing Not sure if this has a name, but I think it's best demonstrated with some examples I've seen: Nadia and her family both considered

: ... an entire species in a fictional setting as outright evil - no matter how one treats them, they reward kindness with treachery and violence. This premise seems incomplete to me, and

: Doubt about the difference between a "Beat" and a "Event" My main source of research about storytelling/screenwriting/how-to-write-a-book manual is [1]. But, the definition of "beat" given by [1]

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