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Character Arcs in Romantic Comedies Handout

This document provides guidance on using character arcs to build a romance story. It explains that romance stories have four main components: the romance relationship, the heroine's character arc, the hero's character arc, and the external plot. It discusses how to show a character's limiting beliefs and ordinary life in the beginning, and how their relationship challenges these beliefs over the course of the story. Four stages of a character arc are outlined: ordinary life, falling in love, increased vulnerability, and committing to change. Sample character profiles are provided to flesh out a hero and heroine's backstory, goals, wounds, beliefs and how these create relationship barriers.

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Ainge Ishikawa
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231 views8 pages

Character Arcs in Romantic Comedies Handout

This document provides guidance on using character arcs to build a romance story. It explains that romance stories have four main components: the romance relationship, the heroine's character arc, the hero's character arc, and the external plot. It discusses how to show a character's limiting beliefs and ordinary life in the beginning, and how their relationship challenges these beliefs over the course of the story. Four stages of a character arc are outlined: ordinary life, falling in love, increased vulnerability, and committing to change. Sample character profiles are provided to flesh out a hero and heroine's backstory, goals, wounds, beliefs and how these create relationship barriers.

Uploaded by

Ainge Ishikawa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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OWN CHARACTER ARC MAPS


How to Use Character Arcs to Build a Romance Story
There are 4 overarching components of any piece of romance fiction, irrespective of the
length or subgenre.

• The Romance Story. How the romance relationship builds.


• The Character Arc of the Heroine over the course of the story.
• The Character Arc of the Hero over the course of the story.
• The Plot. The external story situation which will bring the hero and heroine
together, even if they are battling against one another for the same prize. In most
cases this acts as the spine for the story.

Romantic Comedies are character-driven stories, where the external plot is secondary
to the emotional journey the two main characters will take.

Show the hero and heroine in their ordinary life, with all of the limiting beliefs and
behaviours that they have created to protect themselves.

What do I mean by the term “limiting belief”?


Each of us lives within and operates out of a complex set of beliefs and behaviours that
define us and our interaction with the world in which we live. Our beliefs are linked to
our feelings of self-worth and self-esteem and how we believe other people in the world
see us.

A limiting belief is a powerful and deep-seated belief that we are not capable of doing
something, or being someone, or feeling something.

A limiting belief holds us back from achieving what we are capable of.

In most cases, these limiting beliefs are based on our personal past experiences and
lessons learnt dealing with people and situations before the story begins.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 2 of 8


Example. Our heroine works for a brand management company who has a new
musical Rockstar client.

As a teenage student, she was repeatedly ridiculed and told at school and at home that
she did not have any musical talent and she was wasting her time trying to become a
singer. Over time she came to believe this as fact. She supressed her passion for music
and went on to do other things.

She truly believes that she has no musical talent. This will be challenged by the hero
Rockstar client she has to work with.

Example. Our heroine is a wedding planner and a jilted bride.

Her fiancé ran off with her younger pretty sister the night before their wedding, leaving
her to clear up the mayhem and financial disaster of the wedding she had planned and
paid for. Plus, her father walked out on her when she was 15, leaving her to look after
her mother and sister.

She truly believes that she is not worthy of love and is not going to put herself into a
position where she will be rejected, have her heart broken and be abandoned again.

Her reluctance to start a new trusting relationship with the best man at the cowboy
wedding she is organising becomes more credible.

The reader wants to see that character transformed over the course of the
book because of her relationship and the difficult choices she has to make
under pressure, so you have to show on the page how much of a journey that
person is going to have to make and how much they will resist the pain of
having to face their fears.
The bigger the fear, the greater the satisfaction for the reader!

By the end of the book they have to learn how to break through those limiting
beliefs.
They must move from living in a state of fear to living courageously, as a
direct result of the romance relationship expressed on the page.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 3 of 8


Four Stage Character Arc Story Maps

Stage One Stage Two Stage Three Stage Four


Show the hero and This is the falling Commitment to They take a leap of
heroine in their in love stage! the other person faith and do what
ordinary life, with Show how the leading to they have always
the limiting beliefs hero and heroine increased wanted to do -
they have created start to see that vulnerability – but because of the
to protect their lives can be then something romance
themselves. different – if they happens which relationship.
let go of their old challenges them
beliefs. again.
❖ Set up the hero ❖ The hero and ❖ The old defences ❖ They have to let
❖ Set up the heroine see one are not working go of their old
heroine another in a new any longer ways of self-
❖ The hero and light and against the protection and
heroine meet for ❖ Every step of challenges of the face their fears.
the first time. the romance will romance and the ❖ There is a price
❖ Something challenge the story situation. to pay for this
happens to character’s Passion and sex new relationship
upset their coping leads to extra and it has to be
ordinary worlds mechanisms. exposure deep a concrete
and throw them ❖ The lover will fears are decision to push
out of balance. recognise their revealed in them forward
❖ Something true nature and intimate into a new way
happens which this is scary. moments. of living.
forces them to ❖ Stage Two ends ❖ At the end of this
make a decision with some form stage the
which will lock of commitment. character will
them together. have to make a
critical decision.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 4 of 8


HERO Character Arc Profile
Opening Image

Hero’s Ordinary World

What is his short-term goal when the


story starts?
An external goal with a clear endpoint
linked to a chance to achieve his
longing or need – he has to do this to
make a big change in his life.
What are the stakes? What happens if
he does not achieve this goal?

Why now?

What is his long-term goal – his


longing- that deeply held desire which
he has not found the courage to go
after yet.

What is his need? The thing that is


missing in his life which will make it
complete.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 5 of 8


What is his wound, the un-healing
source of continuing pain?

This has led to the identity mask that


they show to the world – which will be
chipped away during the story journey.

Who is the character without the mask?


His soul and his essence – the person
he must become = the heroine
embodies this essence.

What is his core belief about the way


the world works- the universal code he
lives by?

and what is the deep fear that is linked


into this belief-– what would destroy
them/wound them again/cause them
pain again.

How does this Internal Conflict create


the RELATIONSHIP BARRIER?

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 6 of 8


Heroine Character Arc Profile
Opening Image

Heroine in her
ordinary world

What is her short-term goal when the


story starts – an external goal with a
clear endpoint linked to a chance to
achieve her longing or need – she
has to do this to make a big change
in her life.
What are the stakes? What happens
is she does not achieve this goal?

Why now?

What is her long-term goal – her


longing- that deeply held desire
which she has not found the courage
to go after yet.

What is her need? The thing that is


missing in her life which will make it
complete.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 7 of 8


What is her wound, the un-healing
source of continuing pain?

This has led to the identity mask that


they show to the world – which will
be chipped away during the story
journey.

Who is the character without the


mask? Her soul and her essence –
the person she must become. Her
true love embodies this essence.

What is her core belief about the way


the world works- the universal code
she lives by?

What is the deep fear that is linked


into this belief-– what would destroy
them/wound them again/cause them
pain again?

How does this Internal Conflict


create the RELATIONSHIP
BARRIER?

Happy writing.

© Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/ Page 8 of 8

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