Page Where Story Arc and Character Arc Meet The Dance of the Divine Where Story Arc and Character Arc Meet WWW.AARONMRITCHEY.COM WWW.FACEBOOK.COM\THENEVERPRAYER aaronmritchey@gmail.com

Story Arc – Old School Greek Cool Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Dénouement Sets up story and ends with inciting incident Hook me! Obstacles, problems, trouble Show me conflict! Comedy-things go bad. Tragedy-things go well. Show me huge change! Moment of reversal after the climax, final suspense. Start wrapping things up Conflicts are resolved. Catharsis. Give me a feeling a that lingers Aaron Ritchey - Dance of the Divine

New School Story Arc Now in Technicolor! Ritchey Divine

Story Arc – Save The Cat! ACT I ACT II ACT III OPENING IMAGE Page Story Arc – Save The Cat! ACT I ACT II ACT III OPENING IMAGE THEME STATE SET-UP CATALYST DEBATE BREAK INTO ACT II B STORY FUN AND GAMES MIDPOINT BAD GUYS CLOSE IN ALL IS LOST! DARK MOMENT BREAK INTO ACT III FINALE FINAL IMAGE Ritchey Divine

Classic Character Arc a call to adventure - accept or decline? a road of trials achieving the goal or boon (self-knowledge) a return to the ordinary world application of the boon Thank you , Mr. Campbell Ritchey Divine

The Don’s Character Ideas Three Types of Characters Everyman Classic Hero Dark Protagonist Internal conflict – When does your character want what they most desire and when do they want the exact opposite? What in your character’s past has hurt them the most? What is the mystery? What in your character’s life could dramatically change them forever? No going back. Thank you, Donald Maass Ritchey Divine

Save the Cat Character Stuff The trick is to create a character who… Offers the most conflict in that situation Has the longest way to go emotionally Is the most demographically pleasing. Thank you, Blake Snyder, wherever you are. Ritchey Divine

Page Puppies Pet the puppy. What makes the heroine the heroine? Why should we care? Kick the puppy. What makes the villain the villain? Why should we hate her? Ritchey Divine

My Character Arc Questions What does my heroine most want? What does my heroine most fear? What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to my heroine? Thank you, Battlestar Galactica Ritchey Divine

Story Arc and Character Arc ACT I ACT II ACT III What does your character most want? How is your character weak or strong? Pet the puppy scene\kick the puppy scene. Becoming the Hero – The Big Decision What does your character most fear? Show me through the obstacles. How is your character changing because of the obstacles? Handling good times\bad times. What is the worst thing that can happen? Make it happen and leave us in darkness. How has your character changed in order to get out of the dark moment? How has your character grown in order to defeat the villain? What unique perspective into the human condition has your character gained? Confirm the theme\answer all story questions. Ritchey Divine

Story Arc and Character Arc Use character for a strong opening – what is it about the character that makes us want to love her? Use character for Act II – trials and obstacles that make the character grow Use character to create dark moment – what is the worst thing that can possibly happen? Use character for climax – How has the character grown so they can defeat the villain? Ritchey Divine

Bibliography The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting by Syd Field Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling by Donald Maass Story by Robert McKee The Never Prayer by Aaron Michael Ritchey Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder Ritchey Divine