A character arc is the way a character changes or grows throughout the course of a story. The change can be physical or emotional, and it doesn't have to be major, but you want your main characters, especially your protagonist, to experience some sort of transformation through their journey.

At the beginning of your story, ask yourself the following questions about your main characters:

• What do they want?
• What are they missing?
• What is holding them back from getting what/where they want/need to be?

The answers to these questions can be broad or specific. For example, here are what my main characters want in my novel Wait for the Rain, which is about three college friends who reunite on a tropical island to celebrate turning forty:

• Daphne wants to find herself after a failed marriage.
• Skylar wants to become a CEO.
• KC wants to have more time with her stepson before he leaves for college.

You get to decide what your characters want, so keep those answers in mind as you write. Also know that your characters don't have to get what they want. Or maybe they do get what they want, then realize they don't want it after all. The important thing to remember is that if your characters behave throughout the story in a way that is consistently in pursuit of what they want, an arc for each of them will naturally develop. And the arc will feel genuine, not forced.

Character arcs are important because they give readers something to invest in. If readers reach the end of the story and think, "No one changed at all," they will sense that something is missing, which will also leave them feeling unfulfilled. Well-developed character arcs satisfy readers, and satisfied readers turn into fans!

-Maria

Maria Murnane writes bestselling novels about life, love and friendship. Have questions? You can find her at www.mariamurnane.com.

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2018 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.