On Wise Productivity and Building Positive Character Arcs

Download the Understanding Story Structure and Character Arcs PDF GUIDE.

Learn the art of crafting positive character arcs and tackling the realities of time management.

I kick things off by sharing some eye-opening insights inspired by Oliver Burkman’s 4,000 Weeks, Time Management for Mortals, a must-read for anyone rethinking how to make the most of their time (spoiler: it’s not about doing more). 

Then, we shift gears to break down the magic behind positive character arcs—focusing on the growth and redemption subtypes. Using beloved examples like Harry Potter and A Christmas Carol, you’ll learn how to craft a positive character arc your readers will love!

Plus, I’ve got a handy PDF guide to help you visualize story structure and character arcs—it’s free to download!

Stick around for a sneak peek at what’s coming next: a deep dive into negative character arcs and an inspiring chat with romance writer Trisha Jenn Loehr about crafting romances.

Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Let’s Talk Positive Character Arcs
00:15 Welcome to the Write it Scared Podcast
01:33 Balancing Craft and Mindset
02:02 The Truth About Time Management (Inspired by 4,000 Weeks)
08:26 Breaking Down Positive Character Arcs
10:55 Growth Arcs: What They Are and How to Write Them
14:25 Redemption Arcs: Creating Powerful Transformations
16:46 Structuring Positive Character Arcs Step-by-Step
22:54 Recap + Free Resources for Your Writing Journey
24:36 What’s Coming Next: Negative Arcs and a Romantic Twist

Don’t forget to grab your PDF guide to visualize and understand story structure and character arcs, and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode.
 
Let’s keep building brave, brilliant stories together!

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

In a positive character arc, we see a character move from an internally unfulfilled status to a more fulfilled status. And they do so by facing their internal struggle, the thing that they believe about themselves and the world that doesn't serve them. Welcome to the Write It Scared podcast. I'm your host, Stacey Fraser, a formerly repressed creative soul, turned fiction writer, story editor, and author accelerator certified fiction book coach. At Write It Scared, we tell the truth about why writing a novel is so hard by acknowledging that most writers grapple with two stories: the one they want to put on the page to the best of their ability, and the often subconscious internal story that prevents them from doing it. This show is designed to help you identify and rewrite the internal narrative holding you back while you discover and write the story you want to tell and learn all the tools to help you do that successfully. Join me each week for a new episode where we'll talk about writing to deepen our understanding of the craft and of ourselves as writers. Writing a novel is an inside job that we do not do alone. Welcome to Write It's Scared. I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in. Hi, writer. Welcome back to the Write It Scared Podcast. I'm your host, Stacey, and it is a cold, frosty January morning here. I've got a cup of warm coffee, and I hope if it's cold where you are right now, you've got something warm in your hands too, and that you're doing well and chipping away at your 2025 writing aspirations. So today we're going to talk both craft and mindset, and we're going to discuss positive character arcs of change and their different subtypes, which is kind of an extension to our previous craft chat where we discussed story structure, plot, character arcs, and how those are interlinked and work in tandem to create an emotionally satisfying experience to give to your reader. So if you want to learn more, go back and listen to episode 42. But I also wanted to touch on this topic of time management and productivity. Because I'm disturbed, like in the best way. I'm reading this book called 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Berkman. And it is just slapping me in the face with reality, but not in a bad way. So if you're like me and you feel like there's just never enough time to get it all done, then I think this topic and book will interest you. And now I'd heard a lot of good things about 4,000 weeks. It's touted as one of the most important books ever written about time management. So it had definitely made it onto my TBR, and I suspect I subconsciously saved it to read over the new year. Because I mean, what better time is there to shore up the ship and focus on productivity and efficiency and really get things done, right? Well, let me tell you, I am beginning to think of 4,000 weeks as the anti-productivity and time management book. But again, still in the best way. I'm finding it the equivalent of being woken up from a nice dream by a bucket of ice water poured directly on my face. But please don't let that scare you. It's a really good read so far. I haven't finished it. I'm a little over half the way. So this book abruptly brings the reality that our time on Earth is finite right into the forefront of consciousness. And then it says we will never become productive or efficient enough to accomplish everything we desire. And that the belief that we can accomplish everything is a dangerous pipe dream, a pipe dream that we've bought into as a society. And that in and of itself devalues our choices and leads us to make worse and worse decisions. Actually, the more efficient and productive we strive to become to get more done and save time and have more time, the busier and more overwhelmed and discontented we become. Now, none of that is a spoiler. It's on the jacket copy. And I really had to think about this. Consciously, I know I can't get it all done. I have to choose, but sometimes I still behave as if I could. And I certainly am still constantly striving for that perfect balance of time management, productivity, and efficiency. And I still beat myself up when I fall short. And only then, in retrospect, do I give myself some grace and say, hey, I'm only human. I did the best I could. And now I'm just thinking, maybe the problem is I'm setting myself up for failure from the jump. Maybe my expectations are too high. And maybe there's a better way. Maybe part of the solution lies in truly accepting the reality that getting it all done is never going to happen. When I reflect on how much I try to cram into my schedule, on the embarrassing number of planners and time management apps and calendars I've purchased, and how desperately I'm attracted to anything that will save me time, and how irrationally I become, or sometimes become, when things like kids, pets, partners, a bad night's sleep get in the way of my precariously and painstakingly scheduled life. I can see that the idea that I will get it all done and that there must be a way to do this through efficiency and productivity is not working out that well. I'm not happier or more at ease, and definitely not more accomplished. So a quick check over the last five to ten years of my life gives me an accurate assessment of this. No, no, this thought process and behavior isn't serving me. Now, I haven't finished the book yet, as I said, but I am really glad I picked it up, despite the rude awakening. Because, you know, pain's the preface to growth. But it's shifting my perspective and my energy from I must do all the things to I'm privileged to have the ability to choose. And also from the fear of missing out on something to the joy of missing out because my choices reflect what I truly value. And I'm seeing how those choices need to shift a little bit because I only have so much time here. I mean, the book is called 4,000 weeks because that's the average lifespan of a human being. And I only have about half of that left. Here's a couple nuggets from the book that I highlighted last night. I happen to be alive, and there's no cosmic law entitling me to that status. That's from page 67. And the other, which is my favorite, the core challenge of managing our limited time isn't about how to get everything done. That's never going to happen. But how to decide most wisely what not to do and how to feel at peace about not doing it. That's from page 71. So, like I said, this is definitely making me think about how I'm spending my time, who I'm spending it with, and opening my eyes to the fact that I have been laboring under a false belief that isn't serving me. And that belief is that I can get it all done by being more efficient and productive. And that's going to allow me to accomplish all the things I want to accomplish and get it all done. And because of that, I'll be happy. So yeah, that's not working. So if you also feel similar to me and maybe are discovering that you've been laboring under a bit of a false belief here, and maybe an eye-opener gut punch might help you too, I would recommend reading it. And if you've read it, I would love to know your thoughts. So let me know to no, so let me know if you've enjoyed it or maybe enjoyed is a bit strong of a word. But either way, you can reach me at my email address, Stacy at Reditsgeared.co, or you can send a text to me directly through the app on whatever podcast platform you're listening in on. Okay, Raider, that was a lot to think about. Thanks for hanging in. So now let's transition and jump into our craft section and talk about positive arcs of change and their subtypes. Stories featuring a protagonist with a positive arc of change are usually about hope, inspiration, and overcoming. It's no surprise that they're popular because we love seeing people overcome difficult situations and learn the error of their ways so that they can change for the better. And the reason we love these is because of empathy, which is the ability to identify with another human being's emotional experience. We've all had hard times, we've all faced challenges and had to stand back up and go again, even when we didn't want to. And seeing someone else rise through the muck, even if it's a fictional character, allows us to believe that we can too. So here's an example. Raise your hand if you've ever seen Rocky. Now, I doubt many of you who are listening today are getting ready to take their first shot at a heavyweight title. But I will bet you dollars to donuts that you've experienced being the underdog, and you can connect with that. So you see, it's not really about the specifics of a story that engage us, the heavyweight boxing title. That's not what makes it resonate. It's about the generality, the feeling of not believing in yourself, of doubting yourself, and then rising to the challenge and proving to yourself that you're capable. That's about the universal application of the story's theme, which engages us and inspires us as individuals to lace up our sneakers and pound some pavement. In a positive character arc, we see a character move from an internally unfulfilled status to a more fulfilled status. And they do so by facing their internal struggle, the thing that they believe about themselves and the world that doesn't serve them. And they can only achieve their external story objective, which is whatever they want, by first embracing this internal change. Now there's two subtypes of the positive character arc: a growth arc and a redemption arc. Both arcs will begin with a character who's unsatisfied with their current situation or station in life. And the difference between the two is really about the emotional and social starting points of the protagonist, so I'll make sure to point that out when we get there. We're going to look at a growth arc first. So in a growth arc, the protagonist is usually seen as an ordinary person and generally a good person. They're moral, they're kind, they're good hearted. Though they may be mistreated, they usually haven't done anything to deserve that. And they always have a faulty belief system. Despite being good, deep down they think that something is wrong with them, which is the reason for their current unfulfilled circumstance. They think that there's something lacking about them internally. And they're going to have this false belief that we spoke about in episode 42 when we talked about the ingredients for constructing a character arc. And this false belief doesn't serve them. It's something they believe about themselves or the world that isn't true, which is based on an experience from their past, usually in their younger years, and we call this the wound. And from this, they will have an external want founded in that faulty belief system. And then finally, they will possess an unconscious desire or need or inner longing, which represents the lesson they need to learn, and it directly contradicts their false belief. And that lesson also expresses the overarching truth or the story's core message. So that was a bit of a recap on the ingredients for constructing a characters arc. Now, the most famous of all growth arcs in recent genre fiction is likely Harry Potter. When we first meet Harry in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he's a nice kid. He's orphaned, neglected, mistreated, but he's a nice, kind moral person. He's certainly way nicer than his aunt and uncle and that spoiled brat of a cousin, I don't remember his name. But the thing is, is that Harry doesn't believe he'll amount to much, and he believes he's unwanted. That's what he's told, and that's what he's leaning into believing. And he's lonely and timid, and he's really uncertained in the beginning of the story. But by the end of the story, he has gained friends, acceptance, self-confidence, and he believes that there is a place in the world where he belongs. So Harry, now he's an interesting example because he is someone who thought they were ordinary and became extraordinary. Now, in some craft references, you'll hear this called a transformational arc, but to me, that's just confusing. Harry has a growth arc, and all arcs except static are transformational. And an important thing to note here about a growth arc is that protagonists don't need to be like Harry. They don't need to become heroes in order to grow internally. They go from being a discontented ordinary person, or at least they think they're ordinary, and they learn a truth that helps them grow internally, and that is what helps them to change their external situation. But they do not have to do a 180. They don't have to become a hero or a heroine or anything like that. They can still stay a normal person. So your growth arc certainly doesn't have to demonstrate someone who thinks they're an ordinary boy and learns they're a wizard. Okay, now let's talk about redemption arcs. Now, out of all the arcs, I think this is one of my favorites. In a redemption arc, the character often begins at a low point, prof personally or professionally. They've had a fall from grace, or they weren't really that great of a person to start with. These are our morally great characters, and I like them because to me they represent a truer form of human nature. There's good and bad in all of us, right? And who we become depends on what we embrace and our choices. So these characters have all the same ingredients that make up their arc. They've got a wound and a false belief, they have external desires, a need, a longing, and of course a lesson to learn. And in the end, this character will make different choices than they would have at the beginning of the story. And whatever was unredeemable about them is not swept away. In fact, it can't be ignored at all. Instead, these characters have to learn to face it and accept whatever the consequences are that come with their unredeemable acts. And the story's conflict will force them to see and admit the error of their ways. Now, one of the most classic redemption stories that we probably all know is Scrooge, the protagonist from Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol. Scrooge goes from a penny-pinching miser to a benevolent benefactor because of the conflicts that are presented to him in the story. Now, my personal all-time favorite redemption story is in a novel by author Sarah J. Moss. She wrote a book called A Court of Silver Flames, which is a romantic. And in that book, it's a little spoiler alert here, but the protagonist, Nesta Archeron, goes from an angry, self-loathing alcoholic who's jealous of her sister and secretly blames herself for her parents' death to someone who faces her struggles, admits where she screwed up, and she becomes brave and selfless and finally sees that she also deserves love and acceptance. That's the kind of story I enjoy. So, regardless of whether you have a growth or redemption arc, the story structure is going to force these characters to see the truth of their faulty belief system and embrace a new way of living. So we're going to run through story structure for a positive character arc of change so that you can see where the protagonist begins from an emotional set point and how they end by the end of the story. So in the beginning of the book, and remember, we're thinking about a book as something with a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the beginning, there's a problem, in the middle it gets worse. At the end, we figure out a way to solve the problem. So in the beginning, which is about the first 25% of the story, which we also call act one in three-act story structure, we will see a protagonist living fully invested in their false belief. So this would be Scrooge being the penny pinching miser, being rude to everybody, mean to his employees, saying that human connection isn't worth it. That's not what really matters. It's the almighty dollar that matters. That's his belief system. And then there'll be an event that creates a problem for this character and disrupts their life as they know it. And they're going to try to solve it based on their faulty belief system. And a lot of times this might look like they're going to deny that anything happened. They're going to resist it. But the pressure will continue to mount until they can no longer do that anymore. And this looks different in different stories. For example, in Harry Potter, there is resistance after what we call that first disturbance to the character's status quo, or otherwise known as the inciting incident or the catalyst, which in Harry Potter, part of it is that he learns that he can speak to snakes, and then he starts getting letters from Hogwarts. But it's not Harry doing the resisting. He actually wants to open the letters. It's his family that is resisting. So it doesn't always have to be the protagonist who is res resisting that call to adventure. Um, it can be someone else who's putting that over them. Um, but often the character feels they're kind of powerless to stop things. So something will happen to move the character forward, and the character will take action to move into the next part of the book, which is the middle. We also call this the second act. And this goes from about the 25% mark up to the 75% mark of the book. It's a big stretch of the novel. So at this point, it becomes clear to the character that they can't solve the problem with their usual MO. Uh, they will take action, they have to engage, and in order to make them engage, you've got to ratchet up the stakes. But again, all of their actions will be in service to their false belief. So even though Harry goes with Hagrid to Hogwarts, he's still very unsure, very insecure of himself and doesn't truly believe he belongs. And the conflicts that he faces test that within him. But in the middle of the book, the character will have an experience that will open their eyes a little bit and they will start to see how their faulty belief system is beginning to fail them. Most of the time, they still think they can move forward by taking the same action as they have in the past. They still think they can kind of outmaneuver this. They don't really have to change all the way. They may see the truth. Maybe the truth has been told to them. But oftentimes they're held back by fear, fear that the cost associated with acting on the truth, it's just too much. And they make a decision towards the last portion of the second act, which blows up in their face. It's a bad decision, and it's this, along with all the other problems that have been brewing, is going to cause things to come crashing down on the protagonist. And we call this the all is lost moment. And the decision that they make here represents that character acting on their false belief. They've leaned into it one more time, and it causes darkness and devastation. Everything blows up in their face. Because although they knew that change was possible, they still made the wrong decision. Which and that decision basically said that internal change wasn't worth the risk of facing the pain of the wound. And because of that, you know, they are in pain. But they will come out of that. This is called the rise. And this kicks off the last 25% of the novel, which we also call act three. And so they're going to see that they do have to change, they will become willing to change and go after what they truly want, and they will will finally be willing to risk it all, even if they have to experience the pain of the wound again, even if that's being unwanted or not belonging in Harry's case. So even despite the possibility of a bad outcome, they will move forward. And the last 10%, 10 to 15% of the book is the character reaching for what they truly want, doing it the right way. And this is called the climax. And because of that, they have become willing to make this internal shift, accept the truth, and stop believing in the false belief. That they had at the beginning of the story, and they rise to the challenge, they defeat the antagonistic force and achieve their external story objective or goal, whatever it whatever that has become. And so finally, then we have the parting shot or the resolution, which shows the character living by a new set of rules and a new belief system. They have embraced what they needed to learn about themselves. And the key is that the plot and the conflict delivered through the story structure forced them to learn this about themselves. And usually, as the reader, at the end of it, we're sitting back and reflecting and going, yeah, I could see how they were laboring under that false belief the whole time. And I'm so glad they believed in themselves and that they overcame this. I knew they could do it, because we're rooting for them the whole time, right? Okay, so let's do a quick recap of the main takeaways for crafting a positive arc of change. All positive arcs begin with a discontented and internally unfulfilled protagonist who becomes more content and more internally fulfilled by the end of the story because they face the false belief within them and learn a new way of being. There are two subtypes, a growth arc and a redemption arc. A growth arc generally begins with a good or moral character who is ordinary, or at least they seem that way. The redemption arc begins with a morally gray character, and the story structure will force these characters to see the truth of their faulty belief system and embrace a new way of being that will lead them to a more positive place in their life. And it is because the protagonist makes this internal change that is the thing that allows them to defeat the antagonistic force and achieve the external story objective. An internal change in a positive character arc does not need to be super dramatic. You don't have to go from ordinary to extraordinary. It just needs to be enough to prove your story's point. So that was a lot writer. Thanks for hanging in with me. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely a visual person. So I've created a PDF guide called Understanding Story Structure and Character Arcs. And it gives you a nice visual snapshot of what story structure looks like and all the major turning points as it follows a character's emotional experience while they are going through their arc of change. And it also comes with a blog post guide that walks you through each of those major turning points. And you can find this resource at writeitsgeared.co forward slash resources. And I will put a link to that in the show notes. So when we come back to our next craft chat, which will probably be in a couple of weeks, we will talk about the ins and outs of negative character arcs and how to shape them and why it's important to understand them, even if your protagonist has a positive arc of change or a flat arc. And next week, I have another amazing guest lined up for you. I'll be talking with Trisha Jen Lair all about writing romance. So I will see you next week. Have a wonderful day. Thank you for listening to the Write It Scared podcast. If you enjoyed today's show, please make sure to hit the follow button so you never miss an episode. And please leave a review. Reviews help other writers like you find the voices and messages they need to hear to continue to write their stories. Let's lift each other up. Remember, you can be scared and still be unstoppable. I'll see you next week.