Crafting the Tragic Falling Character Arc

The Falling Arc isn’t about a villain—it’s about a character who could have chosen differently but instead becomes consumed by their worst impulses. Their story isn’t just dark—it’s unsettling, raw, and real. 

This character starts with potential, but instead of rising to the occasion, they spiral downward—deeper into moral corruption, delusion, or even self-destruction.

The Falling Arc is one of the most devastating negative character arcs (overview of negative arcs in episode 46,) and today, we’re breaking down exactly how to write one.

Using Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley as a prime example, this episode explores:

🔥 What makes a falling arc so compelling (and chilling)
🔥 The false beliefs that drive a character’s descent
🔥 Key story beats that shape their tragic downfall
🔥 How to build reader empathy for a character losing their way
🔥 A full breakdown of Tom Ripley’s arc, from his first deception to his final, chilling moment

If you're crafting a protagonist who loses themselves to darkness, this episode will help you nail the psychological and emotional depth needed to make it unforgettable.

Episode Breakdown

📌 00:00 – The power of negative character arcs
📌 00:53 – What makes the falling arc uniquely tragic?
📌 01:37 – The essential ingredients for a compelling downward spiral
📌 02:59 – Breaking down Tom Ripley’s journey step by step
📌 05:05 – How Tom Ripley’s false beliefs drive his moral downfall
📌 07:19 – The inciting incident that sets his descent in motion
📌 10:45 – Midpoint realization: How Tom justifies his crimes
📌 13:41 – The slow, chilling downward spiral
📌 16:55 – The climax and Tom's ultimate fall
📌 19:26 – Final thoughts on writing falling arcs
📌 20:32 – Recap + sneak peek at next week’s corruption arc deep dive

Transcript

Crafting The Tragic Falling Character Arc

[00:00:00] the falling character arc, is the truest of tragedies. These characters pursue their external want backed by their false belief, or what they believe about themselves and the world that doesn't serve them, into insanity or death or moral corruption with rare exception. So, think of the tragic alcoholic who continues to drink, often to their death, or to the point they're institutionalized, despite the copious evidence that booze has wreaked havoc on their lives and those of the lives they love. That is the vibe of The Falling Ark. It is dark. It's painful to watch, but it's powerful because it's true.

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 [00:01:00] 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 Scared. I'm glad you're here. Let's dive in.

Hi, Writer! Welcome back to the Writer's Cared Podcast. I'm your host, Stacey. Today, we're going to continue with our craft discussion on negative character arcs. And if you're new to the podcast or you didn't tune in last time, we've been talking about character arcs, which is the internal journey that your protagonist will go through in the story. And a negative character arc is a type of character change where the character's story ends in failure, defeat, or a morally compromised [00:02:00] state.

There is no happy ever after in these stories. No fuzzy, warm feelings or endings. They are tragedies. They are cautionary tales. There are three types of negative character arcs, disillusionment, falling, and corruption. And in episode 46, we did an overview of each type of negative character arc, and then did a deep dive into the disillusionment arc.

So if you want to go back and listen to that, I will link the episode in the show notes. Today we'll dig into the most tragic and the saddest of all negative character arcs, at least in my opinion, and that is the falling arc. And I thought we could combine The falling arc and the corruption arc into one episode, but they are just too big a topics, especially if we use examples.

So we're gonna split them apart. We'll talk about the falling arc today and the corruption arc in another podcast episode. Then we'll wrap up our character arc discussion, with the static or flat arc in a future episode as well. So remember, it's beneficial to understand negative character arcs, even if your main [00:03:00] character has a positive arc of change or a flat arc, because it can help you shape the rest of your cast of characters, or understand how a character came to be who they are when we meet them in the pages.

Regardless of what type, all character arcs require the same ingredients. They need a wound and a false belief, an external desire based on that false belief, and an internal need or longing. That reflects the lesson that they need to learn in order to become a better version of themselves in the story.

Or it reflects the lesson that they're going to ignore in the case of negative character arcs, and that is going to lead to their demise. But before we jump in, have you had a chance to download First Draft Confidence? It's a free workbook and introductory guide to all the foundation work that my clients complete before they begin drafting, and using it helps to prevent false starts and abandoned drafts.

It covers seven simple exercises designed to help you overcome mindset wobbles, resistance, keep yourself organized, [00:04:00] set up realistic writing expectations, test drive your story concept, develop your cast of characters, and a high level outline that will work whether you're a pantser or a plotter or somewhere in between.

It also has resources on how to format your novel to publishing industry standards, word count expectations for your genre, and recommendations on excellent craft books for drafting novelists. So if you want to take as much guesswork out of planning and drafting your novel as possible, download First Draft Confidence.

The link is in the show notes, or you can go to https://www.writeitscared.co/novelplanningguide 

Okay, writer, let's talk about the falling character arc, which is the truest of tragedies. 

These characters pursue their external want which is backed by their false belief, or what they believe about themselves and the world that doesn't serve them, into insanity or death or moral corruption with rare exception.

So, think of the tragic alcoholic who continues to drink, often to their death, or to the point they're [00:05:00] institutionalized, despite the copious evidence that booze has wreaked havoc on their lives and those of the lives they love. Yeah. It's heavy stuff. That is the vibe of The Falling Ark. It is dark. It's painful to watch, but it's powerful because it's true.

These things happen. The lies that we tell ourselves as individuals, as a culture, as a society can be that destructive. And I believe we need these stories to help us face our inner demons because we've all got them. So let's look at an example to show this falling arc in action through the lens of story structure.

And remember, we're framing a story as something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end, with a main character who has a desire based on their false beliefs, and there's going to be complications, things are going to get worse, until finally, by the end of the book, the problems and complications have reached a resolution. Though, in the case of a negative character arc, it is not a pretty [00:06:00] ending and nothing will ever be the same again, at least for the character anyway. So we'll do this by using an example of the character Tom Ripley the 1999 film, The Talented Mr. Ripley, which is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel.  

So you might want to pause here to go watch the movie if you're not up for any spoilers, but if you are okay with spoilers, then I would suggest that you do watch the movie after you listen to this and see if you can pick apart the moments where the character makes a decision that leads them into a worse moral situation and ask yourself what they could have done differently instead and why didn't they?

It's kind of a fun exercise.

Okay, so the story of Tom Ripley is one of moral demise. Tom goes from a reasonably well intentioned person, though he's highly insecure and also has a keen ability to manipulate situations, to a straight up con man and a killer willing to murder even those he loves to keep his secrets safe.

Remember, [00:07:00] the falling arc begins with a character deeply entrenched in their false belief. And Tom's false belief is that , it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. And that's a quote straight from the movie. 

 Basically, it boils down to the false belief of I cannot be loved for who I am. So, the job of the first act of the book, which is about the first 25%, is to show this false belief in action, indicate its origin, and show us the character's physical and emotional starting point.

Now, we don't actually see where Tom's false belief originated from in the movie, but we do see him scraping by to make ends meet, admiring people with lavish lifestyles and wishing that could be him. And you want to make this part of your book very strong, because when you look back from the end of the story to the beginning, then you'll see just how far the character has [00:08:00] fallen.

And this brings up a good point. Remember, the reader needs to have empathy to be invested in this character, especially if they're going to watch them do terrible things.

So you do want to find a way to pepper in some of their humanity here. Now, in the case of Tom Ripley, We see that Tom is a young working class man who's also a bit of a liar and he dreams of wealth and status and belonging. But we also see that he's kind and he is considerate.

So in the beginning of the story, when we first meet Tom Ripley, he is mistaken for a Princeton graduate and he doesn't correct this assumption. This is his first small white lie that represents his larger false belief that it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody.

And then we come to the next major moment of the plot, which is what we call the inciting incident or the [00:09:00] catalyst. And this happens usually between 10 and 15 percent of the way into the story, but that can vary. The inciting incident causes a disruption to the status quo life of the character and kicks off the core conflict of the plot.

And often in a negative character arc, the inciting incident is seen as an opportunity to pursue an external desire fueled by that false belief that the character thinks will make them happy.

So, in the case of Tom Ripley, Tom believes if I can be someone else, someone important, then I'll finally be happy and accepted. And so, we see Tom start to rub elbows with a man who he views as very important, Mr. Greenleaf Sr., who is the gentleman who mistook him for the Princeton graduate, and also assumed that Tom knew his son, Dickie Greenleaf, who also graduated from Princeton.[00:10:00] 

The inciting incident happens when it comes to pass that Mr. Greenleaf wants his son Dickie to come home and get serious about his life. And he says he is willing to pay Tom to go to Italy and retrieve his son, who is kind of a playboy. And Tom jumps at the opportunity to go.

So we have a really interesting moment of foreshadowing. In the story, when Tom introduces himself as Dickie Greenwood to a woman named Meredith, who is a wealthy socialite that happens to be arriving in Italy at the same time as Tom.

So at this point, Tom has no plan to maintain the illusion that he's someone else. It's just an example of this character believing that if he were someone else, he would be better off. It's excellent foreshadowing, and you'll see why in just a moment. 

As the character pursues their external want, They are going to meet resistance, but they are deeply [00:11:00] compelled by the promise of the lie inside their false belief.

They will choose to go deeper into the darkness and dive into a new world or way of being in pursuit of their external goal.   

So what we see here still in the first 25 percent of the movie is that Tom is unable to convince Dickie to go home with him. He winds up telling him the truth that his father actually put Tom up to coming to get him and is paying his way. And Tom's external goal actually changes from retrieving Dickie to staying with Dickie for however long he can because he doesn't want to give up this life of luxury. And so because of that, Tom continues to maintain the lie of his false persona. And he keeps up the charade that they have met at Princeton and he studies everything he can about Dickie and gets Dickie to like him. And so eventually Tom moves in with Dickie and his [00:12:00] girlfriend Marge, and we see Tom envying Dickie's privilege, and he's starting to build up some resentment of the power imbalance between the two of them.

Because Dickie's paying for everything, and Dickie's kind of getting tired of it. But Tom gets this taste of luxury, and he does not want to return to his mundane life no matter what.

So now something is going to happen that will take us into a whole new world for the character and this is often called the first plot point if you're following three act story structure or the bridge into act two and it represents The beginning of the middle of the book and the middle of the book spans the, or story or movie in this case spans from the 25 percent mark to the 75 percent mark.

So it is a big stretch of time and in a negative character arc it is kicked off by the character making a choice that shows them devaluing something good in their life [00:13:00] and that is going to come back to bite them in the ass later.

In this instance, Dickie starts growing tired of Tom's neediness and calls him a leech. And Dickie and Tom have a fight, and it gets physical, and Tom accidentally kills Dickie in a rage, and he feels extremely remorseful because he really did love Dickie in a way. He was infatuated with him, and he would have liked to have been more than friends.

And here, he makes a choice. He covers up the accident. And then he consciously chooses to step into Dickie's life. He forges letters and lives under his name. But there are moments when he could come clean and he doesn't. So his false belief deepens. I can be someone better if I can keep up the lie, and I'll get away with it, and then I'll finally belong and have the things that I need to belong.

So we see Tom Labor under this right up until the midpoint of [00:14:00] the movie, right around the 50 percent mark, we see the character have a realization that is accompanied by another choice. And once the character makes this choice, there is absolutely no going back and they see the truth for what it is. The writing's on the wall. They know if they continue to move forward in pursuit of their external goal, they are going to pay dearly for it and so will others, but they ignore it because now they believe something worse. So

this is when the fall of the character really starts. And you'll see the character justify, rationalize everything as they barrel towards their demise. So by this point in the story, however you've portrayed them in the beginning, it needs to be way worse now. So, for example, if they were a binge drinker at the beginning of the story, they're a daily drinker now. They need a red eye first thing in the morning. If they were a bit of a firebug at the beginning [00:15:00] of the story, now they are a full fledged arsonist. The point here is to show the situation going from bad to way, way worse. And the character making conscious decisions to commit to worse and worse actions.

In the case of Tom Ripley, Tom , has been manipulating and deceiving those around him, keeping up a ruse that Dickie is still alive and Tom's been avoiding suspicion. And he's been able to forge Dickie's name and get cash so he can indulge in his newfound status and the luxuries that it affords.

But, A fellow acquaintance named Freddy Miles gets too close to figuring out the truth that Tom killed Dickie. So, Tom kills Freddy in cold blood. And this is about the midpoint. 

He is now actively and purposefully destroying others in order to maintain his illusion. 

So the second half of the story reflects the downward spiral of the [00:16:00] protagonist, who is losing control of the external situation, while they are desperately maintaining their faith in the lie they believe. So in the second half of The Talented Mr. Ripley, we see Tom, start to scramble as the police close in, to investigate Freddy's death.

It's deemed a murder. The police are growing suspicious. They're wanting to question Tom. So Tom takes action. He fakes Dickie's suicide and makes it look like Dickie killed Freddy. But people are still suspicious. Marge Dickey's girlfriend does not believe Tom or any of his stories As the police investigation intensifies, Tom's lies become more elaborate and the end all be all is that he barely escapes exposure.

But he does, and it's a really big win. Even Dickie's father believes Tom, and believes that Dickie committed suicide. And he gives Tom part of Dickie's inheritance for being [00:17:00] such a good friend to his son. And now, Tom can go back to being Tom, and he has the wealth he's always wanted, and he actually finds solace and love in an unlikely friendship with a man named Peter, who we were introduced to earlier in the movie.

but he doesn't get away with it. And this leads us to the last 25 percent of the movie where, where we have the lowest emotional moment for the character. And this is known as the all is lost , or the black moment of the soul to the character.

where everything they've been working for feels like it slipped through their fingers, the all is lost moment for Tom happens when he thinks he got away with everything. He and Peter are on the ship and they're clearly together, , relaxing and enjoying themselves.

who was foreshadowed in the very beginning of the story, who also knows Tom as Dickie because that's the way he originally introduced himself [00:18:00] is there on the same ship. And there's a bunch of other people that know Tom as Dickie as well, and he's going to get caught and there is nowhere to run. There is nowhere to hide.

And Peter starts to ask him some questions about his connections with Meredith and what Meredith knows. And Tom realizes he cannot take off the mask. He can never let anyone truly in to love him. It will never be possible for anyone to love him for who he really is.   

So this is a very dark moment in the movie and it leads almost instantaneously into the climax, which is the peak of the story's action and emotional energy. And it usually happens around the 85 to 95 percent mark in a story. And this is where your character is going to make a last ditch desperate grab for their external desire and They may fail, or they may get it, and [00:19:00] often they fail, but if they do get it, it's a hollow victory because the truth will punish them.

And many times, the thing that was really good in their life, the thing they never appreciated, like, for example, just being a regular person like Tom Ripley, is sacrificed completely at the climax. And that's how you see how far they've fallen. So, for example, they kill their mentor, they kill their lover, their mother, they maim, they obliterate their soul. And sometimes they see it was all for nothing, and sometimes they don't. And if they don't, that's insanity.

In the case of Mr. Ripley, Tom kills Peter to protect himself. And Peter is the only one who ever just accepted Tom for who he was, or at least for the most part, and in doing so, he sacrifices his one real human connection. And that is the final proof of Tom [00:20:00] Ripley's fall. He can no longer separate himself from the monster he's become.

And the resolution wraps up pretty fast in these type of stories, because, I mean, they feel pretty awful anyway. So, we don't really want to linger there. The point's been made. But typically we have a parting shot to a future that holds no hope for this character.

So, you know, this is where we see the character in the asylum, or we see them as a homeless drunk who's died from exposure to the elements, or we see a funeral where no one shows up. You get it. It's basically a life wasted in pursuit of something that they didn't really need, if they had woken up to the truth.

And in the case of Tom Ripley, Tom does get away with everything, but he's completely alone. He's trapped in his own lies, and despite achieving wealth and status, it cost him his soul. So, the final scene is devastating. He's not caught, but he will probably be hunted forever. So, icky, right? It's [00:21:00] not pleasant.

 So Tom Ripley's falling arc demonstrates that of moral corruption, but falling arcs can end differently and demonstrate things like insanity or self destruction. For example, the character Jack Torrance in the movie The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King, also has a falling arc, but it doesn't end in moral compromise.

It ends in insanity. Another example is the movie Falling Down, which was made back in the 90s and starred Michael Douglas, who played a character named William Defends Foster. And it's completely different from The Shining and The Talented Mr. Ripley. And it follows a character's downward spiral into self destruction versus immorality or insanity.

But regardless of which way this falling arc goes, It's going to have a terrible conclusion. A couple of other examples of the falling arc in literature and film is Shakespeare's Hamlet. That's probably the most commonly [00:22:00] referenced. Another is the Joker, the movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. Heathcliff, of course, from Emily Brown's Wuthering Heights.

 So that was a lot. Let's break down the main takeaways for crafting a falling arc. Here they are in a falling arc. The character will be firmly invested in the lies that their false belief affords them and will consciously ignore the truth and manifest into the worst possible version of themselves by the end of the story.

There is no redemption. There is only death, insanity and isolation. The character will often disregard or devalue something truly good in their lives. And ultimately, that thing will be sacrificed in the climax to show how low the character has fallen. So in Mr. Ripley's case, all he wanted was to be loved and accepted .

And then finally, , when he was loved, he couldn't allow for that. And he had to kill the one person that did love him. Very sad. If the character ultimately gets what they want in the end of [00:23:00] the story, the victory is going to be hollow or they will realize that it was all for nothing. In the beginning of the story, you do want to make sure to embed some evidence of this person's humanity, so that the reader can empathize with them and root for them, as they go along the story and wind up doing terrible things. People are not just black or white. They're not just good or bad. And neither should your character be. They're a mix of gray. So next time we come back for a craft chat, we will talk about the final, negative character arc, which is the corruption arc. So thank you for hanging out with me and I will see you then. And before you go, don't forget to download your free copy of First Draft Confidence so that you can plan and draft your novel without the guesswork.

Just go to https://www.writeitscared.co/novelplanningguide or check the link in the show note. 

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 [00:24:00] 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.