Tablet Test: Murray And Penelope

some rough bentley sketches i’ve done in-between being Busy over the past two months :^)

Creating Compelling Character Arcs: A Guide for Fiction Writers

As writers, one of our most important jobs is to craft characters that feel fully realized and three-dimensional. Great characters aren't just names on a page — they're complex beings with arcs that take them on profound journeys of change and growth. A compelling character arc can make the difference between a forgettable story and one that sticks with readers long after they've turned the final page.

Today, I'm going to walk you through the art of crafting character arcs that are as rich and multi-layered as the people you encounter in real life. Whether you're a first-time novelist or a seasoned storyteller, this guide will give you the tools to create character journeys that are equal parts meaningful and unforgettable.

What Is a Character Arc?

Before we go any further, let's make sure we're all on the same page about what a character arc actually is. In the most basic sense, a character arc refers to the internal journey a character undergoes over the course of a story. It's the path they travel, the obstacles they face, and the ways in which their beliefs, mindsets, and core selves evolve through the events of the narrative.

A character arc isn't just about what happens to a character on the outside. Sure, external conflict and plot developments play a major role — but the real meat of a character arc lies in how those external forces shape the character's internal landscape. Do their ideals get shattered? Is their worldview permanently altered? Do they have to confront harsh truths about themselves in order to grow?

The most resonant character arcs dig deep into these universal human experiences of struggle, self-discovery, and change. They mirror the journeys we all go through in our own lives, making characters feel powerfully relatable even in the most imaginative settings.

The Anatomy of an Effective Character Arc

Now that we understand what character arcs are, how do we actually construct one that feels authentic and impactful? Let's break down the key components:

The Inciting Incident

Every great character arc begins with a spark — something that disrupts the status quo of the character's life and sets them on an unexpected path. This inciting incident can take countless forms, be it the death of a loved one, a sudden loss of power or status, an epic betrayal, or a long-held dream finally becoming attainable.

Whatever shape it takes, the inciting incident needs to really shake the character's foundations and push them in a direction they wouldn't have gone otherwise. It opens up new struggles, questions, and internal conflicts that they'll have to grapple with over the course of the story.

Lies They Believe

Tied closely to the inciting incident are the core lies or limiting beliefs that have been holding your character back. Perhaps they've internalized society's body image expectations and believe they're unlovable. Maybe they grew up in poverty and are convinced that they'll never be able to escape that cyclical struggle.

Whatever these lies are, they'll inform how your character reacts and responds to the inciting incident. Their ingrained perceptions about themselves and the world will directly color their choices and emotional journeys — and the more visceral and specific these lies feel, the more compelling opportunities for growth your character will have.

The Struggle

With the stage set by the inciting incident and their deeply-held lies exposed, your character will then have to navigate a profound inner struggle that stems from this setup. This is where the real meat of the character arc takes place as they encounter obstacles, crises of faith, moral dilemmas, and other pivotal moments that start to reshape their core sense of self.

Importantly, this struggle shouldn't be a straight line from Point A to Point B. Just like in real life, people tend to take a messy, non-linear path when it comes to overcoming their limiting mindsets. They'll make progress, backslide into old habits, gain new awareness, then repeat the cycle. Mirroring this meandering but ever-deepening evolution is what makes a character arc feel authentic and relatable.

Moments of Truth

As your character wrestles with their internal demons and existential questions, you'll want to include potent Moments of Truth that shake them to their core. These are the climactic instances where they're forced to finally confront the lies they believe head-on. It could be a painful conversation that shatters their perception of someone they trusted. Or perhaps they realize the fatal flaw in their own logic after hitting a point of no return.

These Moments of Truth pack a visceral punch that catalyzes profound realizations within your character. They're the litmus tests where your protagonist either rises to the occasion and starts radically changing their mindset — or they fail, downing further into delusion or avoiding the insights they need to undergo a full transformation.

The Resolution

After enduring the long, tangled journey of their character arc, your protagonist will ideally arrive at a resolution that feels deeply cathartic and well-earned. This is where all of their struggle pays off and we see them evolve into a fundamentally different version of themselves, leaving their old limiting beliefs behind.

A successfully crafted resolution in a character arc shouldn't just arrive out of nowhere — it should feel completely organic based on everything they've experienced over the course of their thematic journey. We should be able to look back and see how all of the challenges they surmounted ultimately reshaped their perspective and led them to this new awakening. And while not every character needs to find total fulfillment, for an arc to feel truly complete, there needs to be a definitive sense that their internal struggle has reached a meaningful culmination.

Tips for Crafting Resonant Character Arcs

I know that was a lot of ground to cover, so let's recap a few key pointers to keep in mind as you start mapping out your own character's trajectories:

Get Specific With Backstory

To build a robust character arc, a deep understanding of your protagonist's backstory and psychology is indispensable. What childhood wounds do they carry? What belief systems were instilled in them from a young age? The more thoroughly you flesh out their history and inner workings, the more natural their arc will feel.

Strive For Nuance

One of the biggest pitfalls to avoid with character arcs is resorting to oversimplified clichés or unrealistic "redemption" stories. People are endlessly complex — your character's evolution should reflect that intricate messiness and nuance to feel grounded. Embrace moral grays, contradictions, and partial awakenings that upend expectations.

Make the External Match the Internal

While a character arc hinges on interior experiences, it's also crucial that the external plot events actively play a role in driving this inner journey. The inciting incident, the obstacles they face, the climactic Moments of Truth — all of these exterior occurrences should serve as narrative engines that force your character to continually reckon with themselves.

Dig Into Your Own Experiences

Finally, the best way to instill true authenticity into your character arcs is to draw deeply from the personal transformations you've gone through yourself. We all carry with us the scars, growth, and shattered illusions of our real-life arcs — use that raw honesty as fertile soil to birth characters whose journeys will resonate on a soulful level.

Happy Writing!

http://misstalwyn.tumblr.com/post/74146663162/was-dwelling-on-honor-among-thieves-again-and

was dwelling on honor among thieves again and decided to list actual hard proof of Penelope’s badassery

went toe to toe with Sly once

on the wings of a plane iN THE AIR

set up an international flying competition just to wipe the skies with everyone

all of her RC vehicles have little flowers…

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #16

Spoiler alert: Penelope is not straight up evil in this fanfiction. I don't want to reveal her motive for "siding" with him until I finish Episode 0 of the story... That would be Chapters 1-6. In case you forgot, Episode 0 covers the Paris museum heist.

Lost Sly 3 scene: Aftermath of the LeFwee battle

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Here’s yet another “Behind the Scenes” comic.

Bentley and Penelope both come across as MAJORLY socially awkward dorks who don’t have much experience in the romance department. So I can imagine them going a wee bit overboard in the honeymoon phase just after they officially become an item (and annoying the hell out of their team mates in the process).

FUN FACT: My main reason for doing this comic was the desire to put Dimitri’s final line into a story (that part was the first thing I wrote; the rest of the comic was tailored around it). XD

Happy New Years

Congrats

You guys convinced me, Penelope is a good character.

Thieves In Time Redux: Paris Tutorial Progress

Here's how I've been dividing my time so far...

Intro Cutscene: %100 finished

Sly: %97 finished

Bentley: %47 finished

Penelope: %64 finished

Murray: %25 finished

Final (running into Carmelita): %35 finished

The hardest parts are overhauling Bentley's segment and writing an entirely new segment for Penelope.

I'm also pretty bad at writing action and fight scenes right now. Murray might have to wait a while.

And in hindsight, so will the part where our four heroes floor it into a time portal.

That means I'm roughly %61 done with the tutorial. Give or take a few points.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #17

Let's do a meme starring our very own Sly Cooper for a change... This happens during Episode 3, right after Carmelita comes back...

Sly does this after taking advice from Bentley to be more honest with Carmelita. He takes that advice. It backfires. Horribly.

Guess what? Penelope gets to see them fighting. Again. Another peek into that dark future. She does not want her relationship with Bentley to turn into whatever those two are doing. If you've been paying attention, she's just gone through her change of heart by now.

Our heroine then decides to keep her secret of betrayal... Kind of like what Sly tried to do with Carmelita... That's not going to blow up in her face at all!

Thieves In Time Redux: Full Story Previews

A few months back, I posted a few previews of my full Thieves In Time rewrite on DeviantArt. I thought I'd repost them here.

All of them are set during Episode 0. You know, the museum heist.

I can't wait to fully explore these relationships that Thieves In Time vanilla completely ruined...

Preview #1: Link

Preview #2: Link

Preview #3: Link

Preview #4: Link