Character Arc Quandary

[Finchbearer]

So as it happens I have gone through my first draft with a fine tooth comb, but of course there are more nits than I anticipated…

One decision I’d like some input on is where two main characters are concerned; two friends who both gain magical ability as they come of age.

The question I have is, should they both have innate ability, or recently I have pondered whether I should make it so that one of the characters gains magical ability through external means?

To try and keep it simple, here is an overview of their general arcs:

Character 1: (female) peasant, who wishes for a better life, is envious of noble life, finds that she has innate magical ability, is sent to a ‘hall of learning’ to learn to wield her powers, still finds that she cannot truly overcome her peasant upbringing, unwittingly ends up climbing the social ladder anyway, but she is generally passive in this process despite her efforts to change her fate. She finds that moving in nobles social circles is not all roses after all. Her arc is that of eventually overcoming passiveness and taking more control over her life finding more autonomy and balance.

Character 2: (female) noble born, restricted by her status, stifled, rejects the idea of marriage, wants to escape noble life in favour of something else, finds out she too has innate magical ability, but her frequent rebellion and impulsive nature means she takes risks, much to the dismay of her friend (who is described above). She’s bold and wild hopefully making for compelling reading, and I wanted these two friends to juxtapose one another, to essentially be opposites.

However… do I make it so that character #2 does not in fact have innate magical ability, but rather tries something that will hopefully allow her to avoid being married off and living the stifled life of a noblewoman, and unwittingly ends up with a kind of magic that is not innate?

I think this could give her an extra complexity and offer even more juxtaposition to her friend. It would also mean that I’d have to alter some of the plot, but the plot would actually allow for this change in many ways. It would also be that no one would know that her magic is not in fact innate, well, except the reader.

Apologies for rambling, but any input would be appreciated.

 

[pmmg]

Contrast is stronger than comparison.

Having obtained it a different way would be more additive, I would think. My sense is its the more interesting path....Unless, it totally messes up some hard magic system to do it.

For me, I find the Nits are endless.

 

[skip.knox]

The contrast does not *have* to be in their magic, or even in how they acquire or recognize it. The contrast can be in their characters. One is cautious, the other reckless. One envies the high life, the other despises it (plenty of room for nuance there). One wishes to stay, the other to go. All that.

Along the way, you can look for ways in which the magic each wields illustrates, amplifies, or is driven by these character traits. I'm being very general here because the descriptions provided are rather general. But I do try to start with character first, and look for ways in which the powers reflect or are conditioned by character.

As to the specific question, one aspect I can see is in pacing. Character Peasant has her powers from the get-go. If you have Character Noble need to go through training, that leaves the first sort of standing around waiting for the other to catch up. There are ways to handle that, of course, but it would need handling. At which point, one has to ask what are the benefits of that approach and do they outweigh the drawbacks.

 

[JBCrowson]

A few scattered thoughts, hope these help (or at least make sense)...

I think whether or not it would work depends primarily on the magic system you are using in your world.

When you think of the 2nd person acquiring magic, how do you envisage that. Will it be through an artefact (could be as diverse as a wand, a picture a la Dorian Gray, amulet) or a ritual / single moment event. What if someone removes the object / reverses the event?

The issue with being able to acquire magic is it makes it possible for anyone to wield magic, which potentially leads to the magic for washing up situation where it is so common it is mundane and means very little to anyone.

Will there be different limits on their magical abilities?

Will the revelation to her friend that her magic is not innate be a reveal that would damage their friendship (ie you lied to me all this time)?

With two people who are totally contrasting, you run the risk of "how can they still be friends?" since friends typically have some character traits / philosophy / shared interest / background / goal in common.

 

[pmmg]

Gonna add, the way this is presented makes me think back to Star Wars and Metachlorians causing the Force, which was a huge mistake for them to bring up (I thought). Right away, I was asking things like....so, suppose a jedi donated blood to another, would they not gain metachlorians and become force capable? And if that were possible, would not everyone want metachlorian blood? And would that not cause huge conflicts over just the supply of that?

Which is to say, adding strange ways, can cause things to spiral in a bad way. So I too, have to ask what is the other method...

But, I would not consider this a show stopper. I'd just have to believe it enough to buy it.

I dont know what ultimately became of the metachlorian aspect of it (and don't want to know), but I do believe the explained it away as theory and not necessarily actual.

 

[Finchbearer]

Got some things to think on now, thanks all so far.

 

[ThinkerX]

Have it so that Character 2 obtains her power 'from elsewhere' - but that power comes with a price. She sees images out of the corner of her eyes. She hears a faint but distinct voice that seems puzzled, helpful, and demanding. And then, of course, is the change in diet...

 

[Finchbearer]

So far I have it that much of the story is character driven, although with character #1, events sort of carry her along, rather than she directly influence the course of things, but there would be no plot if there weren’t the characters. What I don’t want is cardboard cutouts that the plot could beat along without. So what you said Skip about the magic being influenced by the characters - I would say that is much the case, and is an important factor in how the magic is played out within the storyline.

The setting, however is fairly low fantasy overall, and much of it comes across as historical. I’ve *tried* to blend historical mysticism with real magic, and have created many moments where ritual and belief is integral to a society that otherwise has nothing else to rely on.

The magic that character #2 is able to wield is uncommon, strange and unpredictable right from the get go, and her decisions and behaviour influences how her magic is used and played out, so having it that she possibly acquired it from external means (most likely a homebrewed ritual based on something she heard) means that this *could* be quite easily inserted into the storyline without having to change major plot beats.

The only thing I am also considering is making it a continuous question (for the reader) as to whether the magic she has is in fact innate, or whether it was acquired from the ritual she performed in desperation. A sacrificial element is already present in the form of blood letting in this world.

Innate magic is really the only magic in the world, and it is increasingly uncommon, which gives me the restriction to work with. This is due to magic being ‘state controlled’ but of course you have outlaws who practice ‘forbidden magic’.

 

[Prince of Spires]

As Skip mentions, different magic isn't the only way to contrast two characters. The contrast might even be stronger if they start with the same magic but have completely different approaches to and ideas about their magic. Also, I would argue that in stories with magic in them, the story is rarely about the magic. Lord of the Rings has plenty of magic in there, and it drives the plot in some ways. However, the story really is about an average guy standing up for what is good in the world and sacrificing himself to save the world.

Which doesn't mean they can't have different magic of course, just that it's not necessary.

One thing I would say is to dig as deep as possible. What are the consequences of different magics? Not just on the surface level like what the characters can and can't do. But also things like how does the society view the different kinds? How do they react to it emotionally? What are the different costs? and so on. Dig deep.

I would say that changing something like this might be fundamental and change a lot in the story. It might also not be of course. But in my experience, if I change small but important things at the start of the story, I need a lot of very big revisions at the end.

 

[Finchbearer]

Yes, it might be that one small change snowballs and fundamentally changes the whole rest of the plot.

 

[Mad Swede]

You've got two different but possibly interlinked story arcs for each character here. For each character one stary arc is about how they deal with their roles and social stations in life. The other arc is about how each of them come to terms with their magical abilities. To me, how you link the story arcs and how you resolve them depends on your setting and the way you have built society and social norms in that setting. One question which arises, which has an impact on the story arcs, and where the answer might depend on the setting is how these two became friends when they have such different backgrounds?

 

[Finchbearer]

One question which arises, which has an impact on the story arcs, and where the answer might depend on the setting is how these two became friends when they have such different backgrounds?

I’m sure this is a rhetorical question, but it’s as simple and living close by. Character #1 is a peasant farmer who works character #2’s father’s land. They are intrigued by each other’s lives and form a sort of forbidden friendship. My perspective is that friendships can form across social boundaries. However there are things that can occur in any friendship such as jealousies, resentment and a lot of unsaid ‘stuff’.

 

[The Dark One]

What if character 2 steals something or secretly betrays character 1 to acquire magic?

Character 1 doesn't know about it but character 2 is consumed with guilt. Could lead to some excellent tension and conflict.

 

[Penpilot]

I suggest thinking deeply about what type of story you're trying to tell. What are the themes? What are the lessons you want to impart by comparing the two? If you think about these things, depending on what you decide, the paths that create the best story will be more obvious.

 

[Finchbearer]

There are themes, but no lessons. There aren’t any lessons to be learned from ASOIAF for example, or none that I can think of. Because it’s an intended series with multiple POV characters, it’s harder to define one path, as there are multiple paths so to speak.

 

[Qaraq1001]

I think your instinct to make the noble born character have to do something to gain magic fits right into your class structure for the two characters. I love that the peasant is passive but magic is innate to her, forcing her to be more active with her life. And I like the possible tension that the noble, who is born with so many things, is devoid of magic. Maybe resentful of her friend at first, or feeling unfairly treated with her entitlement. The noble may have to do something unethical to gain her power, uses her wealth to buy into something, maybe that has a dark side. Or if the peasant is forced to become more active, maybe the noble is forced into more humility, having to join an order and start at the bottom. Just some thoughts, but again I think your instinct is right on to differentiate their ability and take advantage of their different class backgrounds.

 

[Diana Silver]

Agreed with replies above: the difference makes the whole sound more intriguing. Having the two characters go through the same process of discovering their magic sounds a little simple, a bit on the nose. With them having different paths to the magic, it feels there will be more meaningful contrasts (and similarities) to explore.

 

[Finchbearer]

I think your instinct to make the noble born character have to do something to gain magic fits right into your class structure for the two characters. I love that the peasant is passive but magic is innate to her, forcing her to be more active with her life. And I like the possible tension that the noble, who is born with so many things, is devoid of magic. Maybe resentful of her friend at first, or feeling unfairly treated with her entitlement. The noble may have to do something unethical to gain her power, uses her wealth to buy into something, maybe that has a dark side. Or if the peasant is forced to become more active, maybe the noble is forced into more humility, having to join an order and start at the bottom. Just some thoughts, but again I think your instinct is right on to differentiate their ability and take advantage of their different class backgrounds.

Your perspective is interesting, and there are elements such as making the conscious decision for a low-born character to be thrust into a world of magic and learning. They do contrast each other in many ways which has given me opportunities to capitalise on this dynamic. You’ve given me some good for thought insofar as honing in on the noble born character encountering more humility, perhaps giving the peasant born character more of an active role in places.

 

[Finchbearer]

Agreed with replies above: the difference makes the whole sound more intriguing. Having the two characters go through the same process of discovering their magic sounds a little simple, a bit on the nose. With them having different paths to the magic, it feels there will be more meaningful contrasts (and similarities) to explore.

Yep, the ‘on the nose’ comment decides it for me, and deep down this was what my gut was telling me.

 

[Finchbearer]

Woe, this is my first attempt at a fantasy novel so will probably end up in the bin. I really don’t want it to!