Hi fellow writers!
I've been writing off and on for a long time but haven't completed anything except short stories. I recently finished the STC writes a novel and wow! It is so helpful. The one thing that I'm having trouble with is a story that I've had in my head for years and I want to get it down into a novel. What's the problem? It is a tragedy. Does that change anything? It would ultimately be a corruption arc with a possible book 2 or 3 being a redemption arc for this character. I started writing out the beats for the book and it turned into a trilogy with each book having it's own beat sheet and a few characters in each book having their own beat sheets as well. This corruption character is giving me the most problems though.
Help!
Hi, @Parvo! It sounds like you're on the right track! Having a corruption arc that leads to redemption probably isn't a huge issue if you have a good set of beats in each novel, and these correspond to one overall beat sheet for the trilogy. Lots of films do this... heck, just look at Empire Strikes Back! It doesn't end on a "happily ever after" note at all. The important thing is to give the reader a sense of transformation in some way during each novel, one that lets them know there is progress with the character(s). Without knowing too much about the individual details of the characters, it's hard to give specific advice. But of course, sometimes tales are "comeuppance" tales where the main character gets what he or she deserves, and this causes the change in their life. Maybe that's what is happening with your story. Save the Cat! does offer beat sheet consultations that can help you go deeper if you're struggling and need more guidance. Sometimes it's great to have a second set of eyes and a person to bounce ideas off of. Good luck!