Your MC wants something that is really hard to attain.
They do incredible things to attain this something and do impressive feats that can get them closer to attaining what they want
They either get it (hooray! a happy ending!) or they don't get it and everything is terrible (boo! a tragedy!) or they don't get it but they get something else they needed and that makes them not need what they wanted in the first place.
And, in attaining this something, they make strengthen their character and become different people (hopefully better!) along the way.
All stories are structured like this in some way. Sometimes, the main character desires a romance between a certain person. Other times, they want to have something else... money? Power? A position? Respect? To grow up? To become who they want to be? To be able to do something extraordinary? You get the picture. But they WANT something. And they are willing to sacrifice to get there. And that willingness to sacrifice to attain their goal changes them fundamentally so that they become a different person than the person they started out being.
Because that's what happens in life! You start off wanting to be respected because all you are is just a kid whom adults don't really care about. So you sacrifice and learn to be great and finally earn the respect of adults... BAM! You have a coming of age story! But like, that's such a common story because it happens to all of us with various successes.
Anyway, usually in stories which end happily, the characters become better people in the end because their sacrifices reorient them in such a way that they see the value in suffering and realize that it was all worth it. And, in doing so, they become the masters over suffering. No matter how much they suffered, they were able to rise above the suffering and accomplish something extraordinary. And that is something that is really powerful. It's that age old story where you look at hell and say, "Not for me!" and you arise to heaven, so to say.
...anyway, that's my rant.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
I've got some character psychology that I want some opinions on:
So, in one of the stories I've been writing, there is one character who has been brought up in a highly abusive environment. He is basically the slave to his father figure/employer, who has instilled this notion in him that he's only worth something if he can make himself useful. This causes him to retreat from society and bury himself in his work, isolating himself as he tries to win the approval of his father/employer. Later in the story, he meets the MC, who is on a mission to figure out what happened to his mother. To help the MC, this character gathers evidence and information for him, which the MC repays by becoming his friend and filling the gap he'd been trying so hard to close all his life. However, this character still thinks the MC only cares about him because he's useful, and doubles down on his bad habits, overworking himself to the point of collapse. The MC finds him and, with the help of other characters throughout the story, eventually gets him to realize that his worth doesn't come from how much he can get done.
I guess my main question for all of you is; is this realistic? Also, if you have any ideas or pointers for me, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
It sounds okay! Just one thing... does the MC extract this character from this toxic father figure and free them? Because that seems like the natural climax for his particular character arc.
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
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