Thread by @julianalbrandt

Should we talk about a craft thing today, #pitchwars? Perhaps about your protagonist's central misbelief?

This is one of my favorite things to consider when writing, and learning about it has transformed my writing.

I won't put this whole thread under the #pitchwars hashtag, so if you want to follow along, open this tweet!

This will all be on misbelief and how it connects with character arc, plot, and theme <3

A character's misbelief can also be known as their "flaw" or their "inner issue" or their "incorrect personal theme", but they all boil down to the same thing.

Let me back up: when I first started writing, I heard about character "flaws" all the time, so I made lists. My character was pessimistic, angry, annoying, defensive...any number of "negative" things.

Truly though, all this is is a list of character traits, none of which are actually "bad", unless the context they're viewed is negative (and whoo boy do you have to be careful with what traits you label as negative!).

An example of a "negative" trait: I can be stubborn (my partner will lol when he reads this). Sure, stubbornness can be a "bad" thing, but it's also at the root of why I know how to write. My stubbornness has carried me through many a difficult times.

There are any number of "flaws" I have that *could* be terrible things, if looked at in a certain light, but I'm thankful for all of them. I wouldn't want to do away with any, because they're why I'm me.

The same goes for your protagonist.

Your character's "flaws" and "negative" traits are only negative if they're posed as such. Otherwise, they're just traits!

Let's fast forward:

Now, instead of thinking of the MC as having a central "flaw" they must overcome, I prefer the term "misbelief"

Misbelief = a skewed belief of your MC's that they have about themselves or about the world, one that was formed at some point during their life.

This misbelief is what will guide your character's arc through the story, and their arc is what will guide which scenes you choose to include in plot.

Your plot must force your MC to confront their misbelief again and again, forming cracks in it that deepen and eventually shatter, giving away to who your MC truly is meant to be.

It's a beautiful and addicting thing to watch happen over the course of a story.

This means that while plot goals can change throughout a story, their arc doesn't--plot will bash against that same misbelief, until it transforms.

This means that while plot goals can change throughout a story, their arc doesn't--plot will bash against that same misbelief until it transforms.

I also like the term "incorrect personal theme" to describe misbelief, because it helps us remember to align misbelief with overarching story theme. It helps us remember that at the end of the story, that "incorrect personal theme" will turn into your MC's true "personal theme".

So, instead of thinking of your MC's need to get over their "flaw" (I'll keep my stubbornness, thank you very much), think of it like this:

What central inner issue must your protag overcome to be able to complete their story-journey and reach their plot goal?

And...that's it for now!

Someone smarter than me could connect this more deeply to theme, or talk about when and how "misbeliefs" form.

I need to go write!

I was remiss this morning not to include the link to my Plotting Overview Doc Thing (fancy technical name). I go over misbelief in it and how it aligns & connects with plot. It's a pretty easy read! #pitchwars docs.google.com/document/d/1aA…

Huh, apparently I didn’t link this right.

The rest of the thread is here:

https://twitter.com/julianalbrandt/status/1030859213449375745?s=21