Concept

Want and need

You might say: outer goal and inner goal, the lie the character believes, the ghost

The want is the outer goal she chases. The need is the truth that frees her from a lie she believes, often since an old wound.

What it does

Gives the arc a direction: the plot pushes her to choose the need over the want.

Ask

What lie does she believe, and what old wound made her believe it?

Trouble

The plot problem is solved, but she is the same person she was on page one.

Sources

1. K.M. Weiland, Creating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 3: Want vs. Need, sections “What Your Character Wants” and “What Your Character Needs”He needs the personalized antidote to his Lie.
2. K.M. Weiland, Creating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 4: Your Character’s Ghost, section “Your Character’s Ghost”What is your character’s ghost, and how does it affect his character arc?

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Want and need" (want-need) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/fiction-writing/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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