The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Quantum Weavings: Sculpting Characters and Playing within the Mythical Templates Fires
Greetings to all SFF Astro Glossators of SFF novels. Welcome to this informative character development PLOTTR blog, a safe haven for Opera Realms and sketchy knights of the Authorial hood. The upcoming mixology of writing fantasy characters is based on using templates offered within PLOTTR software to build dragon-scaled warriors, hardened outlaw pirates of the Gamma bands, serious witches, troll catchers, or any such character you want that will become a favorite to the reader.
See my previous blog The Algorithm of Character Development for the foundation elements of your character role, development types, and many examples of the 12 well-known Archetypes. In this shorter but more PLOTTR-based blog, we will see the blossom of template heaven as it spirals out of control in its grand ability to help you author your characters to the Nth degree.
When you plot within the magic realm of PLOTTR software, like the bottomless pit King Leonidas throws the Persian messengers into, the endless resources of design, support vast building templates to round out your character’s internal and external depths.
In this blog, we will discuss the Character Arc template. This framework is used to evaluate how your character changes throughout the narrative. Reverse engineering a popular character of Robert Langdon, the academic/to adventurer character in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code we will see how this template can be helpful.
The Da Vinci Code
The template has 5 sections of 1) First Impressions, 2) Goal, 3) Aha! Moment, 4) Action, and
5) Transformation. The idea of this template is to consider your character’s ARC. You can do this through the reader’s eye or consider the character through the author’s eye.
For example, First Impressions as a reader – Robert Langdon is a Harvard scholar. He is likable, good-hearted, smart, and studies symbols and religion. He is not a survivalist and shows fear regarding the death of his friend Saunière as he plainly wants to deter from being arrested by the French police.
First Impressions as an author – Robert Langdon is a Reluctant Hero. This is an academic adventure story. He is changing from a reluctant observer caught in the middle of a dilemma to a person who takes the initiative to complete a quest given to him by fate. He has a lack of faith believing in Catholicism and uses his genius and knowledge of religion to unravel the puzzle of the Holy Grail.
You can see where the two separate views can contribute to the ARC.
You can check out another example of my reverse-engineered character arc of Aibileen Clark, one of the three main protagonists, from The Help by Kathryn Stockett in my YouTube video
A multitude of templates are provided endless user-created templates to explore that enable you as the writer to encapsulate your character’s development. A couple of well-known templates I’ve explored in YouTube training tutorials are:
- Goal, Motivation, Conflict Template on Aibileen Clark from The Help by Kathryn Stocket
- Clifton’s Strength Profile Questionnaire for Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, Skeeter Phelan from The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Marcel Proust Questionnaire of Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving
When used alone these Templates provide a lot of insight into the character but may limit the exact characteristics you are trying to discover with your MC. PLOTTR allows you to use one or all of the templates beneath the character-revealing additional traits or flaws or chinks in the armor that make your character as real in the novel as he/she/they/it might be in life.
Behold the cosmic dance of storytelling! These instances illuminate how templates become the launching pads for character evolution, granting wordsmiths the power to mold vibrant heroes, complete with their own warp-speed growth trajectories.
I suggest you find your copy of PLOTTR or watch a few of my YouTube videos to stare into the bottomless pit of creativity and reach toward the unseen. You might just find a software tool worth sharing with all your writing friends.
Don’t forget to sign up for more video tutorials and a comprehensive training e-course I’ll be offering soon.
About JLNichAuthor: humble scribe of science and fantasy fractal compositions.
I’m here to blog my truths of a bubbling brew of promise and toil, creating knowledge beneath the cover of the writer’s platform. Through the use of software tools such as PLOTTR, SRIVENER, and PROWRITING AID, I show the know-how. Many examples will creep into my blog. An occasional enchantment will befall you as you begin to understand the fizz and pop of ideas. Follow me on social media, or my new and growing YouTube channel, and buy the subscription to use PLOTTR. I’ve done my homework and it’s a solid application. I highly recommend it and may get a small commission if you use my link to buy it. Consider it your epic writing quest for the next 30 days of the trial. Epic quests are 60% stubbornness, 30% courage, 8% having a handy wand in your back pocket, and 2% passing the secret formula for the win: win. “Get PLOTTR” <she whispered>.
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JLNich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
