How to Write Different Character Arcs for the Same Character (Part 2 of 2)

One of the most exciting challenges in storytelling is writing characters who grow over time—not just within a single story, but across several. Whether you’re working on a series or revisiting a familiar protagonist in a new standalone, the question inevitably arises: How do you create different character arcs for the same character without repeating yourself? How do you honor what’s come before while still offering readers something new? In many ways, this is where character development becomes the most rewarding—when you’re not just building a compelling arc, but an evolving journey.

Last month, we did a bit of exploring about how to vary your character arcs by using the Enneagram system to identify different internal conflicts for characters with different personality types. We also talked about how pairing Enneagram insights with the archetypal Life Cycle can generate arcs that are not only distinct but also deeply resonant. However, as I mentioned last week in the first installment in this two-part series, the more I sat with that discussion, the more I realized there was another layer we hadn’t fully uncovered: what happens when you’re writing different character arcs for the same character?

The reader question that originally inspired these discussions (about how to use the Enneagram’s nine types to avoid repetitive Lies the Character Believes) sparked a larger reflection, not just on personality theory, but on long-term character development. If you’re writing a series or revisiting a character across multiple stories, you’ve likely asked yourself: How do I keep this arc feeling fresh? What else can this character learn, face, or become? The challenge isn’t just variety for its own sake. Rather, it’s about honoring the integrity of your characters while continuing to push their evolution in meaningful ways.

Last week, I offered six progressive systems you can use to help you chart long-term serial character arcs. This week, I want to dig into some general principles for approaching a character’s journey as an unfolding process that stretches beyond a single arc.

In This Article:

How to Write Different Character Arcs for the Same Character: Write Different Themes

Let’s start by exploring the two different approaches you might find yourself in when writing multiple books. The first is the possibility that you are writing totally different character arcs for each new story. This might be because you’re writing an entirely new cast of characters and don’t want to repeat yourself; or it could be because you’re writing an episodic series in which you want to explore new plots and arcs in each installment.

In either case, the simplest rule of thumb when wanting to write different character arcs for the same character is to focus on exploring different external aspects. Basically: write a different plot. A relatively good example of this is the MCU, which featured dozens of stories set in the same story world. The series often succeeded in creating varied character arcs by offering varied or unexpected plots.

>>Click here to read The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel

For Example:

Tony Stark’s themes of escapist irresponsibility created very different themes from Peter Parker’s mistakes of teenage naivety.

Here are a few more tools you can use to help you accomplish this variation.

1. Robert McKee’s Thematic Square

Plot is tied to character arc which is tied to theme. The Thematic Square is a storytelling tool created by Robert McKee in his book Story that helps writers explore theme from multiple angles by identifying not only the central value (e.g., love) and its opposite (e.g., hate), but also a contrary value (e.g., indifference) and its negation (e.g., self-hatred). In a single story, this can help you create layered moral complexity and richer character conflict. However, by exploring a different quadrant of the square in different stories, you can visit various thematic neighborhoods within the same world from story to story.

2. Explore Different Archetypal Roles (Beyond the Life Cycle)

In addition to the continuity of the archetypal Life Cycle (which I mentioned last week and which you can read more about in my book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs), you can also focus on other ancillary archetypes. For example, exploring how your protagonist manifests the Trickster aspects of persoanlity in one story, the Rebel in another, and the Caregiver in still another can create opportunities for wildly different character arcs. Here’s a quick list of possibilities:

• The Trickster – Brings chaos, humor, and unexpected change, often disrupting the status quo.
• The Ally – Supports others through trials as a loyal companion.
• The Shapeshifter – Changes form or allegiance, often creating doubt and intrigue.
• The Innocent – Seeks happiness and safety, often symbolizing purity or naiveté.
• The Orphan – Craves belonging and connection after experiencing loss or abandonment.
• The Rebel – Challenges norms and fights against injustice or oppression.
• The Sage – Pursues truth and knowledge, often as a detached observer.
• The Creator – Builds, innovates, or brings visions into reality.
• The Caregiver – Protects and nurtures others, often sacrificing personal needs.

3. Explore Different Backstory Ghosts

Finally, as you seek to generate new and different character arcs throughout your series, remember that the catalyst for any character arc is the character’s backstory Ghost (sometimes called the wound). To explore different character arcs for the same character, look at different catalyzing events in your character’s past. This is a common (although often overdone) approach for TV series. When they finish one story arc and need to pursue a fresh angle, they will often reveal new and unexpected events in the characters’ pasts that link them to new conflicts.

For Example:

After wrapping up its initial storyline and associated character arcs in Season 5, Supernatural extended its run by introducing new backstory elements, notably the main characters’ reaction to secrets in their family’s past, including the fact that their mother had been a Hunter before meeting their father.

How to Deeply Develop a Single Theme: Listen to Your Characters

What if you’re writing a series with an overarching plot that goes deep with a thematically cohesive character arc for your protagonist? In that case, how can you keep each story’s exploration of this overarching theme fresh and interesting, while also advancing the bigger arc?

The first thing to remember is that, in any story or series of stories, the thematic Truth a character learns (and therefore the successive Lies the Character Believes that must be overcome) exists along an ever-evolving spectrum. Therefore, even though the character may learn some version of an “ultimate” Truth by the story’s end, that Truth will be built of many smaller realizations and epiphanies along the way.

To progress that thematic throughline in a way that feels both realistic and also deep and nuanced, the most important trick is simply to listen to your characters. Really, this means listen to yourself. Listen to your own deep, innate knowing of how personal change occurs and what questions, roadblocks, sacrifices, and triumphs are likely to feel resonant along the way.

Here are a few tips and tricks for deepening your theme from book to book in a series.

1. Explore Different Inner Facets

In any dramatic personal change (and therefore in any dramatic character arc) many different facets of the person will be affected. Depending on the length of your series, you have the opportunity to go deep with many different ways your characters are affected by the changes they are undergoing. For example, in one story you might explore how the change impacts the protagonist’s relationships, while in another you might explore how it impacts the protagonist’s experience of hope versus despair, while still another might delve into issues of ongoing personal integrity in the face of the changes the character is confronting.

2. Change Up the Supporting Cast

One of the easiest ways to open new opportunities for exploring different facets of your characters is to change up the supporting cast. The thematic elements that arise from your protagonist’s interaction with a parent will be very different from the thematic elements that arise from your protagonist’s interaction with a love interest or frenemy. The only caution here is to make sure that in changing up the cast dynamics, you are not shortchanging the screentime of any key relationships that may, in fact, be the primary reason readers are there in the first place.

3. Explore Consequences From Previous Books

The juiciest part of any series is its unparalleled ability to go deep with its own consequences. If you’re uncertain how your character’s arc might be different in a subsequent book, start by asking yourself:

• What’s changed?
• What did the characters do or have done to them in the previous book that has consequences?
• How did the conclusion of the character arc in the previous book change how the character views the world or him/herself?

Start pulling threads and exploring what new thematic avenues may now be open to you.

For Example:

The BBC show Poldark was particularly good at this from season to season. Its protagonist, Ross Poldark, rarely made a decision that didn’t have unforeseen but still realistic consequences. One example is his secret purchase of his cousin’s widow’s shares in his then-worthless mine, in order to gift her with needed money. When that mine later became profitable, he was accused by his nemesis of underhanded dealings in “stealing” from her.

4. Emphasize Different Emotions

Finally, one of the easiest ways to tap into new and different character arcs for the same character is to explore different emotions. If anger predominated in one book, then perhaps joy or love may be the focus of another. If confidence and self-realization showed up in one book, then despair or disillusionment may follow. Particularly, think about how the “positive” or “negative” charge of one emotional theme can arc into its opposite. For example, in a long series, a defeat may follow a victory may follow a defeat.

Obviously, no one book should focus exclusively on a single emotion. But you can go deep with one emotion as a way of shining its particular shade of color onto the larger stage of your story’s and series’ themes.

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Exploring different character arcs for the same character invites writers into some of the richest possibilities storytelling has to offer. It asks you to think deeply about the long-term consequences of change, how different parts of a character’s psyche can take center stage at different times, and how transformation itself evolves. Whether you’re crafting a series, revisiting an old character, or simply playing with the idea of continuity across your stories, this kind of narrative layering can open up new creative depths for both you and your readers.

In Summary

Writing different arcs for the same character requires more than just inventing new external conflicts. It demands an understanding of how transformation can unfold in complex, realistic, and meaningful ways across time. By focusing on how plot, character, and theme create and influence one another, you can gain deeper insights into how to naturally and resonantly evolve your character through multiple different character arcs.

Key Takeaways

• Different arcs for the same character are best built around new thematic focuses and inner conflicts, as well as new plots.
• Tools like the Thematic Square and archetypal roles (such as Trickster and Caregiver) can offer helpful variety and depth in mapping believable inner change.
• Long-term character growth feels most authentic when arcs build on each other through a deep understanding of personal transformation and thematic intent.
• Revisiting a character can offer opportunities to explore consequences from past books, new emotional outlooks, and different relationship dynamics.

Want More?

If you’re fascinated by the deeper structure behind character arcs—and especially how they connect to theme—check out my book Writing Your Story’s Theme. In it, I explore how character change is naturally intertwined with plot and theme. These “big three” naturally work together to create cohesive and resonant stories. Whether you’re writing standalone stories or weaving a multi-arc journey across a series, your characters’ emotional evolution is most impactful when it’s inextricably tied to the thematic heart of your story. Writing Your Story’s Theme offers a step-by-step approach to identifying, developing, and integrating theme at every stage of your story’s structure and your characters’ growth. It’s the perfect companion for writers who want their stories to resonate on every level. It’s available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook.

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! Have you ever written different character arcs for the same character across multiple stories? What challenges or discoveries did you encounter in keeping those arcs fresh and meaningful? Tell me in the comments!

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