How to Write Fiction With Emotional Impact — The 6 Emotional Arcs

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Emotional Arcs Write Fiction with emotional impact

I want to write fiction with emotional impact, so that the reader feels the sweep of emotions from the beginning to the end of the whole story. What are emotional arcs, and how do I use them to plot a story and character transformation?

There are 6 Emotional Arcs:

Rise - like “Rocky”
Fall - like “Romeo & Juliet”
Fall-Rise - like “Die Hard”
Rise-Fall - like “Icarus”
Rise-Fall-Rise - like “Cinderella”
Fall-Rise-Fall - like “Oedipus”

Let’s review The 6 Emotional Arcs, then apply them by working out The Emotional Arc of Your Story and The Emotional Arcs of Your Scenes.

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The 6 Emotional Arcs

These are the 6 emotional arcs (proposed by Kurt Vonnegut and even scientifically investigated in a 2016 study by the Computational Story Lab at the University of Vermont, where the researchers analyzed the emotional impact of more than 1,000 stories).

RISE

This is a “rags to riches” story, where the emotion starts at a low point (things are not good) and rises to a triumphant finish. In the first “Rocky” movie, Rocky begins at a low point, and at the end, though not a complete victory, his emotion is at a high — it’s an emotional triumph.

Your reader should feel ... that there is an upward sweep of emotions throughout the story.
That doesn't mean that everything is easy for your protagonist. There are obstacles to overcome, but the reader should feel that the protagonist is improving their position.
In the "Context" part of the story (the setup, before the catalyst), the protagonist should be at a low point, or stuck in a rut, or some other negative emotion, and the "Catalyst" (inciting incident) should set the protagonist on the upward trajectory.
The big change could come with a built-in issue: in the "Rocky" example, the issue is that the great opportunity (to fight the boxing champion Apollo Creed) is most likely a challenge that is too great for Rocky and he may be humiliated, made to look the fool.

FALL

The story starts at an emotional high and ends at the low point where all is lost. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” the story begins with the emotional high of Romeo and Juliet meeting and falling in love and ends at the low point when they die.

Your reader should feel ... that there is an undercurrent of possible tragedy throughout the story.
That doesn't mean that everything is a constant downward fall. There are happy moments, euphoria, what appears to be a happy outcome, only to end in the tragedy that feels inevitable in the end.
In the "Context" part of the story (the setup, before the catalyst), the protagonist is looking for their bliss, and then in the "Catalyst" (inciting incident) it appears they have achieved their bliss.
But the bliss comes with the seed of the fall, the (in retrospect) inevitable doom: in the "Romeo and Juliet" example, the two lovers meet (bliss), but since they are from rival families, their eventual doom is there from the beginning.

FALL-RISE

Someone gets in trouble and digs their way out.

The movie “Die Hard” fits this pattern.

Your reader should feel ... that the ground is knocked out from under and be in suspense about how the protagonist will get out of this mess.
In the "Context" part of the story (the setup, before the catalyst), the protagonist should be at a high point. The "Catalyst" (inciting incident) is what knocks the protagonist off their feet. Now they need to dig their way out.
As the protagonist tries to work their way out, the reader should feel a general upward sweep towards a triumph that is hoped for but hard to imagine (given how low the protagonist is knocked down)
There could be an initial victory, followed by the protagonist being knocked further down, but little by little, the protagonist starts turning things around, and this part of the arc starts to feel like the "Rocky" story (because it is a pure "Rise").

RISE-FALL

Think of the legend of Icarus who flew too close to the sun and then fell to earth.

Your reader should feel ... an initial positive sweep of emotion, but with an undercurrent that this may be too good to be true, and/or that the protagonist is too cocky, too proud, too reckless, so that something will go wrong — until the bad turn happens, and the bottom drops out.
The "Catalyst" (inciting incident) is a very positive development for the protagonist, and things get better and better, almost suspiciously so. It can't be this easy, can it?
... and sure enough, there is a turn for the worse, ideally set up by some flaw in the protagonist's character and/or a major mistake in their approach.
After this turn for the worse, there is a downward sweep of emotions, as the protagonist tries to right the ship, but can't. This part will feel very similar to the "Romeo & Juliet" story (because it is a pure "Fall").

RISE-FALL-RISE

This is the pattern of Cinderella who rises from a poor girl mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters to meeting the prince at the ball, then falls back into the same negative situation after the ball, then is found and rescued by the prince at the end (another “rise”).

Your reader should feel ... that this is a roller coaster of emotions, going from a low point to triumph, then a bad turn and what seems like it may turn into a tragedy, with another major turn that leads to eventual triumph.
In the "Context" part of the story (the setup, before the catalyst), the protagonist should be at a low point. The "Catalyst" (inciting incident) is what starts the initial rise.
But the reader should feel that there is a seed of doom in this rise, so that when the bad turn happens, in retrospect the reader senses that it was inevitable.
At this point, the story becomes very similar to the "Die Hard" emotional arc, because we root for the protagonist to dig their way back out of the bad situation they now (once again) find themselves in.
The fall should leave the reader feeling that the protagonist is now even worse off than where they started and in suspense, hoping that it's not a "Rise-Fall" (Icarus) story, because they also sense that the protagonist has it in them to come back.
Then, when the protagonist rises to the challenge and is able to dig out and rise again, the reader should feel that in some way the eventual triumph is even sweeter and more satisfying with a deeper emotional resonance than if the protagonist had not gone through the fall.
This second "rise" may be part of a character transformation where the character gets what they really need instead of what they thought they wanted (in the initial "rise")

FALL-RISE-FALL

The story of Oedipus fits this pattern: an infant prince is left on a mountainside (“fall”) and found by poor shepherds, he rises to become the king, but then tragedy (“fall”) leaves him a blind wanderer.

Your reader should feel ... that they are rooting for the protagonist, but that there is an undercurrent of doom.
In the "Context" part of the story (the setup, before the catalyst), the protagonist should be at a high point. The "Catalyst" (inciting incident) knocks the protagonist off their feet. Now they need to dig their way out (just like in the "Die Hard" Fall-Rise emotional arc).
However, there is a seed of the eventual fall present either from the beginning ("Context") or built into the "Catalyst" or the character's initial response to the inciting incident. The reader should be able to look back and say "if only" the character had approached things differently, they may have been victorious.
Just like in the "Rise-Fall" arc of Icarus, the reader should feel that the rags-to-riches "Rise" is somehow too good to be true. Perhaps the reader is aware of the fatal flaw and helplessly watch the protagonist hurtle off the cliff. Or perhaps the reader is swept up in the "Rise" alongside the protagonist, ignoring the warning signs, until they are just as shocked as the protagonist when things take a bad turn.

WHICH EMOTIONAL ARC IS THE "BEST" ONE?

One way to answer this is: "Whichever one is right for your story."

But there is actually a scientific answer, although you may not instinctively agree with it. In fact, I don't agree, but here it is for your consideration.

Remember that study where scientists analyzed the emotional resonance of over 1,000 stories?

Here's what they found. Three emotional arcs appear to have the greatest emotional resonance with readers:

FALL-RISE - the "Die Hard" emotional arc. This one absolutely makes sense to me. There is a built in suspense where we root for the protagonist. We have seen the protagonist at a high point to begin with, so we feel positive towards them. We want them to get back on their feet again.
RISE-FALL - the "Icarus" emotional arc. This is a little harder for me to agree with, just because I instinctively feel that we want triumph, positive outcomes, and this one ends on a downbeat. However, I can see that we all have a tendency to enjoy "Schadenfreude", seeing someone who is too big for their britches be brought down. So, maybe.
FALL-RISE-FALL - the "Oedipus" emotional arc. I really struggle with this one. After seeing someone rise after a fall, now we watch them crash down again. It's as if after John McClane was victorious in "Die Hard", in the next scene, he falls off the skyscraper. It just doesn't feel like this would be one of the top three emotionally resonant stories. So, I doubt it.

I would have expected the RISE-FALL-RISE (Cinderella) emotional arc to be either #1 or #2 alongside the FALL-RISE (Die Hard) emotional arc. Then I can see RISE-FALL (Icarus) as #3 beating out either of the simple RISE (Rocky) and FALL (Romeo and Juliet), with FALL-RISE-FALL ("Oedipus") coming in dead last in my book.

But I can't claim to have studied the emotional resonance of over 1,000 stories, so ... agree to disagree.

The Emotional Arc of Your Story

Which of the six patterns above best fits your story?

Think of your story, either the one that you’re in the middle of writing or the one that you’re thinking about and trying to develop from just an idea.

IN-PROGRESS STORY

Let’s take the example first of a story that you’re in the middle of writing.

Is everything going smoothly? Do you feel like the story is taking shape by its own? Then, decide which of these six emotional arcs is most aligned with your story and do a quick checkup to make sure that you’re following this basic story-shape. Make minor adjustments if you think it needs some tuning.

Are you’re feeling stuck? Is the story meandering, “mushy”, or you just don’t know what’s going to happen next?

First, do you know whether this story is headed for an overall outcome? Is it an upbeat (happy) ending? In that case you’re looking at one of the three flavors that ends with “rise”:

RISE - like Rocky where you start low and end on an emotional triumph.
FALL-RISE - like Die Hard, where your characters start in a good place, then fall into a hole, then dig back up.
RISE-FALL-RISE - like Cinderella, where you’re going to first have what appears to be a success (a rise, like Rocky), but then a fall into what looks like it might be an insurmountable tragedy (like Romeo and Juliet), followed by a final rise to a happy ending.

If on the other hand, you are writing a story that you feel will end in a bleak way, a tragedy, a downbeat ending, then you would look at the three emotional arcs that end in a “fall” — the FALL (Romeo & Juliet), the RISE-FALL (Icarus), or the FALL-RISE-FALL (Oedipus) emotional arcs.

As you take a look at your story and diagnose why you are feeling stuck, you may find that you will have an insight, and one of these story forms will click and feel right.

NEW STORY

You are just beginning to develop an idea — based on a concept, an image, a character, or a theme/topic you want to delve into — or any other way you get ideas.

As with the example above, it may be helpful to start with the end in mind. Do you want an upbeat (Rise) ending or a downbeat, bleak, tragic (Fall) ending?

Even if this story feels like it should end in a upbeat way (and even if that’s always the way you write your stories), what would happen if it ended on a downbeat “fall”? Could it be a richer, deeper story?

You can always add an upbeat “epilogue” as in the movie “Titanic” which has a tragic ending both for the ship itself and most of the passengers as well as for Jack who dies to save Rose, but where there is ultimately the upbeat epilogue where Jack and Rose reunite after death.

With that end in mind, which of the 6 Emotional Arcs feels right?

If you’re not sure, try out two or three options, until one clicks and feels right for the story.

The Emotional Arcs of Your Scenes

There are two aspects to the emotional arc as it relates the scenes in your story: the scene’s place within the overall emotional arc of the story, and the emotional arc of the scene itself.

THE SCENE WITHIN THE STORY’S EMOTIONAL ARC

Let’s say you are writing a scene — or if you’re an “Outliner” you may not be writing it yet, just planning and outlining, designing the scene before you write it. Where does the current scene fit within the story’s emotional arc?

For example, let’s pretend you’re writing a modern-day adaptation of the familiar Cinderella fairy tale. You’re working on the scene after the ball or the scene at the ball when Cinderella has to run away from the Prince because at the stroke of midnight all the magic will be gone. She loses her glass slipper, the chariot turns back into a pumpkin, the footmen and horses become mice, and she ends up back in the same bad situation she was before.

This scene, on its own, is a “Fall” story, like a Romeo and Juliet. Cinderella started at a high, having met the Prince just like Romeo and Juliet meeting. And this scene ends at a downbeat, a mini-tragedy. If this was the entire story, it would fit the pattern of the Romeo and Juliet story.

Now think about the emotional arc of your story, and where the key scenes fit within this overall emotional arc.

If you' are writing a Rise-Fall-Rise story (not Cinderella, but your own story), then for the “Fall” scene, you want the reader to feel this emotional downbeat in that scene. Emotionally, you want the reader to feel that “all is lost” just like at the end of Romeo and Juliet, before the story picks back up with the “Rise” in the final act.

THE SCENE’S EMOTIONAL ARC

Now, let’s zoom in on the scene.

Each scene is a mini-story, with a beginning, middle, and end. This means that the scene can have its own emotional arc.

Can you see a pattern from beginning to end of the scene. What should the reader feel as they read the scene? What is the emotional arc within the scene?

Let’s say you are writing that modern day adaptation of the Cinderella fairy tale. Take a scene that is part of the first “Rise” where Cinderella gets to go to the ball. You can make this scene a “Fall-Rise” Emotional Arc, like “Die Hard”, for example by the Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters imprisoning Cinderella to prevent her from going (“Fall”), but she digs her way out of the hole (with some help from friendly mice and birds) and triumphs as the Fairy Godmother does her magic and Cinderella gets to go to the ball (“Rise”).

Think about putting together your whole story as an overall Story Emotional Arc, stringing together scenes that each have their own Scene Emotional Arc.

When you do, you will write with emotional impact, and your reader will feel the sweep of emotions from the beginning to the end of the whole story.

Resources

MY FAVORITE ALL-PURPOSE RESOURCE

The Writer's Treasure Chest - everything in one place, curated, organized

REFERENCE SOURCES

One Stop for Writers - online versions of multiple thesauruses that will help you flesh out the ups and downs of your story's emotional arc, including thesauruses for: emotions, emotion amplifiers, emotional wounds, negative traits, positive traits, conflicts, themes and symbols.
Writers Helping Writers - by the same team that brought you "One Stop for Writers" - these are the book form versions of the same tools, if you prefer a physical book (or e-book) instead of a website. I personally have and use both, since sometimes I want to just sit down in a recliner and leaf through a book, mulling, while other times, I just want to point, click, search and explore on a website.

Your emotional arcs play out in your story. So, as you write the story, here are some articles that will be helpful:

FREE COURSE, GUIDE AND WORKBOOK

Do you want to write fiction faster, while practicing your craft and your writing process to consistently get better? Check out this link to the "Write Fiction Faster ... and better" guide and workbook, which comes with a companion course with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.

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