“Story arc” is a literary term for a narrative plot or subplot that includes a setup, escalating conflict, and resolution. It is used in TV series, soap operas, and comic books. “Character arc” describes the change and growth of a character. Multiple story arcs can occur at the same time, and they are labeled as “plot A”, “plot B”, etc. in scripts. Story arcs in comics often span multiple issues and are later published as a collection.
“Story arc” is a literary term that refers to a narrative plot or subplot. It can encompass an entire story or simply form one element in a much longer narrative. Like any storyline, it will contain a setup, escalating conflict, and resolution of some sort. The phrase “story arc” is used extensively in scripting conferences and discussions of the resulting movies and TV shows. Story arcs are especially prevalent in ongoing serial dramas such as primetime TV series, soap operas, and comic books.
Plot is the basic structure of a story, including the events characters encounter and the challenges they face. Longer narratives may have numerous storylines following one after the other; in more complex stories, multiple storylines can occur at the same time. A single thread of a more complex narrative is sometimes called a story arc. The term originated in the United States in the late 1980s, originally used to discuss long-running primetime television dramas such as Hill Street Blues and Wiseguy. Both series featured large casts of characters and lengthy story arcs spanning multiple episodes.
A story arc, like any story arc, will take a character or group of characters through a dramatic situation. In its simplest form, this dramatic situation will establish some sort of conflict or challenge and then take the characters through increasingly difficult levels of that conflict, before finally resolving in a way that changes or educates the characters. This resolution may or may not affect other ongoing story arcs. The word “arch” itself refers to a curved geometric shape; a rainbow is an example of an arc. The shape is often used to suggest stories, with the higher end representing escalating conflict and the low points at either end suggesting setting and resolution.
A related term to “story arc” is “character arc.” This describes the change and growth that a particular character experiences over the course of one or more stories. A naïve character may become more worldly and savvy, for example, or a sinister character may change his mind. Even short stories like situation comedies can have multiple story or character arcs. A common example has the adult characters in a sitcom family involved in one story arc while the children participate in another.
In television series, several scriptwriters might work on multiple scripts at the same time. To facilitate communication, producers and writers often label different story arcs in the same script as “plot A”, “plot B”, and so on. Critics, fans, and entertainment journalists are familiar with these terms and sometimes use them in online critiques or discussions of popular shows. In modern American comics, story arcs often span multiple issues of a particular comic or comics; the entire arc is later published in book form as a collection.
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