When it comes to the art of storytelling, many people try to create new plots that are original, with sometimes mixed results. However, many story creators take already existing emotional arcs, and build a story around these bare bone ideas. This is because these arcs are relatable or inspire an emotional reaction in people, and make these arcs more desirable.
There are six different types of common emotional arcs that can be found in both books and films. The first of these is the rags to riches, which is a constant rise in the narrative, that comes out to a happy ending. The main character starts at a low point, and the narrative rises as the main characters fortunes do, reaching the peak by the end of the story and staying there. The 'riches' don't have to be actual money or physical fortunes, but can instead be a mental riches, and could be emotions like happiness or similar feelings.
The second type of emotional arc is the riches to rags story. This type of arc starts at it's high point, a person at the top of the world, and because there is nowhere to go but down, it starts to fall apart for the main character. This fall could be gradual, a small series of events, and the effects aren't noticeable until it is do late to change and make things right. The other idea is that the fall is sudden, either with a huge event or a series of bigger events, and the main character is left reeling from what has happened as they are as low as they can get.
The third type of arc is the man in a hole arc. The man in the hole starts normal enough, staying on a neutral level like someone going through their everyday tasks, and then things take a negative turn. Something negative happens to disrupt the flow of normality, and there is a fall in the narrative to follow the disruption, and we stay there for a while. Then something happens to lift the main character out of this narrative pit, either an event or a person, and this normality is returned with maybe slight changes.
The fourth type of arc is the Icarus story arc. Named after the story of the same name, this arc follows the rise and fall actions in the narrative, mostly due to a hubris from the main character. The narrative starts at a stable point, most likely a low point, before a solution is found and the narrative spikes toward the peak. However, the narrative never reaches that peak, as something goes horribly wrong, and the narrative plunges back to it's low point.
The fifth type of arc is the Cinderella story arc. Also named after the story that made this arc popular, this starts at it's lowest point, the character still holding hope that things will get better. Then, an event happens that can give the main character that chance, and through intervention of some sort, they attend this event. This is one of two high points, this one followed by a low point as the main character gets in trouble for what they've done, only to rise again as the main character finds a way to get their happy ending.
The last of the arc structures is the Oedipus story arc. This story arc starts with a low point for the main character, most likely caused by a plot point involving the character, until a sign comes to the main character. This causes the main character to go on a journey or quest, and their triumph is the high point, when suddenly something goes wrong and the story plunges back into the low point.
These story arc ideas work because they invoke relatable emotions on the audience or reader. This makes it easier to get invested in the characters and world they live in, and when they fail of succeed, we can feel the emotions of the moment. These make these stories more desirable, and as a result, more successful.
After learning about these different types of emotional story arcs, I started to realize that many of the stories I had watched or read had these arcs as their base, and that even if you realize these are the bases for the stories they can be enjoyed with a different take. You can use the same plot points as other films, and still have it feel different and new, if the execution is unique enough to draw people in. The reason why people like these stories is very understandable, and with this in mind, I will try and create stories with similar narrative structures.
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