---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Changers are characters who alter in…"
description: "\"Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better or worse people..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg"
---

#  Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a…

![“Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better or worse people, but by the end of the story they are not the same personalities they were in the beginning. Their change, in its various stages, is called the…” quote by Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg)

> “Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better or worse people, but by the end of the story they are not the same personalities they were in the beginning. Their change, in its various stages, is called the story's emotional arc.”

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Characters transform through events, creating an emotional arc that defines the story’s progression.

**In simple terms:** Characters change; story evolves.

Key Takeaway

Craft arcs that show growth.

Themes

character development transformation story structure

Mood

analytical creative

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- screenwriting
- role‑playing
- personal growth

Key Concepts

emotional arc psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you show character change?
- What events trigger growth?

A Different Perspective

Change may feel forced without authentic motivation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/)

## Related quotes

> [“The changers. The movers. Those who stand behind civilization and push it forward. They do not seek to be accepted, even if their fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-b-watson/the-changers-the-movers-those-who-stand-behind-civilization-and-push/)

[M.B. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-b-watson/)

> [ ...\[Changers\] were a threat to identity, a challenge to the individualism even of those they were never likely to impersonate. It had nothing to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/changers-were-a-threat-to-identity-a-challenge-to-the-individualism/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Our world has always had two kinds of changers, the social changers and the money changers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/our-world-has-always-had-two-kinds-of-changers-the-social-changers/)

[Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/)

> [I am committed now to one thing: lyric sequences. I want the intensity of lyric, but the scope and arc of narrative. so, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-am-committed-now-to-one-thing-lyric-sequences-i-want-the-intensity/)

[Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/)

> [I think every woman character, every female character, has her own arc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katheryn-winnick/i-think-every-woman-character-every-female-character-has-her-own-arc/)

[Katheryn Winnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katheryn-winnick/)

> [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/)

[Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/)

> [We've got this arc of instability from North Africa to South Asia, and we have to pay close attention to it. And we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-ve-got-this-arc-of-instability-from-north-africa-to-south-asia-and/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [I suppose that, for me at least, the biggest difference betweenThe Gunslinger Born and the next two story arcs (The Long Road Home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/i-suppose-that-for-me-at-least-the-biggest-difference-betweenthe/)

[Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/)

> [When we are young, we spend much time and pains in filling our note-books with all definitions of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-are-young-we-spend-much-time-and-pains-in-filling-our-note/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Sanchez looked at me and we locked eyes a second too long. There was nothing I could do about it. The signal went out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/sanchez-looked-at-me-and-we-locked-eyes-a-second-too-long-there-was/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [When in doubt, the rule of threes is a rule that plays well with all of storytelling. When describing a thing? No more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/when-in-doubt-the-rule-of-threes-is-a-rule-that-plays-well-with-all/)

[Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/)

> [Joan of Arc should be played as a "pain in the ass" and how do I know she was a "pain in the ass"?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-clurman/joan-of-arc-should-be-played-as-a-pain-in-the-ass-and-how-do-i-know/)

[Harold Clurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-clurman/)

> [Because we grew up surrounded by big dramatic story arcs in books and movies, we think our lives are supposed to be filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/because-we-grew-up-surrounded-by-big-dramatic-story-arcs-in-books-and/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

> [Through the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/through-the-music-i-hope-to-give-it-an-arc-that-gives-it-a-greater/)

[Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/)

> [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/)

[Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/)

## More by Nancy Kress

> [Characterization is not divorced from plot, not a coat of paint you slap on after the structure of events is already built. Rather characterization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/characterization-is-not-divorced-from-plot-not-a-coat-of-paint-you/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [You must learn to be three people at once: writer, character, and reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/you-must-learn-to-be-three-people-at-once-writer-character-and-reader/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [Some writers find that they don't know their themes until they've finished the first draft (I am one). They then rewrite with an eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/some-writers-find-that-they-don-t-know-their-themes-until-they-ve/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [Religious reverence for one's own job, even if the job is worth doing, is a sexual turnoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/religious-reverence-for-one-s-own-job-even-if-the-job-is-worth-doing/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [What characters do must grow out of who they are, and who they are is, in turn, influenced by what you make happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/what-characters-do-must-grow-out-of-who-they-are-and-who-they-are-is/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [In commercial fiction especially, everything in the story usually contributes directly to the plot The shorter the story, the truer this is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/in-commercial-fiction-especially-everything-in-the-story-usually/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [ “…Boredom \[is\] a moral failing, the mark of a mind insufficiently stocked to occupy itself.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/boredom-is-a-moral-failing-the-mark-of-a-mind-insufficiently-stocked/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [Every paragraph should accomplish two goals: advance the story, and develop your characters as complex human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/every-paragraph-should-accomplish-two-goals-advance-the-story-and/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [You think intelligence and grit can succeed by themselves, but I'm telling you that's a pretty illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/you-think-intelligence-and-grit-can-succeed-by-themselves-but-i-m/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [There are two wrong reactions to a rejection slip: deciding it's a final judgment on your story and/or talent, and deciding it's no judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/there-are-two-wrong-reactions-to-a-rejection-slip-deciding-it-s-a/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [“Miri once told me that there were only four important ques­tions you could ask about any human being: How does he fill up his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/miri-once-told-me-that-there-were-only-four-important-ques-tions-you/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [Anything said in upper-crust British automatically sounded intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/anything-said-in-upper-crust-british-automatically-sounded-intelligent/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [“Things got said, the kinds of embarrassing things that don't go away. Tempers ran high. My paternal grandfather's teak desk required a new panel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/things-got-said-the-kinds-of-embarrassing-things-that-don-t-go-away/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [“The strings in her mind grew flatter, calmer. The shapes in the hologrid had changed. She heard the man's words, and yet she didn't;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/the-strings-in-her-mind-grew-flatter-calmer-the-shapes-in-the/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

> [Fiction is about stuff that's screwed up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/fiction-is-about-stuff-that-s-screwed-up/)

[Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

[Explore all 19 Nancy Kress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/)

## More Arcs quotes

> [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/)

[Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/)

> [Through the music I hope to give it an arc that gives it a greater sense of a journey through the set rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gotye/through-the-music-i-hope-to-give-it-an-arc-that-gives-it-a-greater/)

[Gotye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gotye/)

> [Because we grew up surrounded by big dramatic story arcs in books and movies, we think our lives are supposed to be filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/because-we-grew-up-surrounded-by-big-dramatic-story-arcs-in-books-and/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

> [Joan of Arc should be played as a "pain in the ass" and how do I know she was a "pain in the ass"?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-clurman/joan-of-arc-should-be-played-as-a-pain-in-the-ass-and-how-do-i-know/)

[Harold Clurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-clurman/)

> [When in doubt, the rule of threes is a rule that plays well with all of storytelling. When describing a thing? No more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-wendig/when-in-doubt-the-rule-of-threes-is-a-rule-that-plays-well-with-all/)

[Chuck Wendig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-wendig/)

> [Sanchez looked at me and we locked eyes a second too long. There was nothing I could do about it. The signal went out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/sanchez-looked-at-me-and-we-locked-eyes-a-second-too-long-there-was/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [When we are young, we spend much time and pains in filling our note-books with all definitions of Religion, Love, Poetry, Politics, Art, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-are-young-we-spend-much-time-and-pains-in-filling-our-note/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [I suppose that, for me at least, the biggest difference betweenThe Gunslinger Born and the next two story arcs (The Long Road Home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/i-suppose-that-for-me-at-least-the-biggest-difference-betweenthe/)

[Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/)

> [We've got this arc of instability from North Africa to South Asia, and we have to pay close attention to it. And we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-ve-got-this-arc-of-instability-from-north-africa-to-south-asia-and/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/)

[Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/)

> [I think every woman character, every female character, has her own arc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katheryn-winnick/i-think-every-woman-character-every-female-character-has-her-own-arc/)

[Katheryn Winnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katheryn-winnick/)

> [I am committed now to one thing: lyric sequences. I want the intensity of lyric, but the scope and arc of narrative. so, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/i-am-committed-now-to-one-thing-lyric-sequences-i-want-the-intensity/)

[Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/)

> [We must move forward in the days ahead with audacious faith. The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-move-forward-in-the-days-ahead-with-audacious-faith-the-moral/)

[Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/)

> [Most games follow a real railroad plot, no matter what you want, you're following their storyline to its unavoidable conclusion. I'd like to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/most-games-follow-a-real-railroad-plot-no-matter-what-you-want-you-re/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [Arc, amplitude, and curvature sustain a similar relation to each other as time, motion, and velocity, or as volume, mass, and density.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/arc-amplitude-and-curvature-sustain-a-similar-relation-to-each-other/)

[Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/)

Browse all 250 Arcs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn something or grow into better or worse people, but by the end of the story they are not the same personalities they were in the beginning. Their change, in its various stages, is called the story's emotional arc.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nancy Kress"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-significant-ways-as-a-result-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arcs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-significant-ways-as-a-result-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/nancy-kress-28200_arcs_changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-sig_1161520.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Changers are characters who alter in significant ways as a result of the events of your story. They learn…” — Nancy Kress",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Nancy Kress",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Changers are characters who alter in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-significant-ways-as-a-result-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/changers-are-characters-who-alter-in-significant-ways-as-a-result-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
