Inspire Change in Your Characters and Your Audience Without Preaching

Theme and change are big parts of my own writing. I want to entertain people, but I also want to make them think, see things in a new way, maybe even change their lives, as pompous as that may sound. Lots of writers have this goal, but so many of us make the mistake of coming off as preachy and heavy handed instead of subtle yet forceful. To that end, I'm reading Dr. Linda Seger's book "Advanced Screenwriting" and came across some insightful advice regarding character arc and inspiring your audience. The following advice is a quote from author Thom Hartmann:

"People change not by taking something away from them, but by giving them an additional tool. Since the Self is a collection of all that we are, people resist if [they feel] something is being taken away. For instance, if someone fights at every opportunity, for them giving up fighting means giving up part of themselves. But if the person is told that fighting, in some circumstances, can be a good thing, they might be more receptive to picking up the skills of negotiation."

Dr. Seger goes on to say that audiences identify with a character subjectively and objectively. Subjectively, we live with the characters in the moment, experiencing what they experience, through their eyes while we watch the film. After the film, once we reflect on what we have seen, we are now looking at the film and character's actions/journey through an objective lens, "remembering scenes, reflecting on character actions and seeing their arc as being similar to our personal arcs.
They see the choices and the consequences of those choices, thereby giving your audience new tools through which they may affect their own inner transformations".

If you're just being preachy, i.e. not giving the characters and consequently the audience choices to change, you're not giving them the new tools to affect change. "You model new behavior through your characters, and the audience members can, through them, acquire the know how to make change, if they so desire."