Characters are the beating heart of a story, with the protagonist as the most vital component of that organ. Here are a collection of posts we've written about protagonists and antagonists.   One Method of Creating Characters in Fiction Pat Stoltey Friday, April 23, 2010 I once heard mystery author Diane Mott Davidson speak at a convention. She said her fictional victims were often based on annoying people she met in real life. [ Read more ]   Busted!—Janet Fitch caught championing an unlikable protagonist Kathryn Craft Friday, April 1, 2011 Unlikeable protagonists are commonplace these days. Why? Maybe writers took the advice that their characters should be flawed and ran away with it. Or maybe, with so many of the educated middle class out of work, losing their homes, or in over their heads in credit card debt, we writers are looking for a new kind of hero. Some...

Scene from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), starring James Stewart & Lionel Barrymore I’ve been writing half of my new novel from the antagonist’s point of view, and two uncomfortable but important thoughts crouch in the back of my mind as I write his part of the story: 1) He doesn’t know he’s the bad guy. 2) I don’t always know when I’m the bad guy. In real life, nobody knows when they’re Mr. Potter, because everybody wants to believe they’re George Bailey . (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please find the classic Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life and watch it.) My antagonist knows he makes mistakes, but he believes that’s because he’s only human. In many ways that’s true, although this guy does such bad stuff that massive rationalizations are required for him to chalk it all up to being “only human.” Rationalizing our behavior is what we all do when we make choices we’re sure will benefit us but either aren’t sure, or hav...

Yes, it's fun to root for the good guy, but even more intriguing if the bad guy isn't all that bad. How often do you read a book or watch a movie, and feel sorry for the bad guy? The answer could be more often than not. Evil happens for a reason. Sometimes the why is apparent, sometimes you need to dig for a motive. One reason might be how a person is brought up by parents or lack of parents. An early in life tragedy, a recent one, or a combination of factors might play a part in changing a person's character. Even ultra-sensitivity to a perceived slight might be all it takes. Whatever the case, a writer needs to weave the motive(s) into the story line, so the reader will understand why a crime is committed. In Two Wrongs , my perma-free book for kindle and other ereaders, being accused and sentenced for a murder he didn't commit is powerful enough motive for my antagonist, Kevin, to cross over to the dark side once he's freed from prison. If I wove the ...

Loves stories are primarily about two characters who meet, are attracted, face a set of challenges, and overcome those challenges to live happily ever after. They have friends who are thrilled for them and foes who are not so thrilled. Do you really need an antagonist? Yes, if you want the tension to be truly heightened. Do you really need an evil lord or a psychotic killer to keep them apart?  No, there are alternatives. If someone in your lovers’ story world is dead set on keeping them apart and actively working against them, the potential for breakup conflict is higher. Your job as a romance writer is to instill doubt in the reader that your love interests will end up together. Here are a few types of antagonists to consider: 1) Disapproving parent/s or family members. 2) Disapproving best friend who rejects the new partner’s “otherness”, or resents the fact that his/her friend is now too busy to spend time with him/her, or the lover is changing to p...

You embark on a new story story idea, but the plot does not involve an evil lord, an opposing army, or a big scary monster to serve as an antagonist. You worry that you shall have to plug one in because structure calls for it. Here’s the good news: You don’t necessarily have to.  Certain genres do have certain requirements: A Thriller has a looming threat to someone or the entire planet. There must be someone who is opposed to the protagonist removing that threat. A Horror story must have some sort of horrible thing that threatens one or many. Encounters with this entity are essential. A Murder Mystery must have a killer. However, the mystery formula is a sleuth dismissing suspects until the finds the correct suspect. It is not typically Moriarty versus Sherlock. A Romance must have people opposed to the lovers’ relationship. So how do you provide obstacles without a big, bad villain? The answer is by layering conflict. There are four types of resis...

About a month ago, I came across the following quote online by screenwriter, comedian, film producer, and comic book writer John Rogers: You don't really understand an antagonist until you understand why he's a protagonist in his own version of the world. I found the quote intriguing. Not to say we discard antagonists, but often in writing, especially in that developmental stage of a story where we're trying to get the bones of it down, we think about our main character, the protagonist. We write an elaborate backstory for this "good guy" or "gal" and flesh the character out into a living, breathing person complete with yearning and laden with obstacles and burdens. Speaking of obstacles, when we get to the stage where we ask what obstacles or conflicts meet our protagonist, this is where we typically start to think of our antagonist(s). We know that our main character (MC) has wants and needs, and we know there must be things and people to preven...

We have come up with ten basic ideas for all four layers of conflict. You may find you need to add more scenes to fill in the gaps in the story. You may change your mind about elements of the plot. The point is to have a series of prompts that keeps you working through your rough draft. You can tweak and enrich the draft during the revision layers. Things will come to you as you write that you didn’t think of before. Your characters will come alive and may change the trajectory of your story. That’s expected. What’s important is to avoid getting stuck in the muddy middle. Let’s layer the forty scene ideas we've developed in the most logical order. Internal Conflict 1 : Dick and Sally make plans to go on a long-awaited vacation. He gets a call. External Conflict 1 : Dick learns a meteor will strike.  Antagonist Conflict 1 : Ted learns there is a meteor headed toward earth. Finally, the world can be destroyed and he doesn’t have to lift a finger. All he has to do is sit b...

Antagonist Conflict scenes introduce us to the antagonist or antagonistic forces. This is your verbal camera focused on stage right. These scenes test the protagonist’s and antagonist’s knowledge, ingenuity, and strength. They are battles of will and wit. These scenes zero in on the conflict between the two opposing characters. Other characters may be present, but the focus is on the direct confrontation between the antagonist and protagonist or the antagonist himself. If you follow only the protagonist’s POV, these scenes are where the lead alien and the hero face off, the serial killer taunts the investigator, the brothers fight over the woman, the scientists clash over the best way to thwart the meteor, or the knight and the infidel cross swords. If the verbal camera follows the antagonist, or these scenes are written from his point of view, they show him actively pursuing his goal, reveal his personal dilemma, and expose his character flaw and secret weapon. They sho...