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12-53 Protagonist-Antagonist

Savannah Gilbo

How to Craft Compelling Characters

An In-Depth Guide for Writers

Savanna Gilbo

 

I’m going to show you how to craft the perfect dynamic between your protagonist and antagonist so you can write a story that engages readers until the very end

Here’s where we’re going

1.   How to craft your antagonist

2.   How to craft your protagonist

3.   Case study: The Hunger Games

4.   Case Study: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

5.   Case Study: Ender’s Game

6.   Q&A

 

Stories are built on conflict. The conflict between your protagonist and antagonist is what builds your entire story

Without it, your story will fall flat

 

The conflict between your protagonist and antagonist helps you:

-      Create an exciting plot that holds the reader’s attention and keeps them turning pages

-      Force your protagonist to grow and change, and become a new version of themselves

-      Express a theme that will leave a lasting impression on readers for all time

 

How to Develop a Compelling Antagonist

 

What Makes an Antagonist?

Your story’s antagonist is the obstacle between your protagonist and their

goal

Their primary function in your story is to create conflict that will eventually

force your character to grow and change

They do not have to be bad or evil, nor do they have to be human – ot all depends on the type of story you’re telling

 

Who is Your Antagonist?

Which character creates the main plot problem or central conflict?

Which character (or thing) will your protagonist have to face in the climax?

Which character can help me best express my story’s theme?

Once you know who your antagonist is, you can ask five questions to flesh them out

 

#1. What Does Your Antagonist Want?

Your antagonist will be defined by what he or she wants. Without a goal, they have no reason to get in your protagonist’s way. Consider:

-      What does your antagonist want before the story starts on page one

-      What does you protagonist want once your protagonist comes into the picture

Either way, both goals must be specific

 

Its very possible that both your protagonist and antagonist will begin the story knowing nothing about each other

But they will still be obstructing each other, from the very beginning, in ways they won’t understand until a little later in the story

When the characters (and the reader) look back on your story, they should be able to see the main antagonist was in play from the very beginning, in one way or another

 

#2. Why Does Your Antagonist Want This?

Your antagonist’s motivations can make or break the story. They’re that important

Ask questions like:

-      What outcome are they trying to avoid?

-      How do they justify their beliefs and actions?

-      What kind of change do they want to see?

 

In many cases, your antagonist’s motivation will come from their backstory, so spend some time digging into their past if you need to!

If your antagonist’s motivations are weak, unconvincing, or over-complicated, then your story will feel the same way

This is also what causes stories to break down or some plots fail to work – weak goals and motivations for the antagonist

 

#3. What is Your Antagonist’s Plan for Getting What They Want?

Once you know what your antagonist wants, think about how they will go about getting it

How will their actions start to interfere with your protagonist’s life and their goals?

This creates a situation where two people are pitted against each other, and this is what helps your plot evolve organically

 

This is how conflict works in real life!

The person who instigates the conflict (your antagonist) does not plan their actions around the other person (your protagonist)

Rather, the reactive person (which in the beginning of the story is almost always the protagonist) is bombarded by events beyond their control

From there, they struggle against the antagonist force to bring their life back to some kind of balance

 

If you normally plan your story’s conflict by deciding what you want your protagonist to do, and then deciding what your antagonist should do, you’re plotting your cause and effect from scene to scene in the wrong order

Not only is this likely to create a less than solid plot, it’s also going to make your job in plotting your novel so much harder

 

#4. What’s at Stake for Your Antagonist?

Stakes are what motivates characters into action. In most cases, what motivates your protagonist will also be at stake for your antagonist.

-      In an action story, one person can survive – the protagonist or the antagonist

-      In a mystery, the criminal risks being exposed and brought to justice

-      In a romance, the protagonist and antagonist stand to lose or gaon love

 

#5. What is the thematic significance for your antagonist?

Your antagonist is a great vehicle for expressing your theme because they drive the external conflict in a story

The external conflict in your story is a visual metaphor for the protagonist’s inner conflict

Because of that, your antagonist and the conflict they create must directly tie to your theme

 

Recap: Coming up with specific answers to these five questions will help you develop a compelling antagonist

1.   What does your antagonist want?

2.   Why do they want this?

3.   What is your antagonist’s plan for getting this?

4.   What’s at stake if they succeed or fail?

5.   What is the antagonist’s thematic significance?

 

How to Develop a Compelling Protagonist

 

What makes a protagonist?

A protagonist is a character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader, and who is opposed by the antagonist.

They are the person who make the key decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions, whether good or bad

They often learn a lesson throughout the story

 

Who is Your Protagonist?

-      Which character has the most at stake?

-      Which character has to deal with the main plot problem?

-      Which character can help me best express my story’s theme?

Once you know who your protagonist is, you can ask five questions to flesh them out

 

#1. What Does Your Protagonist Want?

A character who wants something bad enough is going to pursue it – which is what will help you create your story’s plot

-      What does your protagonist want before the start of the story or before readers meet them on page one?

-      What will become their goal after the inciting incident kicks the plot into gear?

 

Your protagonist’s main story goal is content genre dependent. For example:

-      The action protagonist’s goal will be to save the victim and stop the antagonist

-      The mystery detective’s goal will be to bring the criminal to justice

-      The romance protagonist will want to be worthy of love and avoid rejection

 

Once you know your character’s over-arching story goal, you can come up with smaller goals that they’ll need to accomplish in order to achieve their main story goal

The smaller goals will become your protagonist’s scene goals

Example: The protagonist’s story goal is to defeat the monster and survive

A smaller scene goal is to learn about one of the monster’s weaknesses

 

#2. Why Does Your Protagonist Want This?

Strong character motivations are important because they help readers relate to your protagonist

They’re also what gives your protagonist agency, and makes them take action toward a specific desired outcome

Motivation can usually be expressed in a sentence like: “My protagonist wants (specific goal) because …”

 

Ask questions like:

Why is your protagonist willing to endure hardship and chaos to get what they want?

What kind of change do they want to see?

What outcome are they worried about?

Without a strong motivation, your character’s behavior won’t make sense, and your story won’t feel authentic.

 

 

#3. What’s Your Protagonist’s Plan?

Once you know what your protagonist’s wants, and what’s motivating them, consider how they will start taking action towards achieving their goal.

Your protagonist needs to be the one making decisions and driving things forward. This will help you create your story’s plot.

Coincidental circumstances can’t just happen to your protagonist because that will not add up to a cohesive narrative. Your story will feel random.

 

#4. What’s at Stake for Your Protagonist?

What do they stand to lose if they fail, or what will they gain if they are successful? You can look to your content genre for clues here, too

-      The action protagonist can lose or save lives (including their own)

-      The mystery protagonist can bring about justice or be part of injustice

-      The romance protagonist can give and receive love, or withhold it

 

As your character pursues their specific story goal, they’ll have to make choices and initiate action to move forward

Each one of these choices or actions should come with something at stake, otherwise it will be hard for you to:

-      Show readers who your protagonist is

-      Force your character to grow and change

-      Keep readers interested in the story

 

#5. What Conflict Will Your Protagonist Face?

If your protagonist could automatically achieve their story goal, you’d have nothing to write about and your story would be pretty boring

Not only that, but a protagonist that faces zero conflict is unlikely to change – and that’s a big factor in what readers want to see: change.

There are two types of conflict to consider:

-      External conflict

-      Internal conflict

 

External conflict comes from outside a character. It’s the who or what that’s standing in the protagonist’s way in the outside world

-      In an action or horror story, there’s an antagonist that’s up to no good, taking agency away from others

-      If you’re writing a thriller or crime story, this external conflict would come from the killer or the criminal

-      If you’re writing a romance, this would be your protagonist’s eventual love interest

 

Inner conflict comes from inside a character. It’s whatever they bring to the story both emotionally and intellectually

-      Your protagonist will need to face and overcome this internal conflict in order to succeed in achieving their goal

Look to your protagonist’s backstory to find their inner conflict. Ask questions like:

-      What is their greatest fear? Why?

-      What do they think will bring them happiness?

-      What worldview will they need to let go of?

 

The inner conflict your protagonist faces is directly ties to your story’s theme

If you only flesh out your protagonist, then it’s likely that the external conflict they face will only be indirectly related to your theme (if it’s related to your theme at all)

The result will be a disjointed story that doesn’t seem to add up to anything – a story without a point

 

The heart of your theme will always be nestled between the comparisons and contrasts of your protagonist and antagonist

The more similarities there are between your protagonist and antagonist:

-      The more opportunities you’ll have to explore and develop your theme

-      The more they will present and prove your story’s message or theme for readers

 

Recap: Coming up with specific answers to these questions will help you develop a compelling protagonist

1.   What does your protagonist want?

2.   Why do they want this

3.   What is your protagonist’s plan for getting it?

4.   What’s at stake if they succeed or fail?

5.   What external or internal conflict will get in their way as they pursue this?

 

Example: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

1. What does Katniss want?

- At the beginning, Katniss wants to keep her family fed and safe

- After volunteering to take Prim’s place in the hunger games, Katniss wants to survive

What does President Snow want?

-      At the beginning, Snow wants to maintain control over Panem

-      After he sees the effect Katniss has on the people (and the hope she inspires),  Snow does not want her to survive the Hunger Games

 

2. Why does Katniss want this?

-      Katniss is motivated by survival, and by the need to protect her mom and sister. But also, she does not like how the Capital controls the districts through violence and fear. She’s not one to back down from a threat.

Why dies Snow want this?

-      Katniss represents hope and rebellion, and if she wins the Hunger Games, the people of Panem could rise up against President Snow and

Ruin what he’s worked for. He must kill Katniss to prevent this.

 

3. What’s Ketniss’s Plan?

-      Katniss will train before entering the arena, and once inside, she will follow her mentor’s advice. She will go straight for the bow, and hide until the initial killing is over. Later, she develops a plan with Rue to destroy the Career tribute’s supplied

What’s Snow’s Plan?

-      Snow will use the game makers to destroy Katniss inside the arena. The longer she survives, the more creative and ruthless he has to be to defeat her. He sends in attacks directed at Katniss, changes the rules of the game, etc.

 

4. What’s at Stake for Katniss

-       If Katniss doesn’t find a way to win the Hunger Games, she will die. And, if she dies, her family back in District 12 will be even worse off then they already are

What’s at Stake for Snow?

-      If Snow does not kill Katniss in the arena, she will become an inspiration to the people of Panem, and a rebellion is likely. He will probably lose control of Panem, and die

 

5. What Conflict Does Katniss Face?

-      External: Snow. There are 23 other tributes trying to kill Katniss, and     arena is literally designed  to kill her

Internal: She doesn’t want to kill people or become a symbol of change – she just wants to survive and go home

 

What is Snow’s Thematic Significance?

-      Snow is the face behind the message of oppression, and he controls people through violence and fear. His actions push Katniss to become a symbol for change and rebellion by the end of the story.

 

Example: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

1. What does Harry Want?

-      At the beginning, Harry just wants to survive the summer holidays until Dudley goes off to school

-      After Harry learns about the Sorcerer’s Stone, he just wants to keep it safe (and away from Voldemort)

What does Voldemort Want?

-      At the beginning, Voldemort wants to acquire the Sorcerer’s Stone

-      After Harry gets in his way, Voldemort wants to put an end to Harry once and for all

 

2. Why does Harry Want This?

-      Harry wants to prevent Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer’s Stone (and ultimately coming back to full power) so that he can keep Hogwarts and his new friends safe

Why does Voldemort Want This?

-      Voldemort want the Sorcerer’s Stone so he can come back to full life and power. He doesn’t want to die. He wants to live on and shape the world according to his vision

 

3. What’s Harry’s Plan?

-      Harry needs to track down information. What’s in the package? What does Nicolas Flame have to do with anything? What is the Sorcerer’s Stone? Once he knows, he will do whatever it takes to keep the Stone safe – including face Voldemort alone

What is Voldemort’s Plan?

-      Voldemort will use Professor Quirrell to help him find and acquire the Sorcerer’s Stone. When Harry meddles, Voldemort instructs Quirrell to get rid of Harry, even if it means killing him

 

5. What Conflict Does Harry Face?

-      External: Voldemort. Harry lacks knowledge of the Wizarding World. Snape and Malfoy hate him, and pick on him constantly

-      Internal: Harry doesn’t believe he’s special or capable of greatness like his reputation states

What is His Thematic Significance?

Harry must rise to the occasion and embrace his destiny as “The Boy Who Lived” in order to defeat Voldemort. When Voldemort offers Harry a chance to reunite with his parents, he must sacrifice to help others. Only someone like Harry would be capable of doing so.

 

Example: “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card

 

1. What does Ender Want?

-      At the beginning, Ender wants to be normal, like everyone else (except his violent brother Peter)

-      After getting the opportunity to train at the Battle School, Ender wants to train hard and defeat the buggers

What does Colonel Graff Want?

-      At the beginning, Graff wants to find the child who is capable if leading the International Fleet

-      After meeting Ender, Graff wants him to train hard so that he can eventually defeat the buggers

 

2. Why does Ender Want This?

-      Ender wants to live up to his purpose. He was born a “Third” in a world with a two-child maximum, and signed away to the military at a young age. He wants to survive the threat of the buggers, and stop them from killing the human race.

Why does Graff Want This? Graff believes that destroying the buggers once and for all will result in humanity’s survival

 

3. What’s Ender’s Plan?

-      Ender will train hard and climb the well-defined ranks of the Battle School to prepare for war with the buggers

What is Graff’s Plan? Graff will isolate Ender from the rest of the students. He believes Ender must be tested, and that he must learn to rely on himself if he’s to become the commander they need him to be

 

4. What’s at Stake for Ender?

-      If Ender doesn’t do well in Battle School, he could be iced and sent back to earth where he will live the sad life of a Third. Also, he believes the buggers will come back to destroy the human race.

What’s at Stake for Graff? If Ender doesn’t become the one to lead the International Fleet against the buggers, Graff believes they will attack. This will result in a loss of life for Graff and possibly all humans.

 

5. What Conflict Does Ender Face?

-      External: Graff. The other kids bully Ender because he’s young. The “game” battles become harder.

-      Internal: Ender questions whether destroying the buggers is the right thing to do, especially as he learns more about them.

What is His Thematic Significance? Graff’s thinking is very black and white – its either us or the buggers. He will use violence to defend humanity, no matter what. Graff pushes Ender to become a super-soldier, but his actions also cause Ender to question whether they’re doing the right thing.

 

-      Do you see how the differences AND similarities between your

protagonist and antagonist can help create organic conflict?

-      Do you see how fleshing out your antagonist (and your protagonist’s

reaction to them) can help you create ideas for your plot?

-      Do you see how the antagonist’s actions can “push” on your

Protagonist to face their internal wounds, and to grow and change?

Now You Know How to Craft the Perfect Dynamic between Your Protagonist and Antagonist so that You Can Write a Story that Engages Readers to the Very E

 


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