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Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
How Safe is your Protagonist?
Ah, protagonists. Those plucky little dreamers, bumbling through the world on their happy adventures with nary a care.
We're not talking about those people today.
We're talking about the people who want to ruin their lives.
We're talking about antagonists.
Antagonists don't have to be evil. Antagonist just means opponent. Arch-enemy. Nemesis.
Yeah, so they're usually evil. But only because we usually tell stories about good people who make wholesome, morally upstanding choices.
Your antagonist doesn't have to be evil. Actually, your protagonist can be evil.
As long as your antagonist is in direct opposition to your protagonist, she's still your antagonist. Even if she volunteers at the animal shelter and her singing voice summons furry woodland critters to her side. (And before you say anything, yes, I understand the irony of tagging this post 'Villains'.)
Your antagonist can also be something abstract, like a harmful idea (e.g., racism) or a natural disaster. This kind of antagonist opposes your protag just by existing.
But how is that different from a concrete antagonist?
Whatever your protagonist wants? Your antagonist should want the opposite. Protag wants a glass of water, antagonist wants protag to not have a glass of water. Antagonist wants to withhold the water. Antagonist wants to take the water away from protag.
Isn't that compelling already? And it's just a glass of water. Introduce complex characters with backstories and real lives and you'll wind up with something unputdownable.
What does your antagonist want in opposition to your protagonist? Share in the comments!
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| Gilgamesh of Uruk: world's first protag since 2500 BCE. (Thanks, Wikipedia!) |
We're not talking about those people today.
We're talking about the people who want to ruin their lives.
We're talking about antagonists.
Understanding Antagonists
When I say antagonist, what are some synonyms that come to mind? Bad guy? Villain? Sure, maybe according to thesaurus.com.Antagonists don't have to be evil. Antagonist just means opponent. Arch-enemy. Nemesis.
Yeah, so they're usually evil. But only because we usually tell stories about good people who make wholesome, morally upstanding choices.
Your antagonist doesn't have to be evil. Actually, your protagonist can be evil.
 |
| Thanks, SpongePedia! |
As long as your antagonist is in direct opposition to your protagonist, she's still your antagonist. Even if she volunteers at the animal shelter and her singing voice summons furry woodland critters to her side. (And before you say anything, yes, I understand the irony of tagging this post 'Villains'.)
Your antagonist can also be something abstract, like a harmful idea (e.g., racism) or a natural disaster. This kind of antagonist opposes your protag just by existing.
But how is that different from a concrete antagonist?
Motivation
Kurt Vonnegut put it quotably when he said, "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."Whatever your protagonist wants? Your antagonist should want the opposite. Protag wants a glass of water, antagonist wants protag to not have a glass of water. Antagonist wants to withhold the water. Antagonist wants to take the water away from protag.
Isn't that compelling already? And it's just a glass of water. Introduce complex characters with backstories and real lives and you'll wind up with something unputdownable.
Threaten Your Protagonist
All that advice you read about throwing the worst possible situation at your characters is totally true. Your antagonist should be so determined to kick your protagonist's butt and keep her from getting what she wants that she can't get a break. At all times.
Even if you don't write mysteries or thrillers, your protagonist should be in almost constant danger.
So I'll ask again.
How safe is your protagonist?
Even if you don't write mysteries or thrillers, your protagonist should be in almost constant danger.
So I'll ask again.
How safe is your protagonist?
What does your antagonist want in opposition to your protagonist? Share in the comments!
Friday, September 12, 2014
3 Ways to Take Charge of Your Unruly Characters
I have this problem where I write so many alternate universes for my own stories that I never get round to writing the main storyline. I'm an awful procrastinator when it comes to actually finishing manuscripts.
But writers finish stories. We have to. It's just what we do. You can't sell something half-written (and if you can, I want to meet your agent). Finish your story. You owe it to yourself to finish your story. Don't short-change your readers. Or yourself. Rant/advice over.
But seriously, what can you do when your characters just have minds of their own-- when they want to do so many things other than what you want them to do?
Sometimes you just have to discipline your wild, unruly children. Especially when they'd rather go to Disney World when they should be fighting dragons.
But writers finish stories. We have to. It's just what we do. You can't sell something half-written (and if you can, I want to meet your agent). Finish your story. You owe it to yourself to finish your story. Don't short-change your readers. Or yourself. Rant/advice over.
But seriously, what can you do when your characters just have minds of their own-- when they want to do so many things other than what you want them to do?
Sometimes you just have to discipline your wild, unruly children. Especially when they'd rather go to Disney World when they should be fighting dragons.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Quote Prompt Thursday #1
Guess what time it is, my evil writing friends? Time for a post series!
Every Thursday for the conceivable future, I'm going to give you three quotes, yours to do whatever you want with. Use them in your story, use them to inspire a story, imagine the character saying them, print them out and set them on fire... Whatever you want.
This week's prompts are below the jump!
Every Thursday for the conceivable future, I'm going to give you three quotes, yours to do whatever you want with. Use them in your story, use them to inspire a story, imagine the character saying them, print them out and set them on fire... Whatever you want.
This week's prompts are below the jump!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
That Sure Was A Hiatus
Hi, all! Welcome back. Or welcome me back. Not sure. Either way, I was gone for a while and now I plan to start posting again. I've been a lot more active over on the Tumblr and Twitter pages, so it's always worthwhile to give those a look.
I could make any number of excuses for my extended absence, but "college happened" is probably the best one. That's also my go-to for the other absences that are sure to happen in the future... My bad.
The game plan is looking like this:
And of course I plan to write some actual posts here at some point. You know, when some kind necromancer resurrects me from the pile of ash and bone that's sure to result from this year's NaNoWriMo endeavor. (Feel free to add me as a writing buddy!)
Oh, yeah, since you're here, why not check out the brand-spanking-new Resources page? It has cool stuff. Promise.
I could make any number of excuses for my extended absence, but "college happened" is probably the best one. That's also my go-to for the other absences that are sure to happen in the future... My bad.
The game plan is looking like this:
- Queue posts on Tumblr every day (seriously, you're missing out if you're not following it!)
- Update the Twitter at least once a week
- Work on Halflings, my NaNoWriMo project for this year
- Work on the short story I'll be writing for my college's lit journal (!)
And of course I plan to write some actual posts here at some point. You know, when some kind necromancer resurrects me from the pile of ash and bone that's sure to result from this year's NaNoWriMo endeavor. (Feel free to add me as a writing buddy!)
Oh, yeah, since you're here, why not check out the brand-spanking-new Resources page? It has cool stuff. Promise.
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