Ian Dawson's Blog, page 9
June 23, 2023
The Self-Aware Writer - Self-Awareness & The Drafting Process
Last time, we talked about utilizing self-awareness as a writer when crafting an outline for your story. Today, we’ll discuss the best way to use self-awareness during the drafting process.
Let’s get started.
Drafting, Drafting, Drafting
Many writers are intimidated by the drafting phase of the writing process. Taking an idea that has been fleshed out into bullet points in an outline is one thing, but to actually WRITE chapters and a coherent narrative that’s tens of thousands of words? Madness!
No matter your feelings on the subject, writing that first draft is an essential step in getting to the final draft, but this is another case where you want to put your self-awareness tool to the side and let the creativity flow with as much passion and uncensored glory as you wish.
Hey, it’s a rough/first draft. It’s for your eyes only. No one will see this version, so why not take the brakes off and let your imagination run wild. Stick with the outline you’ve crafted, but if a character or story point takes you somewhere new and more compelling, go there.
Give yourself the freedom to play, to explore, to run free. This is the time to do it.
I’ve been working through an outline before and realized that I hadn’t given my subplots much consideration, so I’ve taken some time to explore their characters and situations. It helped strengthen the overall story and enhanced the main character’s arc. If I hadn’t deviated from what I had outlined, I never would have discovered these new aspects.
Once you’ve played around and written THE END on your rough/first draft, it’s time for the kid to take a nap and the self-aware writer to take over.
Revising with Self-Awareness
Now is the time to take a step back and look at your draft as both author and reader. This is when any sense of “I’m an artist, and everything I write is gold” must be locked away so common sense can take the helm.
After all, you want to make sure as you make revisions that the story makes sense; the characters grow and change; that dialogue is realistic for the story you’re telling; that descriptions paint and clear picture for the reader; and that your main story and subplots have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
This can be a lengthy process that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is where the story really begins to take shape. It’s where themes are solidified. It’s where you can fix the story’s pacing, cut aspects that don’t work, and add things that will improve the reader’s experience.
Part of being a self-aware writer is knowing when to cut things – even if you love them – to improve the story. Realizing that maybe a plot point that worked in the outline causes the story’s momentum to fizzle once it’s fleshed out in chapter form. Your self-awareness enables you to detect these issues and fix them.
Again, this is a process that is rewarding once you have crafted a story and characters that are exactly what you intended when you set out to write this book.
Next Time…
You’ve done it. You’ve revised, cut, added, moved around, and re-chaptered your story. You’re on your ninth or tenth draft and feel pretty good. It’s time to edit; self-awareness can help you with that, too!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
Let’s get started.
Drafting, Drafting, Drafting
Many writers are intimidated by the drafting phase of the writing process. Taking an idea that has been fleshed out into bullet points in an outline is one thing, but to actually WRITE chapters and a coherent narrative that’s tens of thousands of words? Madness!
No matter your feelings on the subject, writing that first draft is an essential step in getting to the final draft, but this is another case where you want to put your self-awareness tool to the side and let the creativity flow with as much passion and uncensored glory as you wish.
Hey, it’s a rough/first draft. It’s for your eyes only. No one will see this version, so why not take the brakes off and let your imagination run wild. Stick with the outline you’ve crafted, but if a character or story point takes you somewhere new and more compelling, go there.
Give yourself the freedom to play, to explore, to run free. This is the time to do it.
I’ve been working through an outline before and realized that I hadn’t given my subplots much consideration, so I’ve taken some time to explore their characters and situations. It helped strengthen the overall story and enhanced the main character’s arc. If I hadn’t deviated from what I had outlined, I never would have discovered these new aspects.
Once you’ve played around and written THE END on your rough/first draft, it’s time for the kid to take a nap and the self-aware writer to take over.
Revising with Self-Awareness
Now is the time to take a step back and look at your draft as both author and reader. This is when any sense of “I’m an artist, and everything I write is gold” must be locked away so common sense can take the helm.
After all, you want to make sure as you make revisions that the story makes sense; the characters grow and change; that dialogue is realistic for the story you’re telling; that descriptions paint and clear picture for the reader; and that your main story and subplots have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
This can be a lengthy process that shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is where the story really begins to take shape. It’s where themes are solidified. It’s where you can fix the story’s pacing, cut aspects that don’t work, and add things that will improve the reader’s experience.
Part of being a self-aware writer is knowing when to cut things – even if you love them – to improve the story. Realizing that maybe a plot point that worked in the outline causes the story’s momentum to fizzle once it’s fleshed out in chapter form. Your self-awareness enables you to detect these issues and fix them.
Again, this is a process that is rewarding once you have crafted a story and characters that are exactly what you intended when you set out to write this book.
Next Time…
You’ve done it. You’ve revised, cut, added, moved around, and re-chaptered your story. You’re on your ninth or tenth draft and feel pretty good. It’s time to edit; self-awareness can help you with that, too!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
June 12, 2023
The Self-Aware Writer - Self-Awareness & Story Development
When it comes to story development and outlining your story, I feel it’s best to put self-awareness on the back burner for the time being. I know it’s crazy that I’m saying this since this is a series about using self-awareness as a writer. However, it’s just as important to know when not to use it as when it is.
Let’s talk about it!
Story Development – Creativity Unleashed
Once you have an idea that you feel is strong enough to develop into a longer story, it’s time to put everything on the table. Every idea, story beat, inciting incident, and plot twist should be up for grabs to get your idea out on the page so you can breathe life into it.
This means your characters should have free reign to do what they want, when they want, and how they want in pursuit of strong character arcs, relationships, and growth throughout the story. Don’t hold back, and don’t be afraid to have your antagonist do things that are off-the-rails crazy. Your goal is to create a compelling and interesting story at this stage. This version is for your eyes only, so have fun, and don’t let the inner critic throw up roadblocks that show down your creativity.
At this point, you’ll want to start crafting an outline that allows you to place your story and characters in some sort of coherent order. You want to work through the story from start to finish, giving yourself a rough roadmap of how your story will unfold and the characters will develop and change.
Implementing Self-Awareness
Now that you have a story outline, it’s time to review it and utilize self-awareness to strengthen your writing. This is a good point. Take a step back as the writer and look at your story outline as a reader.
What aspects of your story sound too familiar and could be altered to be different than what has been done before? What are the strong points of your story? Are there weak story points or characters that deserve another look? Are there parts of the story that could be cut that don’t impact the narrative? Do all the subplots tie into the main story somehow? Is your main character interesting? Are they actively involved in the story?
I like to complete an outline draft and then walk away, allowing my brain to reflect and subconsciously pick out parts that might need a second look. I jot down notes on my phone or paper as possible changes to strengthen the story outline.
It can be tempting to barrel through with a subpar outline, but that can lead to issues later in the drafting phase that can grind your progress to a halt. And while changes are inevitable, having a strong outline going into the rough draft phase can save you a lot of time and a lot of headaches down the road.
Up Next…
Once you’re ready to write, what aspects of being a self-aware writer are best to use during the rough draft phase and beyond? We’ll talk about it.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
Let’s talk about it!
Story Development – Creativity Unleashed
Once you have an idea that you feel is strong enough to develop into a longer story, it’s time to put everything on the table. Every idea, story beat, inciting incident, and plot twist should be up for grabs to get your idea out on the page so you can breathe life into it.
This means your characters should have free reign to do what they want, when they want, and how they want in pursuit of strong character arcs, relationships, and growth throughout the story. Don’t hold back, and don’t be afraid to have your antagonist do things that are off-the-rails crazy. Your goal is to create a compelling and interesting story at this stage. This version is for your eyes only, so have fun, and don’t let the inner critic throw up roadblocks that show down your creativity.
At this point, you’ll want to start crafting an outline that allows you to place your story and characters in some sort of coherent order. You want to work through the story from start to finish, giving yourself a rough roadmap of how your story will unfold and the characters will develop and change.
Implementing Self-Awareness
Now that you have a story outline, it’s time to review it and utilize self-awareness to strengthen your writing. This is a good point. Take a step back as the writer and look at your story outline as a reader.
What aspects of your story sound too familiar and could be altered to be different than what has been done before? What are the strong points of your story? Are there weak story points or characters that deserve another look? Are there parts of the story that could be cut that don’t impact the narrative? Do all the subplots tie into the main story somehow? Is your main character interesting? Are they actively involved in the story?
I like to complete an outline draft and then walk away, allowing my brain to reflect and subconsciously pick out parts that might need a second look. I jot down notes on my phone or paper as possible changes to strengthen the story outline.
It can be tempting to barrel through with a subpar outline, but that can lead to issues later in the drafting phase that can grind your progress to a halt. And while changes are inevitable, having a strong outline going into the rough draft phase can save you a lot of time and a lot of headaches down the road.
Up Next…
Once you’re ready to write, what aspects of being a self-aware writer are best to use during the rough draft phase and beyond? We’ll talk about it.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
June 9, 2023
The Self-Aware Writer - Self-Awareness & Ideas
You are an endless supply of ideas and stories. You’ve lived life, have had good and bad experiences, and have grown from those situations. How you interpret what’s happened to you can influence how you react in future situations, and this self-awareness and hindsight can help you create and develop stories.
Creating grounded characters and situations that others can relate to is a way to utilize self-awareness as a writer. This is where your internal self-awareness comes into play by exploring and analyzing real-world events and emotions from your own life. You can discover relatable moments that readers can connect to that will keep them glued to the page.
The key phrase here is connection. You aim to create characters that allow the audience to empathize and sympathize with them and their struggles or triumphs. Even in fantasy stories, we are drawn to characters who have relatable emotions, goals, and setbacks. While we all may not go on a journey like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, our Hobbit hero’s emotional arc allows us humans to relate and connect with him.
This week, take the time to sit and write down five or six events from your life that could be the inciting incident of a new story. Take yourself back to those moments. What was going through your mind at the time? Feelings? Thoughts? What was your emotional journey through each of your chosen events?
These don’t have to be tragic; you can also utilize positive moments. The key is to explore the realness of each situation. How can those emotional beats be part of your protagonist’s larger character arc? How would an audience empathize or sympathize with your character?
Only some ideas will hit, and only some life events are worthy of being committed to paper. As you develop a keener self-awareness as a writer, you’ll gain perspective on when an idea isn’t worth pursuing over one that is.
It’s all part of the creative process, the ability to prioritize ideas worth your time, effort, and energy over those that aren’t right now.
By digging into your life and past, you can mine stories that aren’t carbon copies of the latest bestseller or Hollywood blockbuster.
Once your story idea and characters are locked in, you can take the following steps: development and drafting. We’ll talk about those in the next post.
Happy Creating, and I’ll see you next time!
Creating grounded characters and situations that others can relate to is a way to utilize self-awareness as a writer. This is where your internal self-awareness comes into play by exploring and analyzing real-world events and emotions from your own life. You can discover relatable moments that readers can connect to that will keep them glued to the page.
The key phrase here is connection. You aim to create characters that allow the audience to empathize and sympathize with them and their struggles or triumphs. Even in fantasy stories, we are drawn to characters who have relatable emotions, goals, and setbacks. While we all may not go on a journey like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, our Hobbit hero’s emotional arc allows us humans to relate and connect with him.
This week, take the time to sit and write down five or six events from your life that could be the inciting incident of a new story. Take yourself back to those moments. What was going through your mind at the time? Feelings? Thoughts? What was your emotional journey through each of your chosen events?
These don’t have to be tragic; you can also utilize positive moments. The key is to explore the realness of each situation. How can those emotional beats be part of your protagonist’s larger character arc? How would an audience empathize or sympathize with your character?
Only some ideas will hit, and only some life events are worthy of being committed to paper. As you develop a keener self-awareness as a writer, you’ll gain perspective on when an idea isn’t worth pursuing over one that is.
It’s all part of the creative process, the ability to prioritize ideas worth your time, effort, and energy over those that aren’t right now.
By digging into your life and past, you can mine stories that aren’t carbon copies of the latest bestseller or Hollywood blockbuster.
Once your story idea and characters are locked in, you can take the following steps: development and drafting. We’ll talk about those in the next post.
Happy Creating, and I’ll see you next time!
June 7, 2023
The Self-Aware Writer - What is Self-Awareness?
We all possess the conscious ability to be self-aware in our lives. Whether it’s related to how we interact with others, how we perceive ourselves within our world, or having the insight to better ourselves, self-awareness can positively impact our lives. While we are also presented with daily examples of politicians, celebrities, and social media videos that show people lacking in self-awareness, having this trait is a definite plus when attempting to exist in the world.
According to PsychCentral.com, “When you look at yourself and are able to recognize and connect emotions, core beliefs, thoughts, and traits — including weaknesses and strengths — you’re practicing self-awareness.” Emotions. Core beliefs. Traits. Weaknesses and strengths. Those definitely sound like areas of oneself a writer and utilize.
If we dig further, we find that the Harvard Business Review (HBR) identified two types of self-awareness. The first, “internal self-awareness, represents how clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others.” Again, these are all interesting aspects that can impact our writing and our ability or inability to write.
HBR’s second type of self-awareness was external self-awareness, which “means understanding how other people view us, in terms of those same factors listed above […] people who know how others see them are more skilled at showing empathy and taking others’ perspectives.”
When we write or create, we use internal and external self-awareness to influence what we write, how we write, who we write for, and how we interact with those who read what we’ve written. Self-awareness is a powerful tool that can be used to empower and help us grow as writers and creative people or can cause us to freeze and cower in fear from our own negative thoughts.
Self-awareness in your writing should be the ability to create and allow your imagination to run free, but also the ability to step back and make changes to the work for the better when the time comes. It’s the ability to write fearlessly and not hold back when expressing what you want to say through your characters and story while listening to feedback and making necessary changes.
I know it’s a lot to think about, so we’ll take a whole month to discuss it. Next, we’ll discuss utilizing self-awareness when creating story ideas and getting the writing process started.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
Sources:
https://psychcentral.com/health/self-...
https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awa...
According to PsychCentral.com, “When you look at yourself and are able to recognize and connect emotions, core beliefs, thoughts, and traits — including weaknesses and strengths — you’re practicing self-awareness.” Emotions. Core beliefs. Traits. Weaknesses and strengths. Those definitely sound like areas of oneself a writer and utilize.
If we dig further, we find that the Harvard Business Review (HBR) identified two types of self-awareness. The first, “internal self-awareness, represents how clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others.” Again, these are all interesting aspects that can impact our writing and our ability or inability to write.
HBR’s second type of self-awareness was external self-awareness, which “means understanding how other people view us, in terms of those same factors listed above […] people who know how others see them are more skilled at showing empathy and taking others’ perspectives.”
When we write or create, we use internal and external self-awareness to influence what we write, how we write, who we write for, and how we interact with those who read what we’ve written. Self-awareness is a powerful tool that can be used to empower and help us grow as writers and creative people or can cause us to freeze and cower in fear from our own negative thoughts.
Self-awareness in your writing should be the ability to create and allow your imagination to run free, but also the ability to step back and make changes to the work for the better when the time comes. It’s the ability to write fearlessly and not hold back when expressing what you want to say through your characters and story while listening to feedback and making necessary changes.
I know it’s a lot to think about, so we’ll take a whole month to discuss it. Next, we’ll discuss utilizing self-awareness when creating story ideas and getting the writing process started.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
Sources:
https://psychcentral.com/health/self-...
https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awa...
June 5, 2023
Writing Series of the Month: The Self-Aware Writer
Hello, and happy June! I’m excited to be back with you once again. Over the next month, I’d like to explore the concept of being a self-aware writer. It may sound deep and metaphysical, but all writers can become stronger in their craft through introspection and looking at their work from different perspectives.
Whether you are a new writer or a seasoned one, I intend these discussions to assist you in all aspects of the creative process, outlining and writing, accepting positive and negative feedback, and more.
These posts will be brief and to the point and provide a few quick tips you can implement immediately.
As always, having fun with the entire process is important, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you over the next several weeks!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
Whether you are a new writer or a seasoned one, I intend these discussions to assist you in all aspects of the creative process, outlining and writing, accepting positive and negative feedback, and more.
These posts will be brief and to the point and provide a few quick tips you can implement immediately.
As always, having fun with the entire process is important, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you over the next several weeks!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next time!
May 3, 2023
Antagonist April: Links & References
Check out the link below for a complete list of article links and books used during Antagonist April:
Antagonist April Links & References
Antagonist April Links & References
May 1, 2023
Antagonist April: Thank You
Thank you for joining me this past month as we did a deep dive into story antagonists, their functions, and how to make them more effective in your story.
I enjoyed researching, writing, editing, and posting these articles over the past month. Wednesday’s post will include direct links to all 12 articles and a list of all the books used in my research.
I will be taking the next month off to finish my current WIP and visit family. I will see you in June!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next month!
I enjoyed researching, writing, editing, and posting these articles over the past month. Wednesday’s post will include direct links to all 12 articles and a list of all the books used in my research.
I will be taking the next month off to finish my current WIP and visit family. I will see you in June!
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next month!
April 28, 2023
Antagonist April: Week #4 – Antagonist Writing Exercises, Part Two
It’s Antagonist April, and all this month, I’ll be doing a deep dive into those characters that give our heroes and main characters opposition to their goals. This week, I’ll provide three days of writing exercises to explore antagonists further.
Let’s continue!
Exercise #4 – Elevating Your Antagonist
• What makes your antagonist unique?
• Do they have any hobbies?
• Do they collect anything interesting?
• Do they like music? What kind?
• Do they have any quirks that make them more relatable to an audience?
• What do they do for fun?
• When they’re not being antagonistic, what do they do in their private time alone from the world?
Humanizing your antagonist is a great way to make them relatable and real to your audience. While we explored some of these items in the previous post’s exercises, here’s your opportunity to examine and find aspects of this important character that bring them out of the realm of cliché and sculpt them into a flesh-and-blood individual.
While you may not utilize everything you think of, these elements can be dropped in from time to time in your story to give the audience a little insight into who this person is when they’re not being oppositional.
Exercise #5 – Your Antagonist’s Opposition
• Who is your antagonist opposing?
• Why are they trying to prevent them from achieving their goal?
• What is their relationship to the antagonist?
• Why does the hero feel compelled to fight against the antagonist and win?
• What would happen if the antagonist won?
While the protagonist of your story is the most important character, the antagonist must be a formidable foe there to try and stop them from reaching their goals. As you develop your main character, think about ways your antagonist can make their lives miserable throughout the story.
Too many times, new writers are afraid to make their main characters suffer, go through trials and tribulations, and have to work to get what they want. I used to have this mindset, but it changed when I realized something important about fictional characters: THEY AREN’T REAL! So go for it! Make them suffer. Make them fight back, dig in their heels, face horrible moments of doubt and pain, wanting to quit when things seem to be at their worst.
And who can dish out and inflict all those things on your main character? Your friend, the antagonist.
These two characters need each other. The story can lose its impact, conflict, and dramatic effect if no one is present, throwing opposition in their way.
Depending on the type of story, these oppositional forces can be literal or figurative. Still, they need to exist on some level for your hero to have something to fight against and through to get to the end.
And it’s your job to give them an antagonist that enhances the story and helps drive the action forward as events unfold and your hero battles through to the end.
Week #4 Wrap-Up
We’ve covered a lot over the past month, all culminating in this final week of exercises you can use to create a strong, effective, and interesting antagonist for your story.
As you take the time to create and craft the Opposition, never forget to have fun and enjoy the experience. If you have fun, your audience will as well.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next week!
Let’s continue!
Exercise #4 – Elevating Your Antagonist
• What makes your antagonist unique?
• Do they have any hobbies?
• Do they collect anything interesting?
• Do they like music? What kind?
• Do they have any quirks that make them more relatable to an audience?
• What do they do for fun?
• When they’re not being antagonistic, what do they do in their private time alone from the world?
Humanizing your antagonist is a great way to make them relatable and real to your audience. While we explored some of these items in the previous post’s exercises, here’s your opportunity to examine and find aspects of this important character that bring them out of the realm of cliché and sculpt them into a flesh-and-blood individual.
While you may not utilize everything you think of, these elements can be dropped in from time to time in your story to give the audience a little insight into who this person is when they’re not being oppositional.
Exercise #5 – Your Antagonist’s Opposition
• Who is your antagonist opposing?
• Why are they trying to prevent them from achieving their goal?
• What is their relationship to the antagonist?
• Why does the hero feel compelled to fight against the antagonist and win?
• What would happen if the antagonist won?
While the protagonist of your story is the most important character, the antagonist must be a formidable foe there to try and stop them from reaching their goals. As you develop your main character, think about ways your antagonist can make their lives miserable throughout the story.
Too many times, new writers are afraid to make their main characters suffer, go through trials and tribulations, and have to work to get what they want. I used to have this mindset, but it changed when I realized something important about fictional characters: THEY AREN’T REAL! So go for it! Make them suffer. Make them fight back, dig in their heels, face horrible moments of doubt and pain, wanting to quit when things seem to be at their worst.
And who can dish out and inflict all those things on your main character? Your friend, the antagonist.
These two characters need each other. The story can lose its impact, conflict, and dramatic effect if no one is present, throwing opposition in their way.
Depending on the type of story, these oppositional forces can be literal or figurative. Still, they need to exist on some level for your hero to have something to fight against and through to get to the end.
And it’s your job to give them an antagonist that enhances the story and helps drive the action forward as events unfold and your hero battles through to the end.
Week #4 Wrap-Up
We’ve covered a lot over the past month, all culminating in this final week of exercises you can use to create a strong, effective, and interesting antagonist for your story.
As you take the time to create and craft the Opposition, never forget to have fun and enjoy the experience. If you have fun, your audience will as well.
Happy Writing, and I’ll see you next week!
April 26, 2023
Antagonist April: Week #4 – Antagonist Writing Exercises, Part One
It’s Antagonist April, and all this month, I’ll be doing a deep dive into those characters that give our heroes and main characters opposition to their goals. This week, I’ll provide three days of writing exercises to explore antagonists further.
Let’s continue!
Exercise #1 – Your Antagonist’s Backstory
• Who is your antagonist?
• What were they doing before your story began?
• What major life events led them to the point where they enter your story as the primary Opposition to your protagonist?
Write a short biography or autobiography that gives you an idea of who this person is and what caused them to be antagonistic to those they encounter. You can write it in paragraph form or bullet points, and it is for you to reference and have in mind as you write your story.
It’s important to have an idea of who this character is so they have a past, are dimensional, and feel real within the story’s context. You don’t want to create a one-dimensional by-the-number villain. You want them to have successes, failures, fears, likes, dislikes, etc., as they enter your story’s world.
Exercise #2 – What’s Their Motivation?
• What drives your antagonist?
• What makes them want to win?
• What has motivated them in the past?
• What do they fear most when it comes to losing against your protagonist in the present?
• If they do win against your protagonist, what is their next move in life?
What could motivate your character to oppose what your hero has set out to accomplish? Remember, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a Bond-level villain. It could be a parent, a friend, or the main character’s boss. Their motivation to prevent the hero from achieving their goal could be selfless and positive in their eyes.
Having a strong motivation for your antagonist can help the reader or viewer connect, empathize, sympathize, and relate to your antagonist on some level. Even if they don’t 100% agree with their tactics to stop the protagonist, having the audience understand the adversary’s POV is important.
Exercise #3 – The Arc of Your Antagonist
Last week, we looked in detail at the arcs of three antagonists in different films. We explored how these characters entered the story and their final fate by the story’s end.
This exercise is much more intensive than the previous two since you will explore your antagonist’s role as the opposing force to your hero throughout your story.
If you are developing an outline for your manuscript or screenplay, take some time to jot down a basic arc for your villain. Or, if you are just in the early phases of creating a story, you can brainstorm these concepts as well:
• How does the antagonist enter the storyline?
• What is their initial relationship to the main character and their goal?
• At what points does the antagonist pop up to cause trouble or create roadblocks for the hero?
• What is their overall motivation for doing this? Are there moments when they appear to have won?
• How does the antagonist’s arc conclude?
• What happens during the final showdown between protagonist and antagonist?
• Is the antagonist defeated?
• Do they come to an understanding?
As your story evolves, these aspects of your antagonist and their role will also evolve. It’s important, however, to have the basics down to reference when needed so you at least have a strong starting point once you dive into the drafting phase.
There’s more to come! Antagonist April continues on Friday. See you then!
Let’s continue!
Exercise #1 – Your Antagonist’s Backstory
• Who is your antagonist?
• What were they doing before your story began?
• What major life events led them to the point where they enter your story as the primary Opposition to your protagonist?
Write a short biography or autobiography that gives you an idea of who this person is and what caused them to be antagonistic to those they encounter. You can write it in paragraph form or bullet points, and it is for you to reference and have in mind as you write your story.
It’s important to have an idea of who this character is so they have a past, are dimensional, and feel real within the story’s context. You don’t want to create a one-dimensional by-the-number villain. You want them to have successes, failures, fears, likes, dislikes, etc., as they enter your story’s world.
Exercise #2 – What’s Their Motivation?
• What drives your antagonist?
• What makes them want to win?
• What has motivated them in the past?
• What do they fear most when it comes to losing against your protagonist in the present?
• If they do win against your protagonist, what is their next move in life?
What could motivate your character to oppose what your hero has set out to accomplish? Remember, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a Bond-level villain. It could be a parent, a friend, or the main character’s boss. Their motivation to prevent the hero from achieving their goal could be selfless and positive in their eyes.
Having a strong motivation for your antagonist can help the reader or viewer connect, empathize, sympathize, and relate to your antagonist on some level. Even if they don’t 100% agree with their tactics to stop the protagonist, having the audience understand the adversary’s POV is important.
Exercise #3 – The Arc of Your Antagonist
Last week, we looked in detail at the arcs of three antagonists in different films. We explored how these characters entered the story and their final fate by the story’s end.
This exercise is much more intensive than the previous two since you will explore your antagonist’s role as the opposing force to your hero throughout your story.
If you are developing an outline for your manuscript or screenplay, take some time to jot down a basic arc for your villain. Or, if you are just in the early phases of creating a story, you can brainstorm these concepts as well:
• How does the antagonist enter the storyline?
• What is their initial relationship to the main character and their goal?
• At what points does the antagonist pop up to cause trouble or create roadblocks for the hero?
• What is their overall motivation for doing this? Are there moments when they appear to have won?
• How does the antagonist’s arc conclude?
• What happens during the final showdown between protagonist and antagonist?
• Is the antagonist defeated?
• Do they come to an understanding?
As your story evolves, these aspects of your antagonist and their role will also evolve. It’s important, however, to have the basics down to reference when needed so you at least have a strong starting point once you dive into the drafting phase.
There’s more to come! Antagonist April continues on Friday. See you then!
April 24, 2023
Antagonist April: Week #4 – Antagonist Writing Exercise: Do Your Own Case Study
It’s Antagonist April, and all this month, I’ll be doing a deep dive into those characters that give our heroes and main characters opposition to their goals. This week, I’ll provide three writing exercises to explore antagonists further.
Let’s get started!
Last week, we looked at the antagonists from three different films. Now, it’s your turn to write your own Case Study.
Pick a movie, any movie. It can be your favorite film or one at random. Watch it from beginning to end, just experiencing the film as a whole. Next, rewatch the film, focusing on the story’s antagonist closely.
ANTAGONIST’S NAME: Who are they?
RELATIONSHIP TO PROTAGONIST: How do they know the hero? Are they a love interest? A boss? A friend? A coworker? A universal threat?
THE ANTAGONIST’S ARC: Here’s where the work comes in. How are you introduced to the antagonist? Outline their interactions with the protagonist, lines of dialogue, and actions that indicate their opposition. Does their relationship with the hero change throughout the story? What is the antagonist’s goal? Motivation? Why do they oppose the protagonist? How does the antagonist’s story end?
THE ANTAGONIST’S FATE: Where does this oppositional character wind up by the end of the story? Have they been defeated? Arrested? Killed? Compromised with the hero? Found common ground or understanding? Fallen in love with the hero? Note that here.
COMMENTS: Any thoughts or revelations about the antagonist and their role in the story can be added here. This is a place to wrap up your analysis with anything you didn’t see directly in the film.
You can also use this to analyze antagonists in novels, short stories, and plays.
I have included a .docx template at the end of this article on my website: Get the Worksheet Here!
Back on Wednesday with another Antagonist-themed writing exercise! See you then!
Let’s get started!
Last week, we looked at the antagonists from three different films. Now, it’s your turn to write your own Case Study.
Pick a movie, any movie. It can be your favorite film or one at random. Watch it from beginning to end, just experiencing the film as a whole. Next, rewatch the film, focusing on the story’s antagonist closely.
ANTAGONIST’S NAME: Who are they?
RELATIONSHIP TO PROTAGONIST: How do they know the hero? Are they a love interest? A boss? A friend? A coworker? A universal threat?
THE ANTAGONIST’S ARC: Here’s where the work comes in. How are you introduced to the antagonist? Outline their interactions with the protagonist, lines of dialogue, and actions that indicate their opposition. Does their relationship with the hero change throughout the story? What is the antagonist’s goal? Motivation? Why do they oppose the protagonist? How does the antagonist’s story end?
THE ANTAGONIST’S FATE: Where does this oppositional character wind up by the end of the story? Have they been defeated? Arrested? Killed? Compromised with the hero? Found common ground or understanding? Fallen in love with the hero? Note that here.
COMMENTS: Any thoughts or revelations about the antagonist and their role in the story can be added here. This is a place to wrap up your analysis with anything you didn’t see directly in the film.
You can also use this to analyze antagonists in novels, short stories, and plays.
I have included a .docx template at the end of this article on my website: Get the Worksheet Here!
Back on Wednesday with another Antagonist-themed writing exercise! See you then!
