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On writing: Protagonist #1
You can check out all my posts on writing through this link.
If you’ve been following my posts up to this point and you’ve done the necessary work, you should have ended up with a killer concept and a promising premise. Congraturation! But this story is still far from its happy end. The following notes, gathered years ago from many books on writing, focus on creating a worthy protagonist that will endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and that in the end will either emerge victorious or fail spectacularly.
-Write down possible options for the hero’s weaknesses and change.
-Can you center your story on a character blinded by a single-minded obsession, whose weakness is the flip side of her strength?
-Can you have the protagonist desperately pursuing something?
-Does he desperately want something and is willing to risk almost anything to get it?
-Consider how sharp the point of the story will cut for each possible protagonist, in order to choose the better one.
-The event you’re writing about should be the most important moment of your hero’s life, the most critical. If your story isn’t about the most important moment in your hero’s life, don’t write the story. Write about whatever was the most important moment in his life, because that’s likely to be more interesting.
-How does the plot arise of the main character?
-How does everything rest on your main character?
-How does he have enough grit to possibly resolve the problem?
-Could you make the protagonist someone very unlikely to achieve the goal?
-How can the protagonist be the vehicle to showcasing the concept?
-How many people can you involve and affect by her choices?
-How does the protagonist’s past make what happens to him the moment he steps onto the first page of the story inevitable?
-How would the protagonist’s past be a big part of the story’s force of opposition? How does it tell you what, specifically, your protagonist is against, both internally and externally?
-How does this protagonist’s specific past determine not only what will happen in the plot, but how she sees her world, what she does, and most importantly, why?
-Explain in broad terms how the gauntlet of the plot will test this protagonist.
-Are you sure this character is the most compellingly conflicted in the story?
-How would this protagonist’s transformation, his inner change, embody the point of the story?
-How is this story the quest this protagonist has spent most of his life suiting up for?
-How does the story force this protagonist to call into question deeply held beliefs?
-What will the problems in the story mean to the protagonist? What specific plan will they topple? What internal fear will they force him to confront? What long-held desire will they give him no choice but to go after? Because your story isn’t about the external change your “what if” is going to put the protagonist through; it’s about why that change matters to him.
-How is the protagonist about to walk into the next day of her life, which she believes will go according to plan, her plan, the one based on all the past experience, but it won’t, because the story doesn’t meet his expectations?
-What are the protagonist’s plans that the story will upend, and why do they matter to him?
-How would the story test his flaw/misbelief to the max, opening his eyes along the way, or, depending on the point you are making, not?
-Does the protagonist require any noticeable personal growth to gain the inner strength to defeat the external antagonists? Use this to spark ideas and also figure out what type of arc he will have.
-In the first half of a book, protags are generally trying to achieve an objective which allows them to continue on as they are. A proud character will try to preserve their dignity; a fearful character will give in to their fear and want to run away. In the second half, they generally begin trying to achieve objectives that will allow them to master their flaws.
-Does the protagonist make significant decisions? Does he enact those decisions? If not, why not?
-How would this story exist to serve this hero?
-How is, in the end, this hero the only one who can solve the problem?
-There needs to be a deeper reason why your heroes are the only ones who can solve this problem. Calling the cops should not be an option, whether or not a cell phone is available.
-Could he, and other characters possibly, start on the edge of a crisis?
-You can’t tell the audience who the hero is; you need to show them. The audience chooses the hero, not the other way around. The audience will choose the character who is trying the hardest to get what he wants.
-Does the hero have (or claim) decision-making authority?
-Do you have a compelling or unique take on character that can only enhance your premise?
-Try to think outside the envelope. Take the idea you have for your protagonist and see how that looks when you make her astronaut, a nuclear physicist working to create an invisible force field, or a paranormal healer that can see people’s illnesses in their eyes.
-Your heroes shouldn’t react to their situations in typical ways. Instead, heroes must respond to their challenge in their own unique way. That unique reaction is what makes the heroes. This is what the Everyman wouldn’t do. This is why this story happens.
-Is the protagonist interesting and someone we could root for?
-Will my reader experience empathy for my hero?
-Why do you love your protagonist? And if you don’t, why do you intend to write about a protagonist that you don’t love?
-How would he be both a winner and a loser? The audience wants to cheer and fear for every hero throughout every story.
-How does he have a lot of badassery and a lot of vulnerability?
-How would he be in over his head often?
-Caring is only the first half of empathy, because as much as we feel for their flaws, we also need to trust the heroes’ strengths. This is the area where many beginners fall down on the job. Audiences are naturally inclined to reject heroes until they earn their investment. Your heroes need not be do-gooders or Earth savers, but they must be active, resourceful, and differentiated from those around them, even if it means they’re extraordinarily rotten.
If you’ve been following my posts up to this point and you’ve done the necessary work, you should have ended up with a killer concept and a promising premise. Congraturation! But this story is still far from its happy end. The following notes, gathered years ago from many books on writing, focus on creating a worthy protagonist that will endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and that in the end will either emerge victorious or fail spectacularly.
-Write down possible options for the hero’s weaknesses and change.
-Can you center your story on a character blinded by a single-minded obsession, whose weakness is the flip side of her strength?
-Can you have the protagonist desperately pursuing something?
-Does he desperately want something and is willing to risk almost anything to get it?
-Consider how sharp the point of the story will cut for each possible protagonist, in order to choose the better one.
-The event you’re writing about should be the most important moment of your hero’s life, the most critical. If your story isn’t about the most important moment in your hero’s life, don’t write the story. Write about whatever was the most important moment in his life, because that’s likely to be more interesting.
-How does the plot arise of the main character?
-How does everything rest on your main character?
-How does he have enough grit to possibly resolve the problem?
-Could you make the protagonist someone very unlikely to achieve the goal?
-How can the protagonist be the vehicle to showcasing the concept?
-How many people can you involve and affect by her choices?
-How does the protagonist’s past make what happens to him the moment he steps onto the first page of the story inevitable?
-How would the protagonist’s past be a big part of the story’s force of opposition? How does it tell you what, specifically, your protagonist is against, both internally and externally?
-How does this protagonist’s specific past determine not only what will happen in the plot, but how she sees her world, what she does, and most importantly, why?
-Explain in broad terms how the gauntlet of the plot will test this protagonist.
-Are you sure this character is the most compellingly conflicted in the story?
-How would this protagonist’s transformation, his inner change, embody the point of the story?
-How is this story the quest this protagonist has spent most of his life suiting up for?
-How does the story force this protagonist to call into question deeply held beliefs?
-What will the problems in the story mean to the protagonist? What specific plan will they topple? What internal fear will they force him to confront? What long-held desire will they give him no choice but to go after? Because your story isn’t about the external change your “what if” is going to put the protagonist through; it’s about why that change matters to him.
-How is the protagonist about to walk into the next day of her life, which she believes will go according to plan, her plan, the one based on all the past experience, but it won’t, because the story doesn’t meet his expectations?
-What are the protagonist’s plans that the story will upend, and why do they matter to him?
-How would the story test his flaw/misbelief to the max, opening his eyes along the way, or, depending on the point you are making, not?
-Does the protagonist require any noticeable personal growth to gain the inner strength to defeat the external antagonists? Use this to spark ideas and also figure out what type of arc he will have.
-In the first half of a book, protags are generally trying to achieve an objective which allows them to continue on as they are. A proud character will try to preserve their dignity; a fearful character will give in to their fear and want to run away. In the second half, they generally begin trying to achieve objectives that will allow them to master their flaws.
-Does the protagonist make significant decisions? Does he enact those decisions? If not, why not?
-How would this story exist to serve this hero?
-How is, in the end, this hero the only one who can solve the problem?
-There needs to be a deeper reason why your heroes are the only ones who can solve this problem. Calling the cops should not be an option, whether or not a cell phone is available.
-Could he, and other characters possibly, start on the edge of a crisis?
-You can’t tell the audience who the hero is; you need to show them. The audience chooses the hero, not the other way around. The audience will choose the character who is trying the hardest to get what he wants.
-Does the hero have (or claim) decision-making authority?
-Do you have a compelling or unique take on character that can only enhance your premise?
-Try to think outside the envelope. Take the idea you have for your protagonist and see how that looks when you make her astronaut, a nuclear physicist working to create an invisible force field, or a paranormal healer that can see people’s illnesses in their eyes.
-Your heroes shouldn’t react to their situations in typical ways. Instead, heroes must respond to their challenge in their own unique way. That unique reaction is what makes the heroes. This is what the Everyman wouldn’t do. This is why this story happens.
-Is the protagonist interesting and someone we could root for?
-Will my reader experience empathy for my hero?
-Why do you love your protagonist? And if you don’t, why do you intend to write about a protagonist that you don’t love?
-How would he be both a winner and a loser? The audience wants to cheer and fear for every hero throughout every story.
-How does he have a lot of badassery and a lot of vulnerability?
-How would he be in over his head often?
-Caring is only the first half of empathy, because as much as we feel for their flaws, we also need to trust the heroes’ strengths. This is the area where many beginners fall down on the job. Audiences are naturally inclined to reject heroes until they earn their investment. Your heroes need not be do-gooders or Earth savers, but they must be active, resourceful, and differentiated from those around them, even if it means they’re extraordinarily rotten.
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