Protagonist and Antagonist: What's the Difference?Find out the difference between a protagonist and antagonist in writing, and how to create compelling versions of these characters. Want to write an awesome story? Download my free outlining guide. What is a protagonist and antagonist?A protagonist is the main character of a story. The audience follows this character as the person pursues a goal, such as catching a criminal or winning a boxing match. An antagonist is any character who tries to prevent the protagonist from achieving the goal. Most stories have one protagonist. However, they often have more than one antagonist. That being said, one of these antagonists tends to stand out. This character puts more pressure on the protagonist than other opponents and plays a bigger role in the plot. I like to refer to this central antagonist as the main villain. What is the difference between a protagonist and antagonist?The defining difference between these characters refers to what each wants in the story - their wants are in direct conflict with each other. If the protagonist wants to achieve a certain goal, the antagonist has a want in the story that, if accomplished, would prevent the protagonist from accomplishing theirs. For example, in a crime story, the protagonist may be a detective with a goal to catch a murderer. The main villain in this story would be the murderer. The villain's goal is to get away with the crime. If the villain wins, the protagonist loses, and vice versa. Physical, mental, and cultural traits of your protagonist and antagonistWhen developing a character, you should be mindful of three major categories: the physical, mental, and cultural. Physical traits refer to a character's appearance and bodily capabilities. Mental traits refer to a character's disposition and psychological capabilities. Cultural traits refer to the context in which the character lives (ex, what's their job), plus has lived through life (ex, where they grew up and in what kind of family). Your protagonist and antagonist should not have the same blend of traits across all three categories. To create drama in your story, you want your villain be more imposing than your hero in terms of the traits that would determine the winner in their "clash of wants." For example, if you were writing a boxing story, your antagonist should be bigger and stronger than your protagonist. That being said, you should give your hero and villain at least one trait in common. This should be a characteristic your protagonist does not like about themself. I view this like a "dark mirror." The commonality can force your hero to recognize the severity of their own flaw, look inward, and try to fix it. A thread of internal growth can make your story more compelling. Traits of a heroAs a writer, you want your audience to root for your protagonist as the character pursues a goal. This does not necessarily mean your protagonist must be likable. To get your audience behind your story's hero, you need to let your audience to identify with the character. A good way to do this is by giving your hero something to lose if their goal is not accomplished. For example, in a thriller story, the protagonist may be committing a crime, like robbing a bank. However, the character needs the money to afford a medical treatment for his daughter. If he fails to rob the bank, his daughter will die - he has a lot to lose. Even if your audience doesn't approve of bank robbery, they can still identify with this protagonist. Traits of a villainTo create a great antagonist, you want to use empathy as well. Your audience should understand where this character is coming from, even if the character is responsible for horrible acts that the audience disdains. I recommend two techniques for creating empathy with your villain: (1) Give the antagonist some trauma from earlier in life that's responsible for their twisted behavior in the present. For example, maybe your villain was beaten by a stepfather, then grew up to kill men who remind him of the stepfather. (2) Give the antagonist an admirable end to fight for, yet have them try to get there by vicious means. For instance, possibly your villain is fighting against corporate corruption, but part of their plan involves murdering corporate executives. Even if you create empathy for your villain, you still want to play up this character's dark side. The depth of this dark side relates to the genre you're writing in. For instance, if you're writing a horror story, you want your villain's dark side to be extreme. This person might be a sadistic killer. If you happen to be writing a love story, your antagonist shouldn't necessarily be murdering other characters, however, a dark side should still be pronounced. Possibly this villain is a serial liar, who hurts other characters emotionally without regret. Hero transformation by villainThrough your story, your antagonist should constantly test your protagonist. This pressure should force your hero to look inward and grow as a person. Without this personal growth, your hero would fail to defeat the villain by the end. Thus, despite the extreme hardship your villain puts your hero through, the dynamic actually improves your hero's life, at least to some degree. By the end of the story, the hero's personal growth allows him or her to fill some emotional void (known as "the need"). Here's an example...
Thus, the set of traits Jane has at the beginning of the story have changed by the end. Many of the individual traits remain the same, however, a bad one (standoffish) is gone, replaced by a good one (open-minded). If Lucy, the villain, didn't apply external pressure, Jane never would've had a reason to undergo any personal growth. Want more writing advice?Download my FREE outlining guide:
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Unlock the Power of Theme in Your StoryAre you writing a book, screenplay, or short story? Unlock the power of theme to give your characters and plot events a sense of focus, and to deliver a powerful emotional message by the end of your story. In this article, I'll provide the definition of a story theme, plus give you tips for building a great theme for your writing project. To write an awesome story, download my FREE outlining guide What is the theme of a story?The theme of a story is a commentary about the world that the story events make upon coming to a resolution. For example, in a crime story, if the criminal is captured at the end by a determined detective, the theme may be, "Perseverance leads to justice." Even though the events of a story are often focused on just a few characters and places, those events speak to the world in general. A story where a vicious criminal gets away with murder at the end is making a very different commentary about society than a story where a vicious criminal is arrested at the end. The story where the criminal gets away would be making a statement about the world being unjust, while the story where the criminal is captured would be making a statement about the world being just. How do you write a great story theme?How to choose a story themeYou should be mindful about the commentary on the world you'd like to make as a writer and choose a theme for your story early on. As you write, your theme can evolve, but having a solid starting point will help. Is there something unique you'd like to say about the world? Maybe you have an interesting take on a modern social sentiment. Or, maybe you have a new take on a psychological or philosophical concept that's been around for over a hundred years. You can build themes around these views. Something like "Perseverance leads to justice" is a viable theme, however, similar commentaries have been made by many crime stories. If you don't want to choose a theme that's totally unique, at least try to put a fresh twist on a common concept. For instance, your crime story can express the idea of "perseverance" in distinct way. In a typical crime story, the idea of perseverance is usually associated with a diligent cop doing what's right. However, in your story, maybe the cop breaks a lot of rules. He plants evidence. He coerces witnesses. He kills unarmed opponents. He definitely exhibits perseverance, but in a unique way. The relationship between theme and genreCertain genres often have stories with similar thematic elements. For example, crime stories often involve justice in their themes, while love stories often involve marriage. That being said, your genre should in no way limit your theme. Though a detective story's plot may focus on bringing a killer to justice, the relationship between the protagonist and his estranged wife could be the main thematic source - this story could have a theme about love despite being in the crime genre. That being said, even if your theme is unique to your genre, you still want your story to fit within the genre, as a whole. Your characters, plot events, and settings should stay true to your genre. You're encouraged to put unique twists on characters, plot events, and settings, but not to such a degree that you lose touch with the genre you're writing in. Even if your story works, audiences may feel deceived. If you choose a theme that forces you to drastically deviate from your genre, you should reevaluate. Either pick a new theme that's manageable within your genre, or choose a new genre that's a better fit for your theme. Your protagonist's want and need play a key part in your story themeYour main character should have a want - an external goal he pursues - and a need - an internal personal problem he should address to lead a better life. Your story's two most impactful threads are the ones that follow your main character's want and need. Thus, they carry a lot of weight with your theme. By the end of your story, if your hero achieves the want and/or need vs. doesn't achieve the want and/or need, the commentary the story is making could be drastically different. Let's say your main character has a want to win a big boxing match. Through the story, he trains really hard. If he wins the match at the end, your theme may be something like, "Hard work can lead to success." However, if your character loses the match at the end, your theme would instead be something like, "Despite hard work, success is never guaranteed." All characters and plot should revolve around your themeThough your protagonist plays a key role in the unfolding of your theme, all characters and plot events should be focused around this theme. For example, if you wanted to make a commentary about corruption, you may want to develop a character in your story who takes a bribe. The plot could then get into the consequences the character suffers after taking the bribe. If, instead, you wanted to make a commentary about family dynamics, your story may not call for a character who takes a bribe. In this case, you might want to include a character who's the protagonist's ex-convict uncle. Your story should have just one themeWhen creating your theme, focus is critical. As mentioned, all the character and plot development of your story should revolve around your theme. If you try to make multiple commentaries about the world in one story, its events may feel unconnected. Your story would have more force if you kept the events concentrated, all working in conjunction to declare a singular message about the world. Express your theme indirectlyYour audience should be able to infer your story theme by seeing how your plot concludes. You should avoid directly stating your theme to your audience, ex by having a character say it to another in dialogue. Allowing the audience to understand the theme on their own makes for a more engaging experience. A great way to draw attention to your theme without directly stating it is via the literary device motifs. These are recurring story elements associated with a component of your theme. Some examples are places, objects, and sounds. When the audience sees motifs repeating, they should assign importance to them and the underlying thematic components they represent. For example, let's say your theme is about regret, and a certain abandoned building in the story represents a bad business mistake your hero made. By featuring this building in multiple scenes, and showing the different negative emotions it provokes in your protagonist, the idea of regret becomes pronounced in the minds of your audience. At the end, possibly the building burns down, conveying the idea that the protagonist is finally able to move beyond his regrets. Want more writing tips?Download my FREE outlining guide: Best Free Creative Writing Course [Start Now]Learn how to turn your idea for a book or movie into a full-length novel or screenplay with the below video lessons of my free creative writing course. I'm also giving you a free outlining guide, which will help you apply the course lessons to your own story. What topics does my free creative course cover?My course is focused on fiction and narrative non-fiction. It doesn't address poetry, which varies quite a bit from the other two forms. However, if you're looking for a course on that subject, plenty exist. If your goal is to write a book or screenplay, the best free online writing class out there is the one I'm offering you. My course focuses on four major aspects of creative writing:
Not only do I provide in-depth video lessons, but a blueprint document you can follow to outline your story. My free creative writing class is for new writers, however, more experienced writers are likely to pick up some tips from it as well. Below, I go over the material the course addresses, plus provide clips of the video lessons for you to watch now. Topic #1 - Character developmentCharacter development is the technique of humanizing a fictional character. The more human a character feels, the more effective the character development. The process doesn't call for one type of humanity over any other. You may develop a character who's a righteous freedom fighter and another who's a serial killer. As long as they both feel human, you've done well as a writer. How to write a protagonistHow to write an antagonistTopic #2 - The plot of a storyThe plot of a story is the sequence of events its characters are involved in. The plot should build in a dramatic way toward the answer to this question: will the main character - ie, protagonist - achieve their central goal? This goal should be set fairly early in the story, after an event - known as the inciting incident - disturbs the hero's world and forces them to want something they lack. For instance, in a thriller story, the inciting incident could be a bank robbery that results in the death of a civilian. The crime causes the protagonist - an FBI agent - to want something: to catch the robber. The story would then follow the FBI agent as he pursued the antagonist criminal through a series of obstacles. It would build to a final showdown between the hero and villain, when the audience finally gets to know if the robber is caught or escapes. How to write a story plotTopic #3 - The theme of a storyThe theme of a story is the commentary about the world the story is making. For instance, in the story discussed above - about an FBI agent pursuing a murderous criminal - if the events end in justice, ie the criminal getting caught, the story would be making a different statement about society than if it ended in injustice, ie the criminal getting away. In the justice variation, the theme might be something like, "The world may be dark at times, but ultimately justice is served." In the injustice variation, the theme might be something like, "Despite the efforts of good people, some violent ones never pay for their crimes." How to write a story themeTopic #4 - Emotional impact in storytellingEmotional impact in storytelling is how frequently and strongly a story makes its audience feel emotion. As a writer, you need to create an emotional connection between your audience and characters with good characterization. If your characters feel like real humans, the humans in the audience will relate to them. Once you accomplish this, when your characters confront obstacles and go through ups and downs, your audience will have an emotional reaction, essentially going on the ride with them. This emotional ride is what a typical audience member is signing up for when they sit down to read a novel or watch a film. If you ask someone what their favorite book or movie is, the answer you get tends to be based on the person's emotional experience. For more on emotional impact in storytelling, watch this video clip from my writing course... The importance of emotional impact in storytellingFull free creative writing courseYou can watch the complete free creative course (over 30 minutes of video lessons) here: What genres is the free online writing course for?The course is aimed at fiction and narrative non-fiction writers. The lessons are applicable to all genres within those two categories, such as:
Download the accompanying outlining guideWhether you're a beginner looking to finish a first book or screenplay, or an experienced writer hoping to pick up a few new skills, be sure to download the story-outlining guide that accompanies the video lessons of the creative writing course. Additional writing coursesHere's a list of some other writing classes you may be interested in, too. Narrative Writing: Types and TechniquesFind out what narrative writing is and learn how to make yours excellent with these 10 tips. Writing a book or screenplay? Download my FREE story-outlining guide. What is narrative writing?Narrative writing is the process of telling a story via written words. Two major categories of narrative writing exist: fiction and narrative non-fiction. Fiction is the telling of stories that didn't actually happen in real life, while narrative non-fiction is the telling of stories that did. At a basic level, a story is a communicated group of events that centers around at least one subject character and builds to a conclusion about those events. The subject character is typically a person, but can be an animal, mythological figure, or any other type of entity with the capacity to think (whether real or not). You can't write a story about a rock in the dirt. At least one character needs to be conscious. Technically, for a story to meet the definition of narrative writing, it should be written down. However, spoken stories follow a similar flow. When you were a kid, did something wild ever happen to you and a couple friends, then you told a bunch of your classmates at school the next day? If so, you've already done something that's almost identical to narrative writing - all that was missing was writing the story on paper, typing it on a computer, etc. What are examples of fiction writing?Fiction writing mainly covers novels, short stories, comic books, plays, screenplays (the written basis of a movie), and teleplays (the written basis of a television show), though does span other formats. As long as the events in the story aren't a direct retelling of actual ones, the story is considered fictional. Often, fictional stories are inspired by real incidents, though aren't a direct account of them. For example, in real life, a screenwriter may have witnessed a person rescuing somebody from a burning car. After the writer got home, he was motivated to write a story that opens with someone pulling somebody else out of a vehicle in flames. However, since the writer invents the characters in the story, and places them into various invented situations after the rescue, this story would be considered fictional. What are examples of narrative non-fiction writing?As mentioned, non-fiction writing involves stories that directly chronicle real events. However, not all non-fiction writing is considered narrative. For writing to be considered narrative non-fiction, it needs to unfold like a story. Again, that means it unfolds as a communicated group of events that centers around at least one subject character and build to a conclusion about the events. For instance, chronicling the rise of a real musician from unknown performer to world-famous singer would be considered narrative non-fiction. It centers around a subject character (the singer) and events that build to a conclusion (the gaining of notoriety as a musician). Books like biographies and memoirs are considered narrative non-fiction, as are journalism articles that tell real stories about real people. A news article about the weather, for example, would not be considered narrative non-fiction - though the article is covering a real topic, it lacks a subject character. On the other hand, a magazine or newspaper article on a real person wouldn't be considered narrative if it only listed highlights from the person's career (ex, a profile) or briefly reported on some event the person was involved in (ex, mentioning the person won a local pie-eating contest). However, if an article went into depth about challenges a person went through and how those challenges shaped the person's life, the article would be considered narrative. 10 tips for narrative writing
Fiction vs. non-fictionFiction writers have more flexibility than non-fiction writers when implementing these tips. Since fiction writers are making up a story, they're not confined by the limits of real-life events. Non-fiction writers, on the other hand, need to stay true - at least to some degree - to the real-life material their writing project is based on. Non-fiction writers should look for angles in the material that lend themselves to the storytelling techniques described above. For example, if you're writing a story about a historical figure, you can cover the person's childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Further, you can write about specific eras within each of those periods, or even narrower, specific years, weeks, or days. My advice is to first seek out a worthy antagonist in the person's life. Possibly, as a child, the historical figure had some struggles, but they weren't in relation to another person in particular. However, while an adult, the historical figure had a strong political rival. You can build a dramatic story around this clash. Sure, your story can cover all aspects of the subject character's life, however, I'd spend much more page space on the dramatic conflict between hero and villain during this particular stage of adulthood. Want more writing tips?Be sure to download my FREE outlining guide. It applies to fiction and narrative non-fiction, across all genres, such as:
You might also like my post on how to market a book online.
Story Plot: 5 Writing TipsDon't miss these 5 tips for your story plot below. Deliver a book or screenplay your audience loves. Want to write an awesome story? Download my FREE outlining guide. Hook, captivate, and wow with your plotIf you're writing a book, screenplay, or any other type of story, you want to hook your audience at the beginning, keep it captivated through the middle, and wow it with an exciting ending. Story Plot Tip #1: Shake up your protagonist's world with an inciting incidentThe very beginning of your story should be focused on characterizing your protagonist and possibly some of their allies. No major conflict has necessarily begun yet. You can show your hero working, interacting with friends, or doing just about anything else that composes their status quo. Then, things change. The inciting incident is an event that shakes up your hero's world. It typically occurs toward the beginning - but not always the very beginning - of your story. An example of an inciting incident in a mystery could be a young woman vanishing. In a romance, it could be your hero's fiance leaving her a week before their wedding. The inciting incident directly leads to something known as the call to adventure, which is a challenge the hero is lured to take on. In the mystery story just mentioned, the call to adventure could be the hero - say, a retired detective - coming out of retirement to help find the missing woman. In the romance, the call to adventure could be the engaged woman who was left pre-wedding venturing back into the dating world after being out of it for five years. If you'd like more writing tips for creating your story's hero, have a look at my post on character development for your protagonist. Story Plot Tip #2: Give the hero something to loseThe term "stakes" refers to what the hero stands to lose if they don't accomplish the call to adventure's challenge. Giving the hero something to lose builds an emotional connection between the character and the audience and enhances the drama of your story plot. For example, in the mystery discussed, if the detective doesn't accomplish his goal of finding the missing woman, his long-standing reputation as the town's best police officer will be tarnished. That reputation means a lot to him, meaning he has a lot to lose if he fails. Story Plot Tip #3: Complicate the challenge with tough opponentsTo build drama, your hero's goal should be difficult to attain. Turn up the conflict with formidable opponents. In the mystery we've been talking about, the hero cop is searching for a missing woman, while the criminal who abducted her is trying to evade suspicion. Give this criminal - the central villain - a skillset that makes him hard to catch. The villain could be be technologically crafty, able to destroy digital footprints leading to him. In addition to your central villain, incorporate other opponents who'll apply pressure to your hero in different ways. For example, a younger cop on the police force is jealous of the hero and attempts to sabotage the hero's investigation so he can find the missing woman first and get the credit. For added effect, one of your opponents can be revealed to your hero as a surprise relatively late in the story. For instance, a character your hero thought was an ally could be exposed in a twist as an accomplice to the villain. This twist shouldn't just go into the story for a shock factor, but move the plot forward, ideally complicating your hero's challenge even more. For example, since your hero wasn't expecting this character to be a problem, your hero is led into a trap by him. Once the surprise opponent's true intentions are revealed, your hero is stuck in an isolated cabin with this dangerous liar, unarmed. If you want more writing tips for opponents, check out my post on character development for your villain. Story Plot Tip #4: Raise the stakesAs mentioned, stakes refer to what your hero stands to lose if they fail to accomplish their goal. Through the story, as the hero runs into obstacles from opponents, the stakes should grow in scope - your hero should stand to lose more than at the start of the story. For example, in our detective story, at the beginning, the hero's reputation as a top cop is on the line. Through the the story, the character's reputation remains at stake. However, the villain winds up learning that the hero is after him and getting close. To remain uncaught, the villain tries to murder the hero. Now, a lot more is at stake than the hero's reputation - if the villain remains on the loose, the hero could end up dead. Story Plot Tip #5: End with a showdownAfter your story's climax, the audience should have an answer to whether the hero accomplishes their goal. To build up drama before that answer is revealed, the climax should be your story's most intense scene. Structuring the scene as a showdown between your hero and central villain is an effective way to deliver that intensity. In a crime, action, or thriller story, the idea of a showdown may seem pretty evident - the hero and villain could face off in a gunfight or car chase. However, the idea of a showdown can be applied to any genre. No need for guns or explosions. In a story about art, for instance, the climactic showdown could involve painting. The villain - a painter who cheats their way into a big art competition by stealing the hero's painting - is exhibiting it to the judges. The hero, who begins the story as timid and gains the confidence to stand up for herself, breaks into the building and paints something on the wall, much better than the painting the villain stole. The judges are at first disturbed by the break-in, however, soon notice the quality of the painting and are forced to give the hero the prize. If you want even more writing tips, be sure to download my FREE story-outlining guide:
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