Online Writing Workshops Presented by Melanie Anne Phillips (Creator of StoryWeaver & co-creator of Dramatica) How to Create Great Characters! Lesson Eight: The Eight Essential Archetypes: Protagonist & Antagonist

Sections in Lesson Eight Introduction Protagonist & Antagonist Functions of the Protagonist Protagonist and Goal Functions of the Antagonist Antagonist and Goal Study Exercises Writing Exercises

Introduction

In total, there are eight Archetypal characters, each illustrating a different basic attribute of the human mind.  We’ll take each one in turn, introduce it, describe the human quality it represents, and show you how to assign it to one of your characters so that it gains a structural significance in your story.

In this lesson we’ll begin with the two Archetypal Characters we have already encountered: Protagonist and Antagonist.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist drives the plot forward.

Antagonist tries to stop him.

In the Story Mind, the Protagonist is the Prime Mover of the effort to achieve the Story’s Goal.  The Antagonist is the Chief Obstacle to that effort.  In a sense, Protagonist is the irresistible force and Antagonist is the immovable object.

In the human mind, the Protagonist represents our Initiative, the motivation to change the status quo.  The Antagonist embodies our Reticence to change the status quo.  These are perhaps our two most obvious human traits – the drive to alter our environment and the drive to keep things the way they are.  That is likely why the Archetypes that represent them are usually the two most visible in a story.

In our own minds, we survey our environment and consider whether or not we could improve things by taking action to change them.  The struggle between the Protagonist and Antagonist represents this inner argument: is it better to leave things the way they are or to try and rearrange them?

Conceptually, the Main and Influence Characters have a similar kind of relationship between them.  But while they are concerned with whether or not to change the essence of oneself, the Protagonist and Antagonist battle over whether or not to change the situation in which one finds oneself.  The principal difference is the focus or the argument: internal or external.

Functions of the Protagonist

Functionally, the character you choose as your Protagonist will exhibit unswerving drive.  No matter what the obstacles, no matter what the price, the Protagonist will charge forward and try to convince everyone else to follow.

Without a Protagonist, your story would have no directed drive.  It would likely meander through a series of events without any sense of compelling inevitability.  When the climax arrives, it would likely be weak, not seen as the culmination and moment of truth so much as simply the end.

This is not to say that the Protagonist won’t be misled or even temporarily convinced to stop trying, but like a smoldering fire the Protagonist is a self starter.  Eventually, he or she will ignite again and once more resume the drive toward the goal.

In choosing which of your characters to assign the role of Protagonist, do not feel obligated to choose one whose Storytelling qualities make it the most forceful.  The Protagonist does not have to be the most powerful personality.  Rather, it will simply be the character who keeps pressing forward, even if in a gentle manner until all the obstacles to success are either overcome or slowly eroded.

The Protagonist and the Goal

When creating your own stories, sometimes you will know what your goal is right off the bat.  In such cases, the choice of Protagonist is usually an easy one.  You simply pick the character whose storytelling interests and nature are best suited to the objective.

Other times, as in our Jungle example, you may begin with only a setting and your characters, having no idea what the goal will turn out to be.  By trying out the role of Protagonist on each of our characters, you can determine what kind of a goal the nature of that character might suggest.

By working out an appropriate goal for each character as if it were the Protagonist, you’ll have a choice of goals.  Developing the plot of your story then becomes a matter of choosing among options rather than an exercise in the brute force of creating something from nothing.

Functions of the Antagonist

What, now, of the Antagonist?  We have all heard the idioms, Let sleeping dogs lie, Leave well enough alone, and If it works – don’t fix it.  All of these express that very same human quality embodied by the Antagonist: Reticence.

To be clear, Reticence does not mean that the Antagonist is afraid of change.  While that may be true, it may instead be that the Antagonist is simply comfortable with the way things are or may even be ecstatic about them.  Or, he or she may not care about the way things are but hate the way they would become if the goal were achieved.

Functionally, the character you choose as your Antagonist will try anything and everything to prevent the goal from being achieved.  No matter what the cost, any price would not seem as bad to this character as the conditions he or she would endure if the goal comes to be.  The Antagonist will never cease in its efforts, and will marshal every resource (human and material) to see that the Protagonist fails in his efforts.

Without an Antagonist, your story would have no concerted force directed against the Protagonist.  Obstacles would seem arbitrary and inconsequential.  When the climax arrives, it would likely seem insignificant, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

In choosing one of your characters as the Antagonist, don’t be trapped into only selecting a mean-spirited one.  As described earlier, it may well be that the Protagonist is the Bad Guy and the Antagonist is the Good Guy.  Or, both may be Good or both Bad.

The Antagonist and the Goal

The important thing is that the Antagonist must be in a position in the plot to place obstacles in the path of the Protagonist.  Since the drive of the Protagonist is measured by the size of the obstacles he or she must overcome, it is usually a good idea to pick the character who can bring to bear the greatest obstacles.

Ask yourself which of your characters would have the most to lose or be the most distressed if the goal is achieved.  That will likely be your Antagonist.  But don’t discount the other candidates out of hand.  In storytelling, characters are not always what they seem.  Even the character who seems most aligned with the Protagonist’s purpose may have a hidden agenda that makes them the perfect choice for Antagonist.  You might play such a character as an apparent aid to the effort, and later reveal how that character was actually behind all the troubles encountered.

In our next lesson we'll explore two more of the eight essential Archetypes.

When you are ready for your next lesson, reply to this email and we will send you the next in the series.  Lessons are sent approximately one each week.

Study Exercises:  Protagonist & Antagonist in Real Stories

1.  For three of your favorite stories, identify the Protagonist and Antagonist.

2.  Identify the Goal over which they grapple.

3.  Illustrate how the Protagonist represents the force of Initiative while the Antagonist represents the force of Reticence.

4.  Draw a simple timeline chart that shows how the Protagonist's motivation to continue in his or her efforts rises and falls over the course of the story.

5.  Draw a similar chart for the Antagonist's level of motivation.

6.  By comparing the Protagonists from each of the three stories, illustrate how the Protagonistic function is independent of each character's personality.

7. Illustrate how personality and function are also independent for the three Antagonists in your selected stories.

Writing Exercises: Creating Four Throughlines

1.  Devise a goal for a hypothetical story.

2.  Create a Protagonist who seeks to achieve that Goal.

3.  Develop at least three events that will affect the level of the Protagonist's motivation to continue in the quest.

4. Create an Antagonist who seeks to prevent the Protagonist from achieving the Goal.

5.  Develop at least three events that will affect the level of the Antagonist's motivation to continue in the quest.

Copyright 2003 Melanie Anne Phillips

Visit http://storymind.com for tips, tricks, techniques, and tools for writers

Owned and Operated by the Creator of StoryWeaver & Co-Creator of Dramatica Serving over 12,000 writers since 1997 Get the Writer's Survival Kit Bonus Package FREE with ANY Purchase! Writing Software Buyer's Guide About Our Store Shipping Information     We'll Beat ANY Price!      PLUS 30 Day Price Guarantee      90 DAY Return Policy Movie Magic Screenwriter List price: $269.95 Your price: $179.23 (Academic: $99.95) Our Bestseller! Storyweaver Step by Step Story Development Software Just $29.95 Dramatica Pro 4.0 Story Development List price: $269.95 Your price: $169.23 (Academic: $99.95) 12 hour Writing Course on DVD featuring Dramatica $19.95 Dramatica Writers DreamKit 4.0 $49.95 Hollywood Screenwriter $49.95 Power Structure Story Development Software List price: $269.00 Your price: $169.95 Power Writer List price: $159.95 Your price: $99.95   Final Draft Screenwriting Software List price: $249.00 Your price: $199.47 (Academic: $129.42) Dramatica Software Companion CD ROM $19.95 Word Menu + FREE BONUS $38.95 The Dramatica Theory 2 hour audio program $19.95 Dramatica Tips & Tricks Book $19.95 Master Storyteller: Improve your Writing Skills! $29.95 PACKAGE DEALS $59.95 & Up StoryWeaving Seminar Online Edition $100.00 The Story Mind: Structure Vs. Passion $9.95 Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex Writing with the Story Mind 1 hour audio program $9.95 Mental Relativity Book: The Psychology Behind Dramatica $19.95 2 Hour Plot Class Learn how to plot your story! $19.95 How to Make Your Movie An Interactive Film School List price: $89.95 Your price: $49.95 Mastering Dramatica Pro Online Workshop $49.95 How to Create Great Characters Online Workshop $49.95 How to Create Great Characters DVD Video $19.95 Prefer to order by Mail or Fax? Click here for information. Questions? Email customer-service@storymind.com We'll beat ANY Advertised Price! REALLY!  AND, if you see a lower price within 30 days of purchase we'll refund the difference! 90 Day Full Money-Back Guarantee! Return item within 90 days for a complete refund of your original purchase price! Get the Writer's Survival Kit & Sampler FREE with ANY Purchase! StoryWeaving Seminar Join the creator of StoryWeaver & co-creator of Dramatica for a two-day writing & story development seminar Click here for details! Visit the best writers' site on the web: Subscribe to the Storymind.com Writing Tip Newsletter!