Many authors start with a Protagonist and then build a cast of characters around him or her. But as a story develops, it may turn out that one of the other characters becomes more suited for that role. Sticking with the original Protagonist causes the story to become mis-centered, and it fails to take on […]
A writer recently asked: I write Western genre screenplays. And I love to use Dramatica Pro. In Western Genre sometime I will run into more than one protagonist more than one antagonist . I name my antagonist in Dramatica Pro and then when I try to name another antagonist it will not allow me to […]
Protagonist tries to achieve the goal. Antagonist tries to stop him. That’s the simple answer, and it is true enough. But there is a lot more to know about these two essential characters, and the more you learn, the more powerful and effective your Protagonists and Antagonists will be. To begin with, a Protagonist is […]
By Melanie Anne Phillips For just about any story you read, you get a sense of who it revolves around – who is it really about? Who is the character whose shoes we stand in, through whose eyes and heart do we see and feel the story at the most passionate personal level? In Gone […]
By Melanie Anne Phillips Some years ago, I wrote the following article describing the differences between the protagonist and antagonist archetypes. Pretty good stuff – BUT… Like any reasonably good teacher, I keep on learning – maybe not so much about the subject matter, but often a lot about how to present it better. In […]
The Protagonist is one of the most misunderstood characters in a story’s structure. It is often assumed that this character is a typical “Hero” who is a good guy, the central character in the story, and the Main Character (the one through with whom the reader identifies). In fact, the Protagonist is not any of […]
The protagonist and antagonist may not be who you think they are. For one thing, a protagonist is not necessarily the hero of a story. Structurally speaking, the protagonist is the one who shakes up the status quo – that’s the “pro” part, while the antagonist is the one who tries to stop that effort […]
A writer recently asked, do the Dramatica software and theory support multiple protagonists (several people trying to achieve the goal for themselves)? First, the short answer is yes, Dramatica supports that. But there’s more. Here’s the long answer (bear with me here as the following should really open up some new ways of looking at […]
Exactly what ARE the Protagonist and Antagonist?
A writer asked me today, “Can a protagonist get so angry he threatens the sidekick?? My response… Sure. Objective characters are defined by how they function, not how they feel about each other. So, the Protagonist (our initiative) will seek to evoke change, often in the form of seeking to achieve a goal. The Sidekick […]
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