Storyteller Quest 5

Knowledge

Last quest, we focused on the main character. This quest we will focus on the antagonist.

Protagonist - The main character. What happens to them and what they decide matters the most to the story.

Antagonist - This is the character who opposes the protagonist with opposite motives. They take actions that thwart the protagonist based on their own desires.

Villain - In storytelling, a villain is usually the antagonist. It’s possible for the villain to be the protagonist, which is why villain and antagonist do not mean the same thing. Lately, many authors have made their protagonist the villain in order to surprise their readers or to explore the inner-workings of a complex character.

Foil Character - A character who exists to reveal something true about the protagonist. (The antagonist opposes but the foil exposes.) The main character can sometimes be the foil character’s foil character. For instance, the two characters can work or go to school together but clash, which‌ reveals their character to the reader (like Woody and Buzz in Toy Story.)

Encouragement

Exaggerate your antagonists. They really need to oppose your main characters. If you look over your notes after the challenge and aren’t sure if you have an antagonist or a foil character, then there must be a bigger antagonist in that world. Who are they?

You can find them!

Inspiration

Who irritates you? Who really gets under your skin? Do they reveal something about you? They are probably a foil character in your life.

Have you after fought someone or ran away from someone? They are probably the makings of the start of your antagonist. We are all the protagonist in our own stories. Our inner-workings are more clear to ourselves. 

The antagonist doesn’t know (or care to know) how the protagonist feels, but your readers do. What were times in your life where you cared more about what someone else was going through? Who was that person’s antagonizer?

Challenge

Part 1. Based on your protagonist from last quest, brainstorm a person (or thing) who is the opposite. Jot down your ideas. Does your protagonist come from a long line of arborists? Is the antagonist trying to burn the forest down? Is your protagonist full of love for others? How does the antagonist reveal their hate? Or selfishness?

Part 2. Is your story about good vs evil or will the antagonist(s) reform their ways? Jot down potential conflict outcomes.

Part 3. Start over fresh. Come up with a new antagonist and make them a heinous villain. Where does their power come from? What motivates them? Why do they believe they can do what they plan?

Part 4. Create a new protagonist to defeat the heinous villain. Start with internal characterization (quest 4.) How does this hero have their life uprooted so that they feel they must do something about the villain? How does the hero have access to the villain? Where will they meet for the first time? Continue the brainstorm until you have the inner-workings of the hero and the villain written. Based on who they are, what do they look and sound like?

Know Yourself: What process did you like better? Did you like coming up with the protagonist or the antagonist first? Which set of protagonist and antagonists are you more excited to write about next?

Send questions or notes you may have. Especially if you are having a difficult time making your hero or villain believable.