I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

From reactive to proactive; When should the protagonist change tack?

Asked by: Danielle Venus

How do you make protagonist proactive?

Give the Protagonist a Goal that Matters to Them

Your potential goals are limitless; they just need to be something the protagonist wants. The second part is why they want it. It’s the why that really makes a protagonist proactive, because their actions stem from personal motivations to see the problem resolved.

How the perfect midpoint moves your protagonist from reaction to action?

After the Midpoint, the character is suddenly armed with enough information to allow him to start fighting back. He doesn’t have to continue merely shielding himself from the antagonistic force’s assault. Now, he understands how to start picking up some of those rocks and start chucking them back.

Can a protagonist be passive?

A passive protagonist is a main character who doesn’t do enough in a story and isn’t a driving force. Their goals aren’t the most important goals in the story, their motivations don’t have enough weight, or they simply don’t take enough actions that matter to the plot.

What is an active protagonist?

An active protagonist is one that makes decisions and whose actions drive the scene forward. The higher the stakes in their decision making, the better. A passive protagonist is one that reacts to situations without making decisions to drive the action.

How do you make a character less passive?

Enlivening Passive Characters

  1. Dig deeper. …
  2. Introduce your character to interesting people. …
  3. Use active writing. …
  4. Listen to your passive character talk. …
  5. Jolt the character into action with an inciting incident. …
  6. Turn up the heat.

What is pre midpoint reactionary hero?

Pre-midpoint Reactionary Hero: Protagonist is in pursuit of their goal, but something is going to stand in their way. Midpoint: plot twist! everything changes. Post-midpoint Action Hero: thanks to the game-changing midpoint, Protagonist has to switch gears when it comes to their goal.

What happens at the midpoint of a novel?

The midpoint is the point of no return in a story. It’s when the main character undergoes a crisis, and finds within themselves (or not) the necessary qualities to reverse the action or fortune of the book. Often this is the point at which the character is most challenged and therefore at their lowest.