How do you make the reader root for the protagonist when the primary antagonist is more relatable and more likable?
Asked by: Tammy Best
How do you make a readers root for a character?
Here are two principles to follow as you create no-wuss characters for your own story.
- Creating characters that readers root for doesn’t mean creating perfect characters. It’s easy to think that a strong character is someone who is always confident. …
- Intentionally create characters that act when faced with a crisis.
Can a protagonist be an antagonist at the same time?
Sometimes, there is no clear distinction of whether a character is a protagonist or an antagonist. Whether their intentions are unknown, their actions are both positive and negative, or they are their own worst enemy, a primary character can be both a protagonist and an antagonist at the same time.
How do you make a villain more relatable?
One such factor is relatability, and in this article, I’m going to talk about ways to make your character more relatable.
- Some Quick Notes. Not every character has to be relatable. …
- Give Them a Vulnerability. …
- Introduce the Minutia. …
- Let Them Fail. …
- Give Them Values. …
- Use Wit and Humor. …
- Allow Them to Be Self-Aware. …
- Make Them Nice.
What is the root of protagonist?
The word “protagonist” was originally a theatrical term, from the Greek protagonistes, a word for the main actor in a play. It is made up of the words protos, meaning “first,” and agonistes, meaning “actor” or “competitor.”
How do you make readers connect with characters?
Here are five ways to make readers care about your characters:
- Make Your Characters Need Something. …
- Make Your Characters Take A Stand On Important Issues. …
- Make Your Character The Underdog. …
- Give Your Characters Idealistic Qualities. …
- Give Your Characters Formidable Foes.
How do you create a protagonist?
In order to create a strong protagonist that will win your readers’ hearts, there are a few basic essentials you’ll want to remember.
- Make Them Relatable (That Means Flawed) …
- Outline Their History. …
- Find Their Motivation. …
- Give Them Something to Lose. …
- Make Them Evolve.
Can a protagonist be evil?
Can the protagonist be the bad guy? Yes! Though not as common as traditional, heroic protagonists, or even anti-heroes with complex motivations, there are some fully malevolent villains that serve as the protagonists of their own stories.
How can the protagonist be the antagonist?
There are four ways in which one might consider a protagonist to be his or her own most antagonistic force. They are: Something or someone from inside the protagonist is what creates the film’s conflict. When the inner journey dominates the visual story (focusing on a character’s personality flaw).
Can an antagonist be a good guy?
An “antagonist” doesn’t have to be a bad guy. He could be a very good guy. All he has to do is to stand in the way of your hero, sometime for the noblest of motives.
What is the root of antagonist?
Etymology. The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – antagonistēs, “opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, rival,” which is derived from anti- (“against”) and agonizesthai (“to contend for a prize”).
What is a protagonist and antagonist?
Protagonists and antagonists are both essential characters in a story, but they propel the plot in different and usually opposite ways: The protagonist works toward the central story goals, while the antagonist works against the goals. The words “protagonist” and “antagonist” are antonyms.
What makes a character the protagonist?
Protagonist comes from a Greek word for the principal actor in a drama. In modern literature, the protagonist drives the story forward by pursuing a goal. The protagonist of a story is sometimes called the main character. The protagonist of a story is opposed by an antagonist.
How can I make my protagonist stronger?
Four Keys To Developing A Strong Protagonist
- DO: Let us get to know your character before the story is set in motion. …
- DON’T: Give your character so many flaws that he or she is unlikable. …
- DO: Let us know how your character feels about his/her situation. …
- DON’T: Make anything easy on your character.
What makes an effective antagonist?
A strong antagonist is highly motivated to act.
Strong and understandable motivations will make your antagonist feel like a real person and make the story that much better. The more plausible you make these motivation, the richer your villain, and the easier it will be to plot later.
Which character helps and supports the protagonist the most?
Confidant: This type of character is the best friend or sidekick of the protagonist, the Sancho Panza to their Don Quixote. Often the protagonist’s goal flows through the confidant—although not every story needs one. A particularly famous confidant is Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as is Hermione in Harry Potter.
How do you create a supporting character?
10 Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters
- 1) Give them at least one defining characteristic. …
- 2) Give them an origin story. …
- 3) Make sure they talk in a distinctive fashion. …
- 4) Avoid making them paragons of virtue, or authorial stand-ins. …
- 5) Anchor them to a particular place.
What is protagonist most important relationship?
The driving relationship is the one relationship that embodies both the story concept and character. It is the clearest window into your main character’s experience and is the one that helps propel the main character’s journey.
Can antagonist be supporting character?
Antagonizers aren’t always necessarily bad guys. Yes, you can use them in the form of henchmen and such, but they can often just provide a way to anger, alienate, estrange, annoy, provoke, offend, aggravate, irritate, rile, or vex the protagonist in any way, shape, or form.
How do you create an antagonist character?
- Give Your Antagonist a Painful Backstory.
- Create the Right Antagonist for Your Protagonist.
- Determine What Your Antagonist Wants and Why.
- Don’t Make Your Antagonist Entirely Evil.
- An Antagonist Should Believe They are the Hero in Their Own Story.
- Give Your Antagonist Their Own Goals.
- Give Your Script Multiple Antagonists.
- Realize antagonists are never happy. Antagonists thrive in a continual state of disgruntlement. …
- Never deal with antagonists on your own. …
- Take the opportunity to cement your calling and refine the next steps in your ministry. …
- Confess the antagonistic spirit in your own heart.
- Combine multiple external conflicts.
- Connect external conflicts to characters’ inner lives.
- Give external conflicts their own arcs.
- Brainstorm other struggles external conflicts trigger.
- Think about interests.
- Make external conflict drive the story.
- Determine what kind of conflict your story needs. …
- Decide what your character wants, then put an obstacle in their way. …
- Create characters with opposing values. …
- Create a powerful antagonist. …
- Sustain the conflict’s momentum through the middle of the story.
- Talk directly. Assuming that there is no threat of physical violence, talk directly to the person with whom you have the problem. …
- Choose a good time. …
- Plan ahead. …
- Don’t blame or name-call. …
- Give information. …
- Listen. …
- Show that you are listening. …
- Talk it all through.
How do you deal with an antagonist?
Four Tips for Dealing with Church Antagonists
What type of conflict occurs between the protagonist and the antagonist?
External conflict is a struggle that takes place between the main character and some outside force. Therefore, it is outside the body of the protagonist. Usually, it occurs when the protagonist struggles against the antagonist, a character that opposes the protagonist in the main body of the story.
What do we call it when a character struggles to make the right decision?
Internal conflict is when a character struggles with their own opposing desires or beliefs. External conflict sets a character against something or someone beyond their control.
How do you create external conflict?
How to make external conflict in stories compelling:
How do you create conflict in a story?
9 Ways to Create Conflict in Fiction Writing
What is the main conflict of the story how does the setting create conflict?
The setting can be rife with problems that prevent your protagonist from solving her problems and even add to her internal conflicts. These environmental conflicts are the issues and situations that make it harder for the protagonist to face the challenges of the novel.
What are some ways to resolve conflict?
Some Ways to Resolve Conflicts