00:01 Intro 00:20 Story is not a series of events happening to protagonist, it is a series of events the protagonist drives forward Protagonist should not be helpless victim Readers connect to characters with goals 02:05 Protagonist's steps don't have to be helpful, logical or noble Can make situation worse 04:00 Victimized protagonist Takes steps, proactive, even if doesn't fight back 07:25 Avoid victim mentality
Ellen, I love all your videos, but this is truly one of the best. While we frequently hear about motivation (e.g., Kurt Vonnegut said a character should at least be motivated to drink a glass of water), listening to this lesson on the need for an ACTIVE protagonist, rather than one whom things just happen to, suddenly made things go "click" for me. In fact, while listening to you, I actually went into my manuscript and started adding some bits and taking notes for needed changes. You do truly excellent work.
I recently started watching your videos and they rock; So straightforward and simple! Its super easy to watch and use your examples to identify mistakes in my writing and say "Oh you're right...that's me, I do that...", then you step in and give practical ways to fix those mistakes. I am happily subscribed :)
this was so incredibly helpful and made me realize i had to trust my intuition. i felt like my character didnt have a strong purpose and this resulted in things happening to her rather than her moving the story forward.
Thank you for such an informative video. I think you touch on such an important point. Many manuscripts fail due to a lack of a clear goal for the protagonist. But I found it can be more subtle than that: in my last novelette, my protagonist had a clear goal, but he achieved it largely as a consequence of events happening to him. In order to rectify this dynamic, all I had to do is make him proactive in the face of the events happening to him. He receives an invitation, and he doesn't just go along. He agonises over the decision to go or not, then chooses deliberately (whichever way it goes). Thank you very much, and also for the highlights. Just brilliant:)
Okay, so I need help developing a plot. My plot for a story is about a world where everyone is an archetype or a Mary Sue/Stew. Later, an outside power that takes it his duty to erase said world threatens to kill them all because they were all "mistakes", and "uninteresting to watch" (He's supposed to be more of a plot device himself, and does things that no other character can by breaking the fourth wall). Throughout this process of stopping a mass genocide, the main characters slowly learn how to be "human", and learn true emotions like love, fear, and hate, all of which have never been experienced before. Any thoughts?
Hello. That's a very interesting idea. I have a few questions concerning your characters. First of all, even Mary Sues / Stews have issues, they are not emotionless in the common sense, unless you want to create a world without emotions at all. Then I guess you want to introduce emotions by the confrontation with the antagonist? If that's the case, where does the antagonist come from? A deus ex machina is problematic in itself, even if you use it at the beginning of the story. The goal (destroying all archetypes?) needs to be motivated, beyond the goal itself. Mistakes? Why? Because they are uninteresting to watch? Who watches? Why? Was that always there? Can't he just watch something else? Focus on something else? Create something new? How did the archetypes develope? What about the antagonist who's watching? Is he like a god? If so, how are the protagonists supposed to stop god? If the antagonist has strengths beyond the other characters, because he's able to break the fourth wall, how are they supposed to stop him? Where did he get this strengths from? What kind of world are they living in that prevents them from having emotions? Is there no loss possible to feel sad? No injustice? No jealousy? How do they procreate? Doesn't that invoke tensions (about mating, finding a partner to mate etc.)? How do you separate the characters from each other? What kind of names do you intend to give them? If they are regular names, why do parents choose them? Because they are "pretty"? But they don't feel anything, how do they choose a name? Are there parents at all? Siblings? Don't they have problems, concerning emotions? Thing is, emotions are necessary to drive a story forward, to invest the reader, and if there are no emotions from the get-go, chances are the reader will not get to a part the emotions become relevant. Every protagonist filters the world through a window of emotions and judements, of self-regulation and self-centerism (or altruism) and mostly, that's the way to engage the reader. So I am not sure if one can pull off a story like that without loosing the reader. I hope my questions help you a little bit and I wish you luck with your story and hope you'll have fun developing further.
Viridius Greene It sounds convoluted and like you're trying really hard to sound deep and insightful but come off judgmental and shallow and that can be fine but it's not if you're not aware of it or self aware.
This idea would require careful execution but could be a fantastic meta story if done well. I would definitely suggest your characters be familiar with the concepts of love, hate, fear, and so-forth, but to experience them in shallow ways. Characters "fall in love" because another character is attractive or has one desirable trait, for instance, and then have dramatic sappy over-the-top love confessions and grand gestures and other unrealistic romance things. Then, along the way while they're being tested and pushed, the sort of love they develop could be much more subtle yet profound. Love between friends, feeling true deep connections and desiring nothing more than to keep the people they've come to care for along this journey alive. Love like they've become a family. Maybe one romance but contrast it highly from the norm. I'd also suggest for tension having one or more of your main characters start sympathizing with the villain after interacting with some people who haven't changed as a result of the massacre. Seeing how flat and boring 'normal' people are and thinking maybe if they were really this bad maybe the villain wasn't so crazy to start this, and that sure they've all become better but if even this hasn't changed most people what will? Aren't they beyond hope? Followed by a message that, no, they aren't. Everyone develops at their own pace and responds to things differently. This wasn't 'their story', but that didn't mean they'd never find one. The fact that they've found each other and new strength proves it's possible, and the party at large chooses to have hope for the rest of the world. That serves a duel purpose. It encourages the readers that just because they don't feel like a 'main character' in real life or because they don't act as expected sometimes it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them; they're learning and growing like everyone else, at their own pace. And it has the more meta message that no OC-- your own or anyone else's-- is beyond repair. Every writer is at a different stage in their progression, but just because some look bad now doesn't mean they won't or can't improve, and keeping faith is so much better than giving up.
As a result of the characters learning emotions, what happens -- what do they do that they weren't doing while emotionless? In what sense are they mistakes? Who made the mistakes? Did this outside power create them? (Reminds me of the Flood story; also Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger, at least the Claymation version). Why does this power need entertainment? Is the outside power in the habit of creating worlds and then destroying them? Why create them? Does the outside power also lack emotions? Does the outside power create world after world in the hopes that one of them will have somebody in it that can teach the outside power to have emotions? How does the outside power know that such a thing as emotions can exist, if it lacks them? How are emotions connected with this whole story other than being a side effect? Do ALL of the characters learn emotions, or only the MC and fellow strivers? What happens once they have emotions and the rest of the world still does not? The outside power is clearly the antagonist, but please apply to it all the kinds of reasoning, questions, analysis that you would apply to the MC. You say the outside power breaks the fourth wall; isn't that another way of saying that the outside power is a POV character? How exactly does the MC stop the genocide? By bargaining with the outside power? (Reminds me of Job). What qualifies the MC, but nobody else, to do this? Is the outside power an author? Are the characters his fictional creations? Does he erase worlds by throwing manuscript pages into the trash or burning them? (Reminds me of The Neverending Story)
Thanks for your help! This helped me writing Moon, my protagonist in River and Forest. Thanks!! Another tip I might add is twisting the plot against them. This is when someone is headed for a goal and has almost completed it, when *boom* it turns against them. This was helpful to me when I realized my book wasn't long enough.
This was so helpful, I have a protagonist who I couldn't quite understand or feel compassion for, she was just bleak, and I couldn't understand why. I think I need to know what to do know. Thank you so much for your great advice!
Nice tips, Ellen. I really like listening to your editor's/writr's point of view. These tips help rationalize the writing process. This is good insight into the protagonist's role in a novel.
Thank you so much. I'm writing and directing a show for my college and this video perfectly outline why I was struggling with my main chapter and how to fix it.
Thanks for the example about the character’s goal of not wanting anyone to know about her situation- otherwise I’d probably have gotten confused and thought that the character’s goal HAD to be working to better the actual problem in order to be an active character instead of simply having a goal at all
I really love this video. It got me thinking and made me realise that my protagonist has to overcome some challenges more obvious, because she might be considered too passive by a reader. So thank you very much for highlighting some problems and encouraging writers to write main characters who drive the plot forward.
Omg thank you! I've been having a hard time choosing what protagonist should be for the story, I've been so indecisive. I fail to understand who she is. I got confused in character goal, character motivation, and character agency, and trying to find balance in all of those. I didn't know that not every character can step into the role of protagonist. Thank you for your clarity.
Thanks! your videos are greatly helping me in writing my first novel. Btw, have you considered crafting a book about novel writing? I think that would further help many aspiring writers.
I have a story idea with two main characters, both different- one is a fierce and wild young female who steals and the other is a meek, shy male who's rich and sophisticated, but gets pressured into stealing confidential information. They become friends when they are given an opportunity to redeem themselves, and have to work to overcome their differences, all the while the looming threat of a very dangerous and deadly virus waits in the wings. I've recently just started working on it and I'm super excited. These videos are really helpful in helping me shape my story, and I can already say I've improved in describing my characters. Thank you for making these~
I seem to say this on other channels, however this video couldn't have been seen at a better time. I'm trying to write a YA novel (my first) and my protagonist has been bullied in her High School and deals with negativity with her family. Thank you, Ellen, for giving me something to consider.
Great video. You're so right. I recently had to begin rewriting my novel because the protagonist was defined by fear and didn't have the drive for change that needed to be there.
Thanks Ellen, I have seen a lot of these writing videos. Yours are really the most professional and helpful of any that I have seen. I really appreciate your help.
Like how she introduces the concept of the protagonist driving the plot of a story. Yet narratives like One Piece are perfect counterexamples. Not only is it great in worldbuilding for expansion and diversity, but it shows all the gears in motion. How things are happening everywhere. Regardless of the main cast. How larger figures in the background have their own ideals and motives. Not to mention that in One Piece, the main character and protagonist Monkey D. Luffy doesn't encounter situations because of his personal motives. It's in his exploration of the world and interactions with others that he uncovers these situations and takes it upon himself to solve. Even simpler examples like Avatar: The Last Airbender, we know the world was lived in and the people are as diverse as the environments that they encompass. And as for the situations in this show, it's the same with a different nuance.
Thank you so much for this and other videos have really helped me to feel better about the story I'm trying to wright and my main protagonist, who starts in that victim/victim mentality and I was concerned about him being able to drive the plot. It is nice to know that I'm on the right track, as a lot of what I'm doing has ended up nontraditional, I love your examples and how they can still be applied across the board despite where differences lie.
Thanks for these advice videos, I really appreciate them. It'd be great if you did one video per day. It certainly gives me food for thought when I find I'm in the mire of uncertainty.
I will be doing a video every weekday in July. After that, I'm hoping I will have time to do at least one video per week that answers a common writing question. Thanks so much for watching!
The library example makes me think of Carrie by Stephen King. Despite being bullied and going through teenage hell, she’s constantly proactive throughout the novel
This is so helpful, thank you so much. I've been watching your lessons non stop since yday. It makes me feel like I should re write everything I've done so far tho, hahaha.
What if your protagonist isn't the one driving the plot? What if her life is sucky but she's resigned to it, and then a secondary character enters the story and forces her into doing stuff?
I'm trying to write a screenplay along the lines of Alice in wonderland but in a surreal Paris at night, and it's true that I can easily fall into the trap of lots of weird things just happening to my character passively. Pretty hard mistakes to fix
There's a simple fix, though. If something weird happens, then can't your 'Alice' just do something that makes the situation less stable or causes a different reaction even if it's something unintentional? In that type of story, your main character is never going to be THE driving force of the plot, but they can still effect the world around them, right?
My novel is about an abusive relationship between two teenager the protagonist who is a girl seems very happy, self confident, arrogant and just popular because she has a lot of followers on Instagram and is always the friend who helps She is in contact with a guy for three months via social media and she likes him cuz he just understands her feelings and emotions they later meet and everything is very good at the beginning they get together and she begin to feel happier But some months later he’ll start to abuse her mentally and emotionally and because she’ll always forgive him then it will turn physical and she’ll begin to lose everything to depend on him She’ll change completely She’ll start fighting back and then spnething drastically will happen and shell have to leave the relationship else someone will die (bc of the abuse) At the end of the relationship she’ll start to not care about her boyfriend and she’ll get stronger that’s how she is able to leave After the relationship she’ll learn to live herself, to heal and so on She’ll get to know that God made this happen for a reason and that he has a plan I want to give people who struggle in abisive homes,relationships etc hope Is there any advise?
OK... I think an example of what you mean is "North by Northwest." Not everything Thornhill does makes sense, or is what I would do, but we can see it makes sense for HIM, and HE would react the way he did. Plus he's proactively thinking of things to try to get out of his escalating troubles.
In a fan fic on Susan Pevensie, perhaps this is not the best thing? Her role in 7 Chr/Narnia is very much, _things happen to her._ Her role in my story is more or less a "Rosie Cotton" to Audoin Errol, in the end, and before that a "Rabadash bait" (the _comic_ villain being a Rabadash kind of person). And making other characters meet. She does become pro-active only twice, really, but these are turning points. For her as well as others. Unless you count in her way of being making characters meet and being kind _as_ being proactive.
Action ≠ Progress. The main character does not have to achieve progress on their on all the time, but they have to take action. I think Harry Potter is a good example. He is always taking action, even if he turns out to be wrong in the end. And most problems are solved by his friends (specially Hermione). But the fact that Harry is an active character make it believable that, in the final conflict, he displays enough strength to face the antagonist. I think you put it perfectly when you said: "It's not enough to just put a character in the role of protagonist. That character needs enough personal strength to fulfill that role."
Before watching this video I thought my novel was more plot-driven, but watching this made me realize that the main character of my novel is the entire reason there's a story in the first place. He IS the inciting incident. He's the one who got the ball rolling on the Rube Goldberg machine. Without him, my novel would be a character description and a whole lot of nothing! And then I started thinking about other events in the story, as my other main characters are introduced. Not only does my primary main character who started it all continue to drive a number of events forward, but each of the other main characters is faced with decisions that affect the story. I'm pretty private about most things in this story so I won't go into any examples, but... yeah. It's not only character-driven, it's HIGHLY character-driven. Stuff happens to the characters and at times they must react, but proactivity is a major theme of this novel as it stands. These videos not only affirm my strengths in writing but help me learn how to make my writing even better by pointing out the flaws and letting me mull them over and figure out how to fix them.
I really like this video, even though the title had me hoping it was something else. So here's what I was wondering: how do you suggest writing a story where the protagonist is more of a catalyst for events than anything else? Like, a character who is OBVIOUSLY the main character in the story, but they don't really DO much, but a great story happens BECAUSE of them, because everywhere they go, they trigger interesting events, and/or bring out the traits in all the side characters that would make them most interesting, and not come out otherwise? The best example of this I can think of is the cartoon Inspector Gadget. Inspector Gadget IS very proactive, but all his actions accomplish is comic relief. It's his niece, Penny, with her "computer book" (LOL) and their dog, Brain, that actually solve the crimes, and the henchmen often end up pursuing Penny and Brain instead. And really, Penny, Brain, Dr. Claw, "the chief" and just about every other named character does far more than Inspector Gadget does- in spite of all the "inspector"'s capability. It would seem like the story is about Penny, but ask anyone and they'd all say the story was ABOUT Inspector Gadget, as nothing any of the other characters do would happen without him around. What do you think is the best way to write a protagonist where their most important trait is their ability to bring out the best [traits] in everyone around, (good and bad) and thus cause their own story to unfold around them? And I'm not saying they can't be deeply involved in the events they're causing. Just that the best thing about them is how they make the other characters take actions.
I've heard that the midpoint is significant because, before this, the protagonist is reacting while, after this, they are acting. Am I correct in concluding that you don't agree with this?
I agree. I think the character can be a "passenger" within the storyline until something motivates them to take action and try to drive the plot into their favor.
I feel like that's probably part of the Hero's Journey or some other type of thing like it, which, while a good structure, isn't the only way to tell a story nor should it be the only way.
Personally, I think it depends on what kind of story you want to tell, but usually I think that every character should be active in some way. I typically give my protagonists two separate goals: a selfish goal and a selfless goal. I give a lot of my side characters a goal and a wish; if they're genuinely good people, their wish would be selfless, while their goal is typically more selfish. But if they're more self-serving they could have a selfish goal and a selfish wish. For the antagonists, it really would depend on what kind of antagonist they are as far as whether they had two selfish goals, one selfish goal and one selfless goal, one selfish goal and one selfless or selfish wish, etc. Please note that the biggest difference between a goal and a wish is this: is the character doing something to achieve it? If yes, it's a goal. If not, it's simply a wish. Sometimes the goal(s) and wish(es) of a character will come at odds with each other, forcing the character to choose between them. For example, one of my characters wants to become free of her abuser, but also wants to protect her child. She is forced to choose between them, so she chooses to stay with her abuser in order to protect her child. Her selfish (but very understandable) want is put on the back burner, becoming nothing more than a wish, while her selfless want to protecting her child is something she actively works towards, becoming a goal. Her motivation behind this decision is her belief that everyone should be given a chance. On the flip side, the antagonist of that same story has several wants, most of them selfish. He wants to maintain and expand his power over others, he wants people to like and revere him, he wants to stay alive, and her wants to punish the protagonists. But he also has a more selfless and endearing want, to protect and provide for his family. He has a romantic partner and three children who he cares about very deeply. But once they find the truth about him, he must choose between them and his more selfish goals.
Jane Eyre. She spends half the book enduring hardships. It is her most endearing quality. The system is STACKED against her! And, she triumphs, anyway..
funnily enough, I've hit a roadblock in my book because my protagonist is going to a library and i didnt know how to make that interesting for some reason.. your example was so perfect for me to get the wheels turning in my head haha. thank u!
You could have a fight happen outside. Or something interesting in my opinion if you are doing a romance novel I wouldn't add a romance scene when your character is at the library because that is cliché try something different even do a comedic scene if your book is dark. But this is my opinion so do what you want
I think this is a great video and definitely something which has ruined stories I have written in the past. There are some books I'm thinking of where lot so things do happen to the protagonist and they do seem like the victim such as in 'The Bell Jar'. I haven't read that in a while, so I'd need to look at that again to see how the author carries that off.
I'm just tossing this out there, but what about stories like the silence of the lambs - movie, not the book though I think it was a book first. Clarice Startling is the protagonist. Hannibal Lecter is (kind of) the antagonist, but he's also the teacher and an ally in many ways. That makes him an unusual antagonist and creates the wonderful uncertainty in the movie. Clarice is active, and she really tries and in the end, catches the killer, but Lecter drives the story and the remarkable thing, he was only on screen for like 20% of the movie, but he made the movie work and got a best actor nomination, for not that much screen time. My book is like that, except, picture, Clarice Starling, but not as smart, with a healthy dose of Hamlet like indecision and they meet Hannibal Lecter's crazy nymphomaniac sister who drives the story. Antagonists can drive the plot, at least, at least, I hope they can. I'm writing one.
Great videos, they've been very helpful. I'm wondering if while you are talking you can also throw in examples from existing novels that are well known? For example using a popular character with many relative flaws to explain how that affects their actions etc., for example how Arya Stark wants revenge so much that it leads her to make bad choices ...
my girl MCs tend to be competitive cheer flyers and some sideline cheer so i cant make them clumsy like at all but protags are usually clumsy 😢 “trying to be more impressive so they wont be bullied anymore” my boy mc the girl mc’s brother is a really good swimmer 🏊 and guitar 🎸 player and my girl mc keeps winning worlds in competitive cheer as captain and center flyer and they still get bullied like it’s the same bullies from 8-20 yeah they age throughout the story
First of all: loved the video, it was extremely interesting and informative. However, I have a question for anyone with even just a little knowledge of stories. Do you think it works to have my characters development arc be about becoming more active? My protagonist is rather pessimistic and believes to be unable to change their situation and despite having a motivation and several goals, they kinda get dragged along by their friends at the beginning of the story. However, they learn that sometimes you have to do something for your happiness, which also ties in with the theme of my book. So yeah, do you guys think it would work? I know this Video is rather old but I thought id ask. Thanks for every answer!
It's still a goal. A goal to lead better life for youself. Goal doesn't have to be something flashy like saving the world or anything. Sometime, it can be something like this.
I'm assuming that, when they're being 'dragged along' by their friends, they're resisting that to some extent? That, in it's own way, is taking action, even if that action fails to get the result they want (i.e. to not get involved and have a nice, quiet life.) Pessimism creates resistance to change, and that resistance to change is a motivation - a goal. It might not be considered a positive one, but there's no rule that says a protagonist's goal has to be - at least, not for the early part of the story. Just make your readers believe in your character's reasons for their pessimism and resistance to change, and you'll have your goal-driven character right there. :)
Alina P i’m doing something kind of similar… My protagonist tends to avoid problems instead of confronting them, but I don’t know if that would work… he learns to confront things more as the story goes on. And I realize I did kind of hurt him a lot in the beginning… I think. I have some work to do. :-)
Hahahaha that's actually the exact character flaw I gave her, that she doesn't take action on her life goals. Guess somebody's going to have to change roles haha
Your video just made me realize why I hate Life is Strange so much. Not that the character is abused or anything, but nothing that happens in the story happens due to her own initiatives, something that becomes even more troublesome when you consider that she's a protagonist of a video a game, a medium where the main driving force of the story is the player AKA, the main character. There's already little to no gameplay in Life is Strange, add the fact that the protagonist is never the main driving force of the plot, and you have a game that has so little player input, that you can't help but ask, why is this even a game in the first place.
I have a character that I'm trying to balance out from being too much of a Mary Sue, and I'm not too sure how I'm doing. She starts as a human during the witch trials in about (whenever the witch trials were, I think the 1700's??). Her husband is suspicious of her cheating on him since she's been off talking to other townsfolk about who knows what. He doesn't know that she is pregnant with his twins and accuses her of cheating on him before she has a chance to tell him. Jealousy kicks in, he accuses her of cheating, says she's a witch, she is unable to defend herself, and is burned alive, unborn children and all. She goes to heaven and cannot find her children, therefor unable to make peace with the fact that she couldn't save her unborn children. However, she does make a friend who becomes a brother to her, and sort of helps her through that. Time skip to a long time later, and her friend gets killed by demons. She gets kidnapped and taken to Hell, where she is forced to kill other angels. (I'm still trying to work on the motivation for why demons would make angels hurt other angels and what blackmailing aspects can go there, but I'm not sure yet. Any ideas would be very appreciated.) This is about as far into my story as I've gotten with it. I've been working on it since the end of September, 2019. So far, what I have for her whole motivation piece of the story is that she is very guilt ridden of the people she's hurt/killed/been unable to save, and will do anything to make it right again. Something that you said in the video was to try and avoid the brooding character things, but I'm wondering if my character has PTSD, how often would it be okay to have different types of flashbacks and/or points in the story where she just thinks? I also don't want to make it seem like my story is too boring for the reader, and then pile a bunch of crap on top of it, which is kind of what I feel like the whole "kidnapped by demons" piece is. Is there anything that I can do to help make that much more interesting and involving for the reader?
Planning to write a novel again after a few years. I wrote one in high school but stopped for I do not know where the story should be heading. Right now, I'm planning to write a horror, mystery novel with an amnesiac protagonist. Is it still possible to make him proactive and to drive the plot forward?
Terrific ideas. And to what extent are our characters volitional? One might add a hypothetical notion. Conflict? Yes, of course. But there needs to be a moral conflict as well as a conflict of wills. Since the 20th century, the best stories are based on conflicts of value which are often, for the most part, irresolvable. The success of the story depends on how high the writer can generate a level of ethical quandary. This is what hooks the reader. "What the heck does one do about this?" Is the question left, after denouement. Or am I wrong? (Tell me about it.)
My main character, Crystal Gray, is supposed to be a "passive" heroine. But Im afraid people dont like it, the truth is that this was supposed to be someone who can become a hero without having a sword. She lived under the shadow of real heroes, and never felt to be one because she couldnt fight with swords etc, so she relies on the strength of her decisions, and the power to bring out the good of people´s heart. Do you think this character can work? Or should I really give a sword?
Luís Dias she could still be active without being violent like she can watch everything and tell friends or other heroes about it but in a v entertaining way or she can like help bystanders and the drama could be will she and the people she’s with get to safety in time? outsmarting a bad guy can also be active
The fact she doesn't fit the other characters kind of "active", doesn't mean she isn't. Even in the army, not every is fighting. Are all the rest useless? No.
thank you for this video. you're sharing a lot of good information and I'll definitely refer to it often. also love the little fox picture. where did you get it?
This writing series is like life coaching in disguise, lol. 'Be the sort of character who drives their own plot'
So true!
Buddha: "Be a lamp unto yourself"
I gave like number 100.
@@SuperDecimator Buddha actually.
Ellen Brock is a good teacher.: She has the joy of a good mentor. Thank you to Ellen Brock.
00:01 Intro
00:20 Story is not a series of events happening to protagonist, it is a series of events the protagonist drives forward
Protagonist should not be helpless victim
Readers connect to characters with goals
02:05 Protagonist's steps don't have to be helpful, logical or noble
Can make situation worse
04:00 Victimized protagonist
Takes steps, proactive, even if doesn't fight back
07:25 Avoid victim mentality
Ellen, I love all your videos, but this is truly one of the best. While we frequently hear about motivation (e.g., Kurt Vonnegut said a character should at least be motivated to drink a glass of water), listening to this lesson on the need for an ACTIVE protagonist, rather than one whom things just happen to, suddenly made things go "click" for me. In fact, while listening to you, I actually went into my manuscript and started adding some bits and taking notes for needed changes. You do truly excellent work.
I recently started watching your videos and they rock; So straightforward and simple! Its super easy to watch and use your examples to identify mistakes in my writing and say "Oh you're right...that's me, I do that...", then you step in and give practical ways to fix those mistakes. I am happily subscribed :)
Wonderful tips, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge
And I also like the painting of the fox :)
this was so incredibly helpful and made me realize i had to trust my intuition. i felt like my character didnt have a strong purpose and this resulted in things happening to her rather than her moving the story forward.
Thank you for such an informative video. I think you touch on such an important point. Many manuscripts fail due to a lack of a clear goal for the protagonist. But I found it can be more subtle than that: in my last novelette, my protagonist had a clear goal, but he achieved it largely as a consequence of events happening to him. In order to rectify this dynamic, all I had to do is make him proactive in the face of the events happening to him. He receives an invitation, and he doesn't just go along. He agonises over the decision to go or not, then chooses deliberately (whichever way it goes). Thank you very much, and also for the highlights. Just brilliant:)
Okay, so I need help developing a plot. My plot for a story is about a world where everyone is an archetype or a Mary Sue/Stew. Later, an outside power that takes it his duty to erase said world threatens to kill them all because they were all "mistakes", and "uninteresting to watch" (He's supposed to be more of a plot device himself, and does things that no other character can by breaking the fourth wall). Throughout this process of stopping a mass genocide, the main characters slowly learn how to be "human", and learn true emotions like love, fear, and hate, all of which have never been experienced before. Any thoughts?
Hello. That's a very interesting idea. I have a few questions concerning your characters. First of all, even Mary Sues / Stews have issues, they are not emotionless in the common sense, unless you want to create a world without emotions at all. Then I guess you want to introduce emotions by the confrontation with the antagonist? If that's the case, where does the antagonist come from? A deus ex machina is problematic in itself, even if you use it at the beginning of the story. The goal (destroying all archetypes?) needs to be motivated, beyond the goal itself. Mistakes? Why? Because they are uninteresting to watch? Who watches? Why? Was that always there? Can't he just watch something else? Focus on something else? Create something new? How did the archetypes develope? What about the antagonist who's watching? Is he like a god? If so, how are the protagonists supposed to stop god? If the antagonist has strengths beyond the other characters, because he's able to break the fourth wall, how are they supposed to stop him? Where did he get this strengths from? What kind of world are they living in that prevents them from having emotions? Is there no loss possible to feel sad? No injustice? No jealousy? How do they procreate? Doesn't that invoke tensions (about mating, finding a partner to mate etc.)? How do you separate the characters from each other? What kind of names do you intend to give them? If they are regular names, why do parents choose them? Because they are "pretty"? But they don't feel anything, how do they choose a name? Are there parents at all? Siblings? Don't they have problems, concerning emotions?
Thing is, emotions are necessary to drive a story forward, to invest the reader, and if there are no emotions from the get-go, chances are the reader will not get to a part the emotions become relevant. Every protagonist filters the world through a window of emotions and judements, of self-regulation and self-centerism (or altruism) and mostly, that's the way to engage the reader. So I am not sure if one can pull off a story like that without loosing the reader.
I hope my questions help you a little bit and I wish you luck with your story and hope you'll have fun developing further.
Viridius Greene
It sounds convoluted and like you're trying really hard to sound deep and insightful but come off judgmental and shallow and that can be fine but it's not if you're not aware of it or self aware.
This idea would require careful execution but could be a fantastic meta story if done well. I would definitely suggest your characters be familiar with the concepts of love, hate, fear, and so-forth, but to experience them in shallow ways. Characters "fall in love" because another character is attractive or has one desirable trait, for instance, and then have dramatic sappy over-the-top love confessions and grand gestures and other unrealistic romance things. Then, along the way while they're being tested and pushed, the sort of love they develop could be much more subtle yet profound. Love between friends, feeling true deep connections and desiring nothing more than to keep the people they've come to care for along this journey alive. Love like they've become a family. Maybe one romance but contrast it highly from the norm.
I'd also suggest for tension having one or more of your main characters start sympathizing with the villain after interacting with some people who haven't changed as a result of the massacre. Seeing how flat and boring 'normal' people are and thinking maybe if they were really this bad maybe the villain wasn't so crazy to start this, and that sure they've all become better but if even this hasn't changed most people what will? Aren't they beyond hope? Followed by a message that, no, they aren't. Everyone develops at their own pace and responds to things differently. This wasn't 'their story', but that didn't mean they'd never find one. The fact that they've found each other and new strength proves it's possible, and the party at large chooses to have hope for the rest of the world.
That serves a duel purpose. It encourages the readers that just because they don't feel like a 'main character' in real life or because they don't act as expected sometimes it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them; they're learning and growing like everyone else, at their own pace. And it has the more meta message that no OC-- your own or anyone else's-- is beyond repair. Every writer is at a different stage in their progression, but just because some look bad now doesn't mean they won't or can't improve, and keeping faith is so much better than giving up.
As a result of the characters learning emotions, what happens -- what do they do that they weren't doing while emotionless?
In what sense are they mistakes? Who made the mistakes? Did this outside power create them? (Reminds me of the Flood story; also Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger, at least the Claymation version).
Why does this power need entertainment? Is the outside power in the habit of creating worlds and then destroying them? Why create them? Does the outside power also lack emotions? Does the outside power create world after world in the hopes that one of them will have somebody in it that can teach the outside power to have emotions? How does the outside power know that such a thing as emotions can exist, if it lacks them? How are emotions connected with this whole story other than being a side effect?
Do ALL of the characters learn emotions, or only the MC and fellow strivers? What happens once they have emotions and the rest of the world still does not?
The outside power is clearly the antagonist, but please apply to it all the kinds of reasoning, questions, analysis that you would apply to the MC. You say the outside power breaks the fourth wall; isn't that another way of saying that the outside power is a POV character?
How exactly does the MC stop the genocide? By bargaining with the outside power? (Reminds me of Job). What qualifies the MC, but nobody else, to do this?
Is the outside power an author? Are the characters his fictional creations? Does he erase worlds by throwing manuscript pages into the trash or burning them? (Reminds me of The Neverending Story)
How's your story holding up?
Thanks for your help! This helped me writing Moon, my protagonist in River and Forest. Thanks!! Another tip I might add is twisting the plot against them. This is when someone is headed for a goal and has almost completed it, when *boom* it turns against them. This was helpful to me when I realized my book wasn't long enough.
This was so helpful, I have a protagonist who I couldn't quite understand or feel compassion for, she was just bleak, and I couldn't understand why. I think I need to know what to do know. Thank you so much for your great advice!
thank you for the helpful tips :)
Thanks Ellen, your videos are extremely helpful
ikr!!
Nice tips, Ellen. I really like listening to your editor's/writr's point of view. These tips help rationalize the writing process. This is good insight into the protagonist's role in a novel.
Thank you so much. I'm writing and directing a show for my college and this video perfectly outline why I was struggling with my main chapter and how to fix it.
Thanks for the example about the character’s goal of not wanting anyone to know about her situation- otherwise I’d probably have gotten confused and thought that the character’s goal HAD to be working to better the actual problem in order to be an active character instead of simply having a goal at all
I really love this video. It got me thinking and made me realise that my protagonist has to overcome some challenges more obvious, because she might be considered too passive by a reader. So thank you very much for highlighting some problems and encouraging writers to write main characters who drive the plot forward.
Thanks for the reminder that action doesn't have to equal progress, and even stupid, counter-productive actions are actions.
Omg thank you! I've been having a hard time choosing what protagonist should be for the story, I've been so indecisive. I fail to understand who she is. I got confused in character goal, character motivation, and character agency, and trying to find balance in all of those. I didn't know that not every character can step into the role of protagonist. Thank you for your clarity.
Thanks! your videos are greatly helping me in writing my first novel. Btw, have you considered crafting a book about novel writing? I think that would further help many aspiring writers.
This boot camp is starting out great. I hope you have the time to finish.
Thanks so much! My protagonist was taking too much of a back-seat and this helped tremendously. Your channel is awesome!
I have a story idea with two main characters, both different- one is a fierce and wild young female who steals and the other is a meek, shy male who's rich and sophisticated, but gets pressured into stealing confidential information. They become friends when they are given an opportunity to redeem themselves, and have to work to overcome their differences, all the while the looming threat of a very dangerous and deadly virus waits in the wings. I've recently just started working on it and I'm super excited.
These videos are really helpful in helping me shape my story, and I can already say I've improved in describing my characters. Thank you for making these~
This video is so helpful. It's shown me that I don't know who the protagonist is in my story! Pretty fundamental! Thanks for the tips.
I seem to say this on other channels, however this video couldn't have been seen at a better time. I'm trying to write a YA novel (my first) and my protagonist has been bullied in her High School and deals with negativity with her family. Thank you, Ellen, for giving me something to consider.
Great video. You're so right. I recently had to begin rewriting my novel because the protagonist was defined by fear and didn't have the drive for change that needed to be there.
Hi Ellen, this was the perfect video at the perfect time. Thanks for boot camp!
Make more videos please. it helps me a lot!!
Thanks Ellen, I have seen a lot of these writing videos. Yours are really the most professional and helpful of any that I have seen. I really appreciate your help.
I am very glad you seem to be making some videos again! Thank you Ellen Brock
Like how she introduces the concept of the protagonist driving the plot of a story. Yet narratives like One Piece are perfect counterexamples. Not only is it great in worldbuilding for expansion and diversity, but it shows all the gears in motion. How things are happening everywhere. Regardless of the main cast. How larger figures in the background have their own ideals and motives. Not to mention that in One Piece, the main character and protagonist Monkey D. Luffy doesn't encounter situations because of his personal motives. It's in his exploration of the world and interactions with others that he uncovers these situations and takes it upon himself to solve. Even simpler examples like Avatar: The Last Airbender, we know the world was lived in and the people are as diverse as the environments that they encompass. And as for the situations in this show, it's the same with a different nuance.
Thank you so much for this and other videos have really helped me to feel better about the story I'm trying to wright and my main protagonist, who starts in that victim/victim mentality and I was concerned about him being able to drive the plot. It is nice to know that I'm on the right track, as a lot of what I'm doing has ended up nontraditional, I love your examples and how they can still be applied across the board despite where differences lie.
Thanks for these advice videos, I really appreciate them. It'd be great if you did one video per day. It certainly gives me food for thought when I find I'm in the mire of uncertainty.
I will be doing a video every weekday in July. After that, I'm hoping I will have time to do at least one video per week that answers a common writing question. Thanks so much for watching!
+Ellen Brock Wonderful. I shall look forward to watching them. Thank you for replying.
Thank you; I feel totally overwhelmed and am scrambling to figure out how to apply what you're telling us.
The library example makes me think of Carrie by Stephen King. Despite being bullied and going through teenage hell, she’s constantly proactive throughout the novel
This is so helpful, thank you so much. I've been watching your lessons non stop since yday. It makes me feel like I should re write everything I've done so far tho, hahaha.
Thank you for your time Ellen, your videos are very helpful.
What if your protagonist isn't the one driving the plot? What if her life is sucky but she's resigned to it, and then a secondary character enters the story and forces her into doing stuff?
Hello! Just stumbled across your channel today. Thank you for all the awesome information.
I'm trying to write a screenplay along the lines of Alice in wonderland but in a surreal Paris at night, and it's true that I can easily fall into the trap of lots of weird things just happening to my character passively. Pretty hard mistakes to fix
ohh that sounds good if you need a beta reader...im up for the task
Beta reader #2 if you like. Trade you a 2/3 written novel too if you like.
Thanks guys, I'll let you know !
There's a simple fix, though. If something weird happens, then can't your 'Alice' just do something that makes the situation less stable or causes a different reaction even if it's something unintentional? In that type of story, your main character is never going to be THE driving force of the plot, but they can still effect the world around them, right?
I´m so glad you started making videos again, they inspire me to keep writting :)
My novel is about an abusive relationship between two teenager the protagonist who is a girl seems very happy, self confident, arrogant and just popular because she has a lot of followers on Instagram and is always the friend who helps
She is in contact with a guy for three months via social media and she likes him cuz he just understands her feelings and emotions they later meet and everything is very good at the beginning they get together and she begin to feel happier
But some months later he’ll start to abuse her mentally and emotionally and because she’ll always forgive him then it will turn physical and she’ll begin to lose everything to depend on him
She’ll change completely
She’ll start fighting back and then spnething drastically will happen and shell have to leave the relationship else someone will die (bc of the abuse)
At the end of the relationship she’ll start to not care about her boyfriend and she’ll get stronger that’s how she is able to leave
After the relationship she’ll learn to live herself, to heal and so on
She’ll get to know that God made this happen for a reason and that he has a plan
I want to give people who struggle in abisive homes,relationships etc hope
Is there any advise?
Decided to be proactive by clicking subscribe.
Thanks so much for doing these helpful videos, Ellen! They are very instructive and encouraging.
OK... I think an example of what you mean is "North by Northwest."
Not everything Thornhill does makes sense, or is what I would do, but we can see it makes sense for HIM, and HE would react the way he did. Plus he's proactively thinking of things to try to get out of his escalating troubles.
Finally!!! :D i really needed to see more of your advice.
In a fan fic on Susan Pevensie, perhaps this is not the best thing?
Her role in 7 Chr/Narnia is very much, _things happen to her._
Her role in my story is more or less a "Rosie Cotton" to Audoin Errol, in the end, and before that a "Rabadash bait" (the _comic_ villain being a Rabadash kind of person). And making other characters meet.
She does become pro-active only twice, really, but these are turning points. For her as well as others. Unless you count in her way of being making characters meet and being kind _as_ being proactive.
Thank you for the tutorial : this has made great impact on my assignment on major character analysis. I am in my second year , second semester.
Action ≠ Progress.
The main character does not have to achieve progress on their on all the time, but they have to take action.
I think Harry Potter is a good example. He is always taking action, even if he turns out to be wrong in the end. And most problems are solved by his friends (specially Hermione). But the fact that Harry is an active character make it believable that, in the final conflict, he displays enough strength to face the antagonist.
I think you put it perfectly when you said: "It's not enough to just put a character in the role of protagonist. That character needs enough personal strength to fulfill that role."
This might be something that you didn't expect to teach people, but I learned that I see myself as a side character
Such a useful advice. Thanks
I found this video at exactly the right time....thanks so much, you rock!
This helps a lot! Thank you! Hope to finish my novel soon. Thanks!!! :)
Thanks Ellen. This really helped me.
Extremely useful! Thank you.
LOVE YOU!
thank you very much ms brock :)
Bravo. Very well described.
Before watching this video I thought my novel was more plot-driven, but watching this made me realize that the main character of my novel is the entire reason there's a story in the first place. He IS the inciting incident. He's the one who got the ball rolling on the Rube Goldberg machine. Without him, my novel would be a character description and a whole lot of nothing!
And then I started thinking about other events in the story, as my other main characters are introduced. Not only does my primary main character who started it all continue to drive a number of events forward, but each of the other main characters is faced with decisions that affect the story. I'm pretty private about most things in this story so I won't go into any examples, but... yeah. It's not only character-driven, it's HIGHLY character-driven. Stuff happens to the characters and at times they must react, but proactivity is a major theme of this novel as it stands.
These videos not only affirm my strengths in writing but help me learn how to make my writing even better by pointing out the flaws and letting me mull them over and figure out how to fix them.
I really like your work. I'm very glad to see you back at doing these videos.
Two days, two great videos :)
Thankyou so much for your great writing advice:)
I really like this video, even though the title had me hoping it was something else.
So here's what I was wondering: how do you suggest writing a story where the protagonist is more of a catalyst for events than anything else? Like, a character who is OBVIOUSLY the main character in the story, but they don't really DO much, but a great story happens BECAUSE of them, because everywhere they go, they trigger interesting events, and/or bring out the traits in all the side characters that would make them most interesting, and not come out otherwise?
The best example of this I can think of is the cartoon Inspector Gadget. Inspector Gadget IS very proactive, but all his actions accomplish is comic relief. It's his niece, Penny, with her "computer book" (LOL) and their dog, Brain, that actually solve the crimes, and the henchmen often end up pursuing Penny and Brain instead. And really, Penny, Brain, Dr. Claw, "the chief" and just about every other named character does far more than Inspector Gadget does- in spite of all the "inspector"'s capability. It would seem like the story is about Penny, but ask anyone and they'd all say the story was ABOUT Inspector Gadget, as nothing any of the other characters do would happen without him around.
What do you think is the best way to write a protagonist where their most important trait is their ability to bring out the best [traits] in everyone around, (good and bad) and thus cause their own story to unfold around them? And I'm not saying they can't be deeply involved in the events they're causing. Just that the best thing about them is how they make the other characters take actions.
This is enlightening, thank you Ellen
You are a wunderkind
So helpful
I've heard that the midpoint is significant because, before this, the protagonist is reacting while, after this, they are acting. Am I correct in concluding that you don't agree with this?
I agree. I think the character can be a "passenger" within the storyline until something motivates them to take action and try to drive the plot into their favor.
I feel like that's probably part of the Hero's Journey or some other type of thing like it, which, while a good structure, isn't the only way to tell a story nor should it be the only way.
Personally, I think it depends on what kind of story you want to tell, but usually I think that every character should be active in some way. I typically give my protagonists two separate goals: a selfish goal and a selfless goal. I give a lot of my side characters a goal and a wish; if they're genuinely good people, their wish would be selfless, while their goal is typically more selfish. But if they're more self-serving they could have a selfish goal and a selfish wish. For the antagonists, it really would depend on what kind of antagonist they are as far as whether they had two selfish goals, one selfish goal and one selfless goal, one selfish goal and one selfless or selfish wish, etc. Please note that the biggest difference between a goal and a wish is this: is the character doing something to achieve it? If yes, it's a goal. If not, it's simply a wish. Sometimes the goal(s) and wish(es) of a character will come at odds with each other, forcing the character to choose between them. For example, one of my characters wants to become free of her abuser, but also wants to protect her child. She is forced to choose between them, so she chooses to stay with her abuser in order to protect her child. Her selfish (but very understandable) want is put on the back burner, becoming nothing more than a wish, while her selfless want to protecting her child is something she actively works towards, becoming a goal. Her motivation behind this decision is her belief that everyone should be given a chance. On the flip side, the antagonist of that same story has several wants, most of them selfish. He wants to maintain and expand his power over others, he wants people to like and revere him, he wants to stay alive, and her wants to punish the protagonists. But he also has a more selfless and endearing want, to protect and provide for his family. He has a romantic partner and three children who he cares about very deeply. But once they find the truth about him, he must choose between them and his more selfish goals.
I'm really enjoying these videos. Thank you for making them
Thanks for this video, it helps me a lot :)
You had me hooked by 1:11!
Jane Eyre. She spends half the book enduring hardships. It is her most endearing quality. The system is STACKED against her! And, she triumphs, anyway..
Thanks for the awesome vids Ms.Brock!
Thanks, this was helpful!
Love your videos! They're very helpful!:)
Thanks really helpful!
Another great video. Thanks.
funnily enough, I've hit a roadblock in my book because my protagonist is going to a library and i didnt know how to make that interesting for some reason.. your example was so perfect for me to get the wheels turning in my head haha. thank u!
You could have a fight happen outside. Or something interesting in my opinion if you are doing a romance novel I wouldn't add a romance scene when your character is at the library because that is cliché try something different even do a comedic scene if your book is dark. But this is my opinion so do what you want
Thank you. You've been helping me very much :) great job..
I think this is a great video and definitely something which has ruined stories I have written in the past. There are some books I'm thinking of where lot so things do happen to the protagonist and they do seem like the victim such as in 'The Bell Jar'. I haven't read that in a while, so I'd need to look at that again to see how the author carries that off.
I'm just tossing this out there, but what about stories like the silence of the lambs - movie, not the book though I think it was a book first.
Clarice Startling is the protagonist. Hannibal Lecter is (kind of) the antagonist, but he's also the teacher and an ally in many ways. That makes him an unusual antagonist and creates the wonderful uncertainty in the movie. Clarice is active, and she really tries and in the end, catches the killer, but Lecter drives the story and the remarkable thing, he was only on screen for like 20% of the movie, but he made the movie work and got a best actor nomination, for not that much screen time.
My book is like that, except, picture, Clarice Starling, but not as smart, with a healthy dose of Hamlet like indecision and they meet Hannibal Lecter's crazy nymphomaniac sister who drives the story.
Antagonists can drive the plot, at least, at least, I hope they can. I'm writing one.
Great videos, they've been very helpful. I'm wondering if while you are talking you can also throw in examples from existing novels that are well known? For example using a popular character with many relative flaws to explain how that affects their actions etc., for example how Arya Stark wants revenge so much that it leads her to make bad choices ...
Dang Ellen. Your hair be done grew. And sounds like you got a better microphone. And So the world turns.
thanks so much !
my girl MCs tend to be competitive cheer flyers and some sideline cheer so i cant make them clumsy like at all but protags are usually clumsy 😢
“trying to be more impressive so they wont be bullied anymore”
my boy mc the girl mc’s brother is a really good swimmer 🏊 and guitar 🎸 player and my girl mc keeps winning worlds in competitive cheer as captain and center flyer and they still get bullied like it’s the same bullies from 8-20 yeah they age throughout the story
Thank for making this video
Love your videos. Thanks.
First of all: loved the video, it was extremely interesting and informative. However, I have a question for anyone with even just a little knowledge of stories. Do you think it works to have my characters development arc be about becoming more active? My protagonist is rather pessimistic and believes to be unable to change their situation and despite having a motivation and several goals, they kinda get dragged along by their friends at the beginning of the story. However, they learn that sometimes you have to do something for your happiness, which also ties in with the theme of my book. So yeah, do you guys think it would work? I know this Video is rather old but I thought id ask. Thanks for every answer!
Blue Kasai it sounds like it could work the real challenge is making a livable ensemble like im not funny so i cant write the funny one 😭
It's still a goal. A goal to lead better life for youself. Goal doesn't have to be something flashy like saving the world or anything. Sometime, it can be something like this.
It will totally work most times people want to read about people like themselves and how they handle situations, happy writing!
I'm assuming that, when they're being 'dragged along' by their friends, they're resisting that to some extent? That, in it's own way, is taking action, even if that action fails to get the result they want (i.e. to not get involved and have a nice, quiet life.) Pessimism creates resistance to change, and that resistance to change is a motivation - a goal. It might not be considered a positive one, but there's no rule that says a protagonist's goal has to be - at least, not for the early part of the story. Just make your readers believe in your character's reasons for their pessimism and resistance to change, and you'll have your goal-driven character right there. :)
Alina P i’m doing something kind of similar… My protagonist tends to avoid problems instead of confronting them, but I don’t know if that would work… he learns to confront things more as the story goes on. And I realize I did kind of hurt him a lot in the beginning… I think. I have some work to do. :-)
Hahahaha that's actually the exact character flaw I gave her, that she doesn't take action on her life goals. Guess somebody's going to have to change roles haha
Your video just made me realize why I hate Life is Strange so much.
Not that the character is abused or anything, but nothing that happens in the story happens due to her own initiatives, something that becomes even more troublesome when you consider that she's a protagonist of a video a game, a medium where the main driving force of the story is the player AKA, the main character.
There's already little to no gameplay in Life is Strange, add the fact that the protagonist is never the main driving force of the plot, and you have a game that has so little player input, that you can't help but ask, why is this even a game in the first place.
You're the best!! Thank you
Great video!
Great video
I have a character that I'm trying to balance out from being too much of a Mary Sue, and I'm not too sure how I'm doing.
She starts as a human during the witch trials in about (whenever the witch trials were, I think the 1700's??). Her husband is suspicious of her cheating on him since she's been off talking to other townsfolk about who knows what. He doesn't know that she is pregnant with his twins and accuses her of cheating on him before she has a chance to tell him. Jealousy kicks in, he accuses her of cheating, says she's a witch, she is unable to defend herself, and is burned alive, unborn children and all.
She goes to heaven and cannot find her children, therefor unable to make peace with the fact that she couldn't save her unborn children. However, she does make a friend who becomes a brother to her, and sort of helps her through that.
Time skip to a long time later, and her friend gets killed by demons. She gets kidnapped and taken to Hell, where she is forced to kill other angels. (I'm still trying to work on the motivation for why demons would make angels hurt other angels and what blackmailing aspects can go there, but I'm not sure yet. Any ideas would be very appreciated.)
This is about as far into my story as I've gotten with it. I've been working on it since the end of September, 2019.
So far, what I have for her whole motivation piece of the story is that she is very guilt ridden of the people she's hurt/killed/been unable to save, and will do anything to make it right again.
Something that you said in the video was to try and avoid the brooding character things, but I'm wondering if my character has PTSD, how often would it be okay to have different types of flashbacks and/or points in the story where she just thinks?
I also don't want to make it seem like my story is too boring for the reader, and then pile a bunch of crap on top of it, which is kind of what I feel like the whole "kidnapped by demons" piece is. Is there anything that I can do to help make that much more interesting and involving for the reader?
Very helpful.
I have to think about Frodo here. 😃
Planning to write a novel again after a few years. I wrote one in high school but stopped for I do not know where the story should be heading.
Right now, I'm planning to write a horror, mystery novel with an amnesiac protagonist. Is it still possible to make him proactive and to drive the plot forward?
Terrific ideas. And to what extent are our characters volitional? One might add a hypothetical notion. Conflict? Yes, of course. But there needs to be a moral conflict as well as a conflict of wills. Since the 20th century, the best stories are based on conflicts of value which are often, for the most part, irresolvable. The success of the story depends on how high the writer can generate a level of ethical quandary. This is what hooks the reader. "What the heck does one do about this?" Is the question left, after denouement.
Or am I wrong? (Tell me about it.)
My main character, Crystal Gray, is supposed to be a "passive" heroine. But Im afraid people dont like it, the truth is that this was supposed to be someone who can become a hero without having a sword. She lived under the shadow of real heroes, and never felt to be one because she couldnt fight with swords etc, so she relies on the strength of her decisions, and the power to bring out the good of people´s heart. Do you think this character can work? Or should I really give a sword?
Luís Dias she could still be active without being violent like she can watch everything and tell friends or other heroes about it but in a v entertaining way or she can like help bystanders and the drama could be will she and the people she’s with get to safety in time? outsmarting a bad guy can also be active
The fact she doesn't fit the other characters kind of "active", doesn't mean she isn't. Even in the army, not every is fighting. Are all the rest useless? No.
You are a treasure
thank you for this video. you're sharing a lot of good information and I'll definitely refer to it often. also love the little fox picture. where did you get it?
On point!