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mbarkerWriting Excuses 13.5: Villain, Antagonist, Obstacle
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/02/04/13-5-villain-antagonist-obstacle/
Key points: Holding up a mirror to hero, protagonist, main character, we have villain, antagonist, obstacle. Something or someone in the way is an obstacle. Someone intentionally working against the protagonist achieving goals is an antagonist. Evil makes a villain! Villains, antagonists and obstructions are key to good stories. Conflicts make the story change, while obstacles are just in the way. You may decide which one to use based on where you want the story to focus -- obstacles make protagonists more proactive, while antagonists and villains often make them more reactive. Consider scale. Superpowers and minor issues don't play well together. Antagonists can allow you to explore different viewpoints around an issue, topic, or theme.
( Thesis, antithesis... )
[Brandon] Mary, you had some homework for us.
[Mary] Yes. So. Last month, when we were talking about hero, protagonist, main character, we had you tell a story where you broke the hero, the protagonist and the main character apart and told it from different viewpoints. What we want you to do this time is to only have one main character, but they're facing three different types of problems. Same scene. One time, you're going to write it where they're just facing an obstacle or an obstruction. The next time you write it, reset everything to zero, and now they're facing an antagonist. Then you do it again, and they're facing a villain.
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2018/02/04/13-5-villain-antagonist-obstacle/
Key points: Holding up a mirror to hero, protagonist, main character, we have villain, antagonist, obstacle. Something or someone in the way is an obstacle. Someone intentionally working against the protagonist achieving goals is an antagonist. Evil makes a villain! Villains, antagonists and obstructions are key to good stories. Conflicts make the story change, while obstacles are just in the way. You may decide which one to use based on where you want the story to focus -- obstacles make protagonists more proactive, while antagonists and villains often make them more reactive. Consider scale. Superpowers and minor issues don't play well together. Antagonists can allow you to explore different viewpoints around an issue, topic, or theme.
( Thesis, antithesis... )
[Brandon] Mary, you had some homework for us.
[Mary] Yes. So. Last month, when we were talking about hero, protagonist, main character, we had you tell a story where you broke the hero, the protagonist and the main character apart and told it from different viewpoints. What we want you to do this time is to only have one main character, but they're facing three different types of problems. Same scene. One time, you're going to write it where they're just facing an obstacle or an obstruction. The next time you write it, reset everything to zero, and now they're facing an antagonist. Then you do it again, and they're facing a villain.
[Brandon] This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
