For the next few weeks I’m going to focus on the main character types found in stories. As with everything in life, if you have one thing you also have its opposite. Therefore, I’m presenting these character types in pairs to show both sides of the coin, so to speak. This week is about the two most important characters in your book: the protagonist and the antagonist.
Protagonist
This is your main character, and the one your reader should be most invested in as the story progresses. The protagonist drives your plot forward.
This person can be a dynamic (changing) or static (unchanging) character, depending on if you want your character to grow throughout the book or not. An example of a dynamic character is Ender Wiggins who grows into a wise and cunning leader. A static character is like Miss Marple whose story is about how she reacts to her environment and not about how she grows as a person.
If you are writing a dynamic character, there are two main ways to write the protagonist.
1. Hero
A hero is usually a young or unskilled character. They have a lot of trials to overcome, but genuinely care about others and want to help them. Throughout the book, he will learn how to be a hero and gain the skills to win in the end. The key to a hero is to start with an incompetent character and form him into a skilled hero. Harry Potter (Harry Potter) and Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) are examples of heroes.
2. Anti-Hero
The anti-hero is opposite of the hero. He is usually older and highly skilled. The character could wield power if there is a magic system involved. The drawback is that the anti-hero doesn’t care about others. He is self-serving, and his story is about learning to care about other people. The anti-hero grows internally more than externally. He already has the skills, but he needs to gain the compassion to use it for good. Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind) and Logan/Wolverine (X-Men) are examples of anti-heroes.
Antagonist
Typically labeled the villain, the antagonist is the opposite of your protagonist. He is usually skilled and cunning, and his goals are in opposition to the protagonist. The antagonist makes life difficult for the protagonist, but it’s important not to make him evil for evil’s sake. Give him a convincing backstory that explains why he’s bad. You don’t have to make excuses for him to the reader, but make it believable why he’s that way.
Due to their conflicting goals, the antagonist and protagonist will end up warring against one another in a race to achieve their goals. If one achieves his objective, the other cannot. Examples of antagonists include Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) and Jeanine Matthews (Divergent).
Also note, the antagonist does not have to be a person. It can be the environment like in The Martian.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, the protagonist is your main character, and the antagonist is your villain. The whole story revolves around these two opposing forces and how good triumphs (or doesn’t) in the end. These should be the two characters you spend the most time developing, for without them there is no story.
Thanks for reading!
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