This is Story Fanatic, a collection of articles covering story structure and analysis for
creative writers. Published weekly.
This is the character driving the story forward; the one leading the charge towards the Story Goal. This character may or may not be the Main Character of the story. Either way, the main function of the Protagonist is to Pursue.
For the longest time, the world’s population believed the Earth was flat. They also believed that we sat at the center of the Universe. What was fundamental to their ignorance? A lack of proper context. This same deficiency permeates the world of story structure. However instead of the Flat-Earth Society, fans of meaningful stories find themselves facing off against the Protagonist-Centrist Society.
Can a story survive without a well-thought out Main Character Throughline? Not for long. Sure, the promise of the premise might draw in the initial crowds, but the only way to guarantee repeat business is to give the audience something to care about – something to grab a hold of. The Main Character’s most personal issues provide that gateway to empathy so desperately needed for success.
Characters need to have goals, right? If they don’t the Audience won’t know what the character is all about. At least, that is the common perception. Unfortunately, giving a character a goal without fully integrating it into the structure of a story leads a work of narrative fiction open to all sorts of tragic issues.
Are all tragedies created equal? From the perspective of one who watches or reads stories, perhaps. But from the seat of the one who creates and brings to life these stories, a tragedy can take many forms…even that of a resounding triumph.
From the tragic to the very noble, the concept of the hero has grown to such epic proportions that it now borders on the precipice of the meaningless. When it becomes necessary to qualify an aspect of story structure, there should be questions asked as to the veracity of such an understanding. The way forward consists of concrete definitions that require no modification, no mental twisting in order to make right. Clearly defining what makes up a Hero becomes the first step.
When it comes to the construction of a solid story, there seems to be some confusion over how it actually begins. In an attempt to generalize and make easily accessible the idea of the Inciting Incident, many have reduced meaningful storytelling to a generic assumption that often confounds new writers. Clarity can be found by understanding the true nature of this initial plot point.
What made this film so compelling? Was it simply the question of whether or not the top was going to stop, or could it be that there was something more meaningful going on within the bones of this story? A closer look at the Main Character and his place within the larger story offers fans of great storytelling a better understanding of what makes great stories such an engaging experience.
The idea that the Protagonist is always the centerpiece of a well-told story is a fallacy. While this is most often the case in popular American cinema, there are literally thousands of complete and meaningful stories that can be created wherein the audience has no personal attachment to the one character driving things forward. Limiting oneself to an understanding that is easier to get leaves a writer open to creative suppression.
Avatar is an easy target for the online generation of YouTube haters. But what isn’t as well understood are the similarities between this latest Cameron sci-fi monstrosity and its doppelganger from the mid-70s, Star Wars. Those same detractors may have reason to pause if they took the time to fully appreciate what both films were trying to accomplish.
When a story feels like it is slowing down or somehow gets lost in the middle of the 2nd act, chances are there is an issue with a weak or undefined Protagonist. Understanding what the Goal of the story is can go a long way towards establishing this essential character and therefore insure that an audience remains riveted to their seats.
Many hold true to the notion that the Protagonist is always the Main Character. This is an old idea that does not accurately describe what is really going on within the structure of complete stories. Understanding the nature of problem solving and the mechanisms through which stories depict this process is key for those wishing to write something off the norm.
Trust me, there is a difference between the two.
Main Character is a point-of-view and not necessarily always the protagonist.
Sometimes Dramatica can be so precise that an author can become confused trying to determine even the simplest of concepts. The concept of the Protagonist is one of them.