Phillip Williams - Author
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I absolutely adore the symbolism in the picture above. If you're writing, you will totally get this. You might sometimes find that your protagonist isn't really doing anything and you find yourself wondering... should I just sack them off and try a new idea or try and fix them? I have fallen victim to this myself and it is a product of the books that I read. I am a huge fan of crime fiction and writers like Jefferey Deaver, Sean Black and Simon Kernick (in no particular order, I hasten to add). In these books, the focus is usually on the detective. It's his, or her story and this has translated into my writing. However, my problem is that the detective in the story is part of the sub-plot... so I found myself focusing on him, therefore throwing a massive shadow over my main character (who is the prospective victim of the story). A part of me said... well, let's make it about him instead. Logic dictates... but why should it? I'm biting back and sticking my middle finger up to my logic. Screw you, I'm not giving up on her. So, here we go! I'm one for making things simple... to an extent... so let's break it down. Firstly, let's have a look at what makes a good protagonist. Interesting There is no point writing about someone who hasn't got much going on. I get it. There are people out there that are boring but the whole reason you are writing is to tell a dynamic story. You don't want your readers to turn off. Make your protagonist relatable... add some humour, some sarcasm, some honest feelings about the situations at hand. This will allow the reader to relate to your character. Why on Earth do you think we keep watching soaps on TV? Because we care about the characters and what happens to them. You want your readers to feel the same about the main person in your story. Realistic Your characters need to feel like they're real people that you're telling a story about. Give your protagonist an intricate backstory. This will help you to figure out how they would react to certain situations. How were they raised? If they were raised by slobs, the likelihood is that they will be slobbish themselves (or an interesting twist would be if they wanted to change and become successful... see 'interesting' above). If they were raised in a respectable household, they might have exceptional manners, for instance. What has happened to them? Make them flawed. There isn't a single person alive who isn't. Whether it be as simple as self-consciousness or something more dramatic like post-traumatic stress disorder. Your character needs these flaws. Also, make your character inconsistent sometimes and self-contradictory. People aren't robots and your characters shouldn't feel like they are. They also need to have their own unique voice... but that's another blog for another day. Active Is your protagonist driving the story forwards? If the answer is no then you need to do one of two things. 1. Get a new protagonist 2. Work harder and get re-designing As mentioned above, I've decided go for the latter. It's going to take work and it's going to take graft. My so-called protagonist was just letting life happen to her (spoilers) and I'll be damned if I can't make her strong enough to stand on her own two feet. The story needs to be able to stand alone with just her point of view so I need to change the story up and get her doing things that push the plot along. So there we go, a few hard truths and hopefully some insightful input. Let me know what you think. What do you think makes a particularly strong protagonist? Thanks for reading. Until next time...
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Hi, I'm Phil Williams. Welcome to my blog.
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