The Third Element: Something to Dread

Mos Eisley Space Port.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

We must be cautious.

(Obligatory Star Wars reference yay!)

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk dread. Have you ever dreaded something? Don’t kid yourself, we all have.  Tests, dentist appointments, awkward meetings, dentist appointments, fights with dragons, or even dentist appointments. 

In the case of a fantasy novel, or any novel really, your protagonist isn’t going to be facing dentist appointments. At least, I hope he’s not. If he is, unless the story revolves around an evil dentist, I don’t think dentist appointments are a good source of dread. 

The “Something to Dread” is a villain (or antagonist, since it isn’t always going to be a bad guy with a curly moustache. Sometimes it can be something like a hurricane or a runaway train).

Something to Dread can also the circumstances a hero faces to get to the story goal (Remember “Something to Want” last week?).  For example, in the Princess Bride, the Fire Swamp would be something to dread. It’s something big and scary that stands in the way of the protagonist (Westley) and his goal (marrying Buttercup).   

Anyway, your story does need an opposing force, or, let’s face it, it would be boring. Any type of opposing force will do here.  Something to Dread is just something that makes life hard for your protagonist, and doesn’t let him win that easily.

So there’s something to dread! Hopefully this post wasn’t too dreadful.

I had to I’m sorry

The Second Element: Something to Want (Plus Percy!)

It occurred to me that last week I never actually told you about my protagonist, which is horrible and I should feel bad. So this week, I will be introducing the story goal (or “Something to Want”) and my protagonist. That’s like, a double whammy or something. 

Yee-haw and such.

So without further ado, my protagonist:

PERCY QUINCE.

Isn't he cute

TADA

But I’m sure you’re all wondering: Who is Percy? What is he like? What makes him tick? Is he a robot? Because people shouldn’t be ticking.

I will answer those questions in order, which will lead nicely into “Something to Want.”

Who is Percy?

Percy is an 18-year-old boy. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. He’s pretty average looking, though I might add he has asthma. This is important to the story later.

What is he like? What makes him tick?

Well, it’s later now. I will explain why asthma is important. His aunt and uncle took him in when his parents died of smallpox. His aunt and uncle would dearly love Percy to take over their ship building business, but what kind of place is that for a poor boy with asthma? He would rather die than spend his life doing that. 

Is he a robot?

No.

 

Percy wants nothing more than to be a doctor and help people in need.

And that, my friends, is something to want. The story goal.

Frodo dropping the ring into Mount Doom. That’s the story goal.

Luke Skywalker to defeat Darth Vader. That’s the story goal.

The story goal is something to want. Because if we have a protagonist (that we like), and he wants something, we will want that too.

The First Element: Someone to Care About

(Disclaimer: I use ‘him’ to describe the potential protagonist of a story, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited to a guy. I promise. You can exchange any ‘him’ for a ‘her’ and be just fine)

What would it be like to read a story without a protagonist? Pretty boring right?

Any story doesn’t exist without the protagonist. Of course, there are lots of other story elements that would cause the story to not exist, such as a plot, setting, and conflict, but if there’s no main character to follow the plot, interact with the setting (and/or other characters, but it is possible to write a story with just one character; look at Castaway. I know there are other characters in the movie, but the majority of the film is just one guy and a volleyball. A volleyball. Named Wilson.)

(I digress.)

Anyway, the point is that you can definitely write a story with only one character, but there has to be at least one character, preferably someone likeable, that we can follow through the story with. Returning to my Castaway example here, imagine if the movie showed us the island with no characters. Just shots of the island, and that’s it. Snoozefest, right? (Please tell me you said right)

But let’s get to the nitty gritty of a protagonist.

Protagonist is a big fancy word that means “Main character.”

Very frequently, the protagonist is subject to unjust suffering. It makes him seem more relatable and not on that  high horse we all know and hate. 

Very frequently.

Very.

Very.

Very.

Very.

Frequently, protagonists are orphans. Of course I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I just think it’s far too overused. You can make your protagonist suffer in thousands of other ways.

Make him have asthma.

Or give him allergies he can’t seem to control.

Maybe he has skin problems he can’t seem to clear up that he’s horribly insecure about

Or you know, make him a redhead. He’ll get all three!

Anyway, the point is you need to make him relatable. If he’s super talented and does everything right on the first try, we won’t be able to relate to him. It won’t be fun to read about him if he doesn’t have flaws.

So make him flawed, make him relatable, and make him exist.

Because there is no story without someone to care about.