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.
No comments:
Post a Comment