When you think of the relationship between your protagonist and antagonist, the first thing to pop to mind usually isn’t their being bonded at the hip. They’re different from one another. They don’t want to stick together. They want to get as far away from one another as possible. That’s what creates the conflict!

True enough.

Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell (affiliate link)

But don’t overlook that the grease in the wheels, the flour in the strudel, the spit in the spitwad is glue. Something has to be keeping your protagonist locked in the conflict with the antagonist—and vice versa. Otherwise, why doesn’t one or the other of them just walk away? In his book Revision and Self-Editing, legal suspense author James Scott Bell explains:

[A] major area to explore is adhesive. What is it that bonds the lead and the opposition together? If this adhesive isn’t strong enough, the readers will wonder why the plot should continue at all.

7 Ways to Keep Your Protagonist and Antagonist Engaged in the Conflict

Let’s take a gander at seven possible adhesives you can use to keep your protagonist and antagonist stuck like glue.

1. Duty/Obligation

In China Miéville’s steampunk fantasy Perdido Street Station, the main character Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin can’t walk away from his antagonists, the monstrous slake-moths, because he was the one responsible for loosing them on the city.

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (affiliate link)

2. Hatred/Vengeance

In my medieval epic Behold the Dawn, the antagonist Gethin the Baptist can’t walk away from the protagonist Marcus Annan, because he needs Annan to help him find and punish the men responsible for torturing him years ago.

Behold the Dawn (affiliate link)

3. Survival

In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” the protagonist Sanger Rainsford is forced to hunt down and kill his deranged antagonist, a Russian aristocrat, before the aristocrat kills him.

“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell (affiliate link)

4. Love

In my historical western A Man Called Outlaw, the protagonist Shane Lassiter, caught between his adopted father and the woman he loves, can’t walk away from either because of his complicated feelings for each of them.

A Man Called Outlaw (affiliate link)

5. Enjoyment/Obsession

In Christopher Nolan’s movie The Dark Knight, the demented Joker pursues Batman out of obsessive enjoyment of their cat-and-mouse game. (This particular adhesive is also used frequently in romance stories, in which the protagonists are also the antagonists for much of the story: think Pride and Prejudice.)

The Dark Knight (affiliate link)

6. Greed

In Sam Peckinpah’s movie The Getaway, bank robber Rudy Butler (one of many antagonists) pursues his partners, protagonists Doc and Carol McCoy, because he wants the stolen money for himself.

The Getaway (affiliate link)

7. Pride

In William Faulkner’s Flags in the Dust, Miss Jenny and “Old Bayard” Sartoris take too much pride in the family name to turn away “Young Bayard,” despite his drunken, destructive tendencies.

Flags in the Dust by William Faulkner (affiliate link)

Take a look at your story. Could your protagonist and antagonist walk away right now without any repercussions? If so, it’s time to go super-glue shopping!

Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! What’s the adhesive holding your protagonist and antagonist together? Tell me in the comments!

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