Most of the time when we think about a story’s antagonist, we simply think of the “bad guy.” The antagonist is the character (or force) that opposes the protagonist’s forward progression in pursuit of the main plot goal. This is fundamental plot theory, linked to the old saw about “no conflict, no plot.” The antagonist […]
May 10, 2021 by 28 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 14: The Mage’s Shadow Archetypes
Structurally speaking, it is always the end of a story—its Climactic Moment—that tells us what it is about. The Climactic Moment ends the external plot by telling us who “wins.” But it also, implicitly, ends the protagonist’s arc by showing us whether the character succeeded in arcing positively and helping others to do the same, […]
May 3, 2021 by 41 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 13: The Crone’s Shadow Archetypes
The final two archetypal character arcs within the life cycle signal a distinct departure from the realm of the known. After sacrificing herself for the Kingdom at the end of the King Arc, the seemingly diminished Crone, leaves behind the “real” world of Kingdom and throne and enters instead the spooky forests and liminal hinterlands […]
April 26, 2021 by 35 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 12: The King’s Shadow Archetypes
Throughout the progression of the six archetypal character arcs that make up the human life cycle, we see a steady progression of the character’s power. As we explored in the positive King Arc, this final mid-life arc represents the height of temporal power. The King is someone who wields a vast amount of influence not […]
April 19, 2021 by 54 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 11: The Queen’s Shadow Archetypes
A character who makes it through the Hero Arc is a character who has graduated into a brave new world—the Second Act of the life cycle of archetypal character arcs. This section of life, which deals with questions of relationship and power, begins with the first of the “mature” arcs—that of the Queen. But like […]
April 12, 2021 by 42 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 10: The Hero’s Shadow Archetypes
Here in the 21st Century, we often have a confused relationship with the Hero archetype. On the one hand, he is everywhere and we love him and resonate with him. On the other hand, his sheer omnipresence has inevitably highlighted his negative counter-archetypes in almost equal force. This is because wherever we find a would-be […]
April 5, 2021 by 41 Comments CharactersArchetypal Character Arcs, Pt. 9: The Maiden’s Shadow Archetypes
In so many ways, we view life as a story. Within the lifelong journey of this story, the first challenge is that of becoming an autonomous individual—an independent and responsible adult. However obvious that may be, the journey itself cannot be taken for granted. Indeed, although we may all grow up chronologically, the struggle to […]
October 12, 2020 by 64 Comments PodcastThe Link Between Your Story’s Pinch Points
Of all the paired structural beats in a story, the Pinch Points are perhaps the most obvious. There are only two of them, they have the same name, and they perform essentially the same function in both their first and second iteration. They’re also perhaps the least known and most confusing of all the major […]
August 31, 2020 by 94 Comments Characters7 Considerations for Your Antagonist’s Motivations (Which Will Save You SOOO Much Trouble)
Your antagonist’s motivations can make or break your story. If your antagonist’s motivations are weak, unconvincing, or over-complicated (which is usually symptomatic of the first two problems), then you will severely undermine your story in several key areas. Not only will you end up with a weak character to oppose your protagonist, but you may […]
July 20, 2020 by 47 Comments Novel Endings4 Questions to Prevent Plot Holes
How peachy would the writing life be if we didn’t have to prevent plot holes. Just imagine—you could write anything you wanted to, and every single thing would make sense. No need to worry about the fact that your two awesome scenes actually don’t make sense side by side. They get to be in the […]
