Pre-NaNoWriMo Book Giveaway Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of Pre-NaNoWriMo Book Giveaway! Another NaNoWriMo Prep tip and opportunity for you to win a book or course of your choice. Click here for the list of pre-nanowrimo books and resources giveaway prizes awaiting you.

DAY 4 Pre-NaNoWriMo Tip

In day 1, you were asked to consider the change or transformation your protagonist (the character most changed by the dramatic action of your story) undergoes in your story. Emphasis is given to the protagonist’s character emotional development because the change a character undergoes is pivotal to writing a great story. Yet it’s important to remember that the protagonist is only as good as her antagonists.

Today, you’re asked to consider your protagonist’s major antagonist.

The main character faces many antagonists throughout the story — anything or anyone who stands in the way of your protagonist achieving her goal is considered an antagonist. In every scene the protagonist has a goal she believes takes her another step nearer to her desired goal. Every scene has some sort of direct or indirect conflict, tension, suspense or uncertainty which comes from whatever stands in the way of her moving forward.

Some antagonists and obstacles come and go — the weather, a time limit. Some antagonists continue throughout the entire story with the protagonist. A story does not require that you have a physical antagonist with a face and a name and a past. And, yes, many protagonists are riddled with an internal antagonist that does more harm than any external interference. However, by creating an external antagonist(s), you afford yourself more opportunities to develop excitement in the exotic world of the middle (the antagonist’s world).

Antagonists create subplots in the middle and help create the tension and conflict that leads up to the antagonist climax which serves as the protagonist’s crisis (around the 3/4 mark in your story which you should reach and write on 11/21 (for the NaNoWriMo writing schedule — Day 3 tip, click HERE).

As you pre-plot for NaNoWriMo, be sure to develop the antagonist(s) with the same attention to detail as you do your protagonist.

(Additional tip: The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories has all sorts of antagonist’s exercises and plot planners. Play and win a copy for yourself! For a list of other books and prizes, click HERE)