Characters: Protagonists

One of the most fundamental aspects of writing is crafting interesting, likable protagonists for the story.  A protagonist, if you aren't aware, is the leading character in a story who the audience is most supposed to relate with.  It is a general rule that if a story doesn't have a protagonist, then that story does not have a very strong narrative.  The protagonist gives the audience someone to root for, a character whose actions drive the story and give it meaning.  Sure, you could have a story about just some random things sitting around, but with no protagonist, the story simply falls flat.  However, this does not necessarily mean that the protagonist has to be a good person, just someone the audience can support and hope to succeed.  A good example of this is Alex from A Clockwork Orange.  Alex is by most means NOT a good person at all, as he robs stores, assaults minors and commits murder, but he is the one who is narrating his experiences to us.  We, as an audience, become most emotionally invested in Alex as the tale unfolds.

 So if protagonists can be both good and bad people, are there any qualities they should have?  The answer is yes: protagonists must be in some way likable and interesting to us as an audience.  But what exactly constitutes as characters who have these qualities?  Well, I've found a good basic place to start is the moral alignment chart made famous by Dungeons & Dragons:

(by Dogpersonthing @ http://dogpersonthing.deviantart.com/art/Blank-Alignment-Chart-413418733)

Generally, when crafting a character, try to place their general attitude in one of these nine basic categories.  It should give one a basic place to start when examining how your characters will behave in a given situation.  For example, if my protagonist Enoch the Greater was of the Lawful Good alignment and came across a weary escaped prisoner, it would be of Enoch's alignment to help the prisoner until he was once again ready to serve for his crimes.  However, this could lead to some interesting dilemmas internally with Enoch.  He may want the prisoner to stay free if he doesn't seem like such a bad man.  Alternatively, he may be taken advantage of by the prisoner, and come to regret his decision to nurse him back to health.  All of these scenarios place Enoch in a relatable light that gives us emotional investment with him. It's worth noting that, while the alignment chart is a good place to start, it is not necessarily the end-all, do-all for a particular character's, especially a protagonist's, decisions in a story.

Another important idea to keep in mind while writing protagonists is that of Jason Campbell's hero's journey.  In a hero's journey, the character grows as a person in regards to the general plot of the tale.

 For example, if my protagonist, John Redhelm, is called to kill the dragon terrorizing the Northern villages, he would find himself at the beginning of his own heroic journey.  The amazing thing about Campbell's theory is that it is applicable to not only nearly all ancient stories and legends but also many modern day ones as well.  If writing a protagonist and how the plot unfolds for him/her is becoming difficult for you, you could always just step back and see if Campbell could help you out in some way.

Next week, I'll be taking a look at the opposite of the protagonist - the antagonist.  From there we'll be examining three dimensional characters, plot conventions, tropes, setting and so forth.  Thanks for reading and see you next week!