Without any further preface, here's:
Creating Character Driven Stories
Or, how to choose the right protagonist for the job.
Think for a moment about the premise of your story. What makes it cool, what makes it different, what characteristic of the story makes it yours and not some other's story.
It is likely that your protagonist is related to this premise, in one way or another. My novel, Guns of Liberty, began with a desire to make a story about airships. Therefore, it was a logical conclusion that my character should either: be an airship captain, or, want to be one. (I ended up with one of each.)
If your book is about dragon riders, then your character is likely a dragon rider. They can be an aspiring, a practicing, or a retired dragon rider, but they will be related to that premise somehow. Otherwise, they're probably not your protagonist.
These are three important characteristics of your protagonist. If they are aspiring, then your book is likely about their journey from aspiring to practicing. If they are practicing, then is their story a rising journey, or a fall? And if they're retired, what forces call them back into action?
It's important to establish where your character begins, because then you understand where they need to go. And if the protagonist is the force driving the story forward, then the antagonist is the force trying to stop them getting there. If your retired dragon rider is trying to get back in the saddle, why can't they? What is stopping them? Who is stopping them? And even more importantly, what force is driving them back into the saddle after they'd previously given it up?
These are the fundamental questions of a character driven plot. It all stems from the conventional trinity of Goal, Motivation, Conflict that every main character requires at a bare minimum. The key here is that we are using our premise as a means to shape those questions, and therefore weaving our characters, our story, and our world together all in one.
Because at the end of the day, these three aspects are three sides of the same coin, and cannot exist as separate entities.
If you're still not sure who your protagonist is, or how they tie into your plot or your world, it's not too late to do so. Your story is a lot more malleable than you might think!
Ask the following questions of yourself, and of the characters:
- How does this character relate to the premise?
- What do they want to accomplish most in the world? (External Goal)
- Why do they want it? (Internal Motivation)
- What is stopping them? (External Conflict)
- And finally, what flaw is holding them back? (Internal Conflict)
Your protagonist's goal, and their conflict, are the driving force of your story: the mid-point breakdown, and the final confrontation.
Whether you have already decided on a plot, or you're still pantsing your way through it, having a character goal will keep you steering in the right direction.
Just try not to get dragged behind the cart.
Thank you, and write something every day.