Protagonists, Main Characters and Viewpoint Characters

Yesterday, I learned these weren't the same thing. Well, I knew about the viewpoint character already, but I always considered the other two terms to be the same. Orson Scott Card establishes a clear distinction between Main Character and Protagonist, however, which I believe is great to keep in mind.

Yes, most of the time, you'll want your MC to be your protagonist. But this doesn't have to be the case, and it can enhance your story to make them different. So what's the difference?

Protagonist: The protagonist is the character we're rooting for. He has our sympathy. We agree with his goals and we want him to win by the end of the novel. If your MC is a hero type, he'll be the protagonist, too. Star Wars' protagonists are Luke, Leia and Han Solo.

Main Character: The Main Character is the character whose actions are driving the plot. His character evolution and final decisions will decide of the novel's end. He has everyone's fate in his hands. If your protagonist is proactive, he's likely to be the main character, too.

Sometimes, however, the main character is the villain. This is true for Star Wars. Luke and co. spend the first two movies reacting to what Darth Vader does. And what is the third's climax? When Vader chooses his son over the Empire.

Viewpoint Character: Sometimes it's best when the viewpoint character is neither the protagonist nor the main character. In mysteries, for example, the POV character is often a sidekick, because the detective knows the murderer a fair bit before the climax (think Doctor Watson and Sherlock here). Most of the time it's advisable to keep the POV on either the MC or the protagonist, however, as this is where the action will be.

Before You Start A Scene...

At the end of January I made a quick list of the weapons I gather prior to starting a first draft. Today the focus is on scenes, because the plotter on me could not dive in without some preparation, at least.

Before I start that blog post (ah!), however, I'd like to point out that I am guest-posting on Tahereh Mafi's most awesome blog today. It's an incredible honour, and you should check it out! Especially since I rarely do 'funny' posts around here.

Now, to business! What do I need to know before I start a scene?

1) What is the conflict here?
Conflict is the driving strength behind a scene. Don't start before you know what your POV wants in this scene, and what stops him from getting it.

2) Who is your POV? Why?
I've blogged about the difficulties of choosing POVs in the past. Look for characters with high stakes, whether physical or emotional. Know your POV and know why he is the one narrating (even with a single POV story, you want to examine what your character brings to a scene that is unique).

3) How does this scene reflect the world?
I might care for this one a lot because I love worldbuilding, and enjoy watching details translate the world I created. Nevertheless, this is a worthwhile considerations even if your setting's a midwest town in the US. Every setting is unique. Not every scene will show it, but the more, the better!

4) Do you have HIP?
HIP in your scene is a concept taken from J.S. Bell's Plot and Structure book. In short: hook-intensity-prompt. Intensity is harder to think of in advance (it goes with conflict), but I like to have an idea of Hook and Prompt before I start.

5) What is the mission of this scene?
This one is from Larry Brooks, at storyfix. In a recent post he gave a small but solid advice: every scene should have a succint mission. (his words, not mine). What is the point of your scene? How does it move the novel forward? This is a great post to read, by the way.

So these are my basics. Also, wow, so many links!

If you are a Super-Plotter, I recommend you check out Margo's (from Urban Psychopomp) scene-building template. Tons of possible questions to ask yourself there!

Is there anything you think I missed? What do you always have at the ready before you start?

Whom To Choose? A PoV Dilemna

One of the constant challenge of writing with multiple POVs is to determine which one should narrate each scene. I'm an advocate of stability in POVs - that is, I try not to change too often, so that the reader has time to get comfortable with each of my POVs before I move on. I also try to have as few of them as I can.

In any given scene, however, I may have more than one POV character. Sometimes it seems obvious who should tell this part of the story, but that is not always the case. Last year I read The Power of Point of View, from Alicia Rasley, and she had some questions you could use to help yourself determine who to pick.

1. Who has the goal in this scene? This character will drive the action in your scene. Often, he's the obvious pick (which doesn't make him a bad choice, far from it). He wants something, and will do what he can to get it.

2. Who has the more at stake externally/internally? Narrating from the POV of the character who stands to lose a lot will raise the tension in your novel. Remember the last post about raising the stakes? It's true for single scenes, too. Bring the reader close to the character who'll care about what happens, and they'll be more inclined to care, too.

3. Is there someone with an intriguing perspective? This can be the character who's a total stranger to the world around, who clashes with his environment. It can also be someone with a special way of saying things which will make the scene a distinct experience. I'd be careful with this one, however. I know extravagant POVs tire me after a while.

4. Who has a secret, and do you want the reader to know? This one is fun, but should not be abused. Sometimes you have a character with a secret, and using him as a POV can help build tension. Getting the reader to guess about the secret will create an interactivity with the scene.

5. Who is not revealing his personality through dialogue and action? You don't need to be into an upfront person's head to get to know him. They'll blurt out anything they think (a problem my characters all have in the first draft, but that's another matter). Sometimes, it's more interesting to use the POV of a character who smiles when he's angry and says thanks instead of an insult.

This isn't an absolute guide, far from it, as choosing a PoV will depend on the current circumstances. These questions help me a lot, though, and I can get through most decisions with them. And when it's not enough, I fall back on my usual trick: I write super-quick draft scenes of both options, and pick the one I like best.

Contradicting PoVs

There is one thing I absolutely love to do with PoV characters, and that's to have them contradict each other. Neither characters are lying, but their respective perspective on life reflects on how they narrate the story. There's a few ways this can become apparent.

1. Their opinion about others. Two characters can have wildly different opinions about the same third character. Say this third man is a king. The courtier who has just been awarded bigger lands may love this king, and describe him as just and generous. The king's wife, whom he hits in a bout of anger, will disagree with that. Or the people dying of hunger in the streets while he holds banquets might not be so keen on calling him 'generous'.

2. Their opinion about each other. This one is even funnier, if you ask me. A relationship isn't always equal on both sides. One character will not always reciprocate the other's feelings.

I just read a perfect example of this is Guy Gavriel Kay's A Song for Arbonne. The chancellor is madly in love with the countess, Signe. He knows it is an impossible relationship, and he has a wife and kids, but he considers this eternal love a simple fact of his life. Signe, however, has no clues about this love. She wonders at times what the chancellor thinks of her and concludes he must believe her weak, and in need of support.

This is fun. It's fun to read and it's fun to write. It's also quite realistic. Not everyone I consider a close friend thinks the same of me, and vice-versa. I often read about this kind of diverging opinions with unrequited love subplots, but it's not limited to it! Go wild.

3. Their versions of events. Two different POVs can tell the very same scene in completely different ways. What a rebel leader thinks of an oppressing government's fall is quite different to how this government's leader will feel about it. Pick any two characters in a scene, and they should have different opinion on what's going on.

There's nothing like contradicting PoVs to add some shades of grey to characters and worlds. You don't have to visit everyone's head to do this. Two characters with different backgrounds are more than enough to bring out the "contradictions" in your story and in your world.

Choosing your PoV(s)

I admit I have never managed to write an entire novel from a single Point of View. I write with large casts of characters. Sometimes it is because my plot spans major events in my fantasy world, but not always. Even in a small-ish setting, such as a single city, I end up with a large cast of significant characters.

If I let myself go wild, I would have a dozen different PoVs all the time.

Restricting myself is always hard. I have to abandon characters I love and let them evolve only in the background. I could use omniscient, of course, but I feel that requires a certain level of skill I've yet to attain. I prefer to stick with third limited, with one character for every scene.

How to choose, though?

I feel every PoV should count. It should be so essential to the story that if you remove it, the novel no longer makes sense. How do you determine that? What a PoV brings is not limited to its influence on the plot. When considering PoVs, I ask myself a few questions, and here they are for your enjoyment.

- Could every information a PoV bring be told in another scene?
- What is the purpose of this knowledge? Is it only to raise tension, to let the reader know something the character doesn't? I personally don't think that is always a good idea.
- How is this PoV's personality compared to the other PoVs? Does the character have an unique voice?
- Are there other things about the PoV that makes it unique? Is s/he from another country? Another social standing? Does he bring something fresh to the story? Is s/he the antagonist?

One of the main reasons I enjoy different PoV is those last questions. I'm a firm believer in approaching a conflict from multiple angles. A single PoV introduces a bias I don't like. On the other hand, I love to have a few characters with strong and contradicting bias. I like to think it adds a depth to my story.