The dynamics between protagonists and antagonists, When you're writing, know what you're getting into Options

[MorriganAensland]

Surprise! This is an idea that's been rolling about in my head for quite a while and doesn't involve citing an Extra Punctuation article! Instead, it deals with various stories in various mediums I've looked into recently and thinking about them.

Many, although not all, stories feature protagonists and antagonists butting heads. The conflicts can be determined one of two ways: either the antagonists act on some scheme and then the protagonists attempt to stop them (for example, almost every episode of Power Rangers ever) or the protagonists are attempting to do something and the antagonists attempt to hinder them (Gundam 00 and Code Geass are good examples). But at the same time, you should understand that both of these types of conflicts, if not written well, end up being extremely boring and formulaic.

The secret that holds the conflicts together is understanding this, and slowly working towards an endgame. In both cases, antagonists lose their potency if they always lose.

Now, in case one understand this doesn't mean they should get away with rape, pillaging, and murder at every turn. At the same time they should still be able to obtain short-term victories in some way or form. When you're at the endgame, the situation should be appropriately tense and climactic. There's nothing after it; so you better make sure the finale's the best part or, at the very worst, wholly fulfilling.

In case two, the antagonists really have no big goal other than "defeat the protagonists". Here the typical idea of escalation and letting the antagonists get small victories time after time may build up to creating a hopeless situation that can only be resolved with a Deus Ex Machina. Avoiding this really comes down to planning in advance, I guess, and can help by having direct confrontations between the two be few and far between up until that point. A good story will also incorporate a mix the two, having one be the style of the conflict as a whole while having a few smaller conflicts have the style of the latter. In fact, one of my favorite side-scrolling games, Mega Man Zero 2, creates an interesting dynamic where both types of conflicts are present, with the story actually shifting from you being proactive at the start to eventually being wholly reactionary. It was a nice experience and its story is one of the best in the franchise because of that.

But I digress. The important thing to take from this is know what kind of story you're writing and plan accordingly. Understand what's at stake for both parties involved during every battle and recognize when and how to escalate the conflict.

[P-girl]

Yay for Morrigan's return!

Also, yay for planning!

It's a thing that's often forgotten in fanfiction, leading to discontinued stories because the writer 'Didn't know what to do next'. They usually dug themselves in a hole at that point, having loose plot-thread after loose plot-thread, obviously not going beyond the 'I got this neat idea for a story!' phase and it would take the combined talent of Tolkien, Rowling and Shakespeare to get them out of it. And while it all starts with a good idea, you really need to plan ahead, write, look over said writing, and be willing to scrap parts if they don't flow well or don't contribute to the story. I have tons of ideas for my works. However, only a select few will make it in my stories because the others just wouldn't flow, or I couldn't figure out a decent ending for it.

[MorriganAensland]

Yes, I'm back. Again. V_V

Anyways, I should have time to sit down and write out Minako's finale.

I'm probably going to take a break from writing (like I don't do that enough already) and give myself some time to rest before I start work on the body of Those Who Oppose Infinity, along with looking into a few fanfics I rather like.

[P-girl]

Just do that. I've said it before and I'll probably keep saying it again: I'd rather have a late product I know is the best someone can do instead of a rush job.