Category: The Editor’s Hat

Advice for writing and editing, along with some thoughts about working with editors.

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Understanding the Nature of the Antagonist

When we start the conversation about the protagonist and the antagonist, some writers instantly jump to the conclusion that we are referring to a good-guy-vs-bad-guy story.

One might ask, "What if I don't have a villain in my story?"

My response: "Not all stories have villains. But all stories have characters striving towards a goal of some sort… and there is always something getting in the way."

I dove deeper into this idea in a previous post, highlighting that the role of the antagonist in a story is to get in the way of the protagonist achieving those goals, whatever those goals happen to be. But your protagonist is not necessarily the good guy of the story. And the antagonist is not necessarily another character. The good-guy-vs-bad-guy concept is one of many protagonist/antagonist pairings that might exist.

It's time to take a dive into the different types of antagonists found in stories. And not all of them are characters. We'll be looking at the classic good-guy-vs-bad-guy trope, but we're also going to dive into man-vs-nature and man-vs-self.

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The Role of the Antagonist

When we start the conversation about the protagonist and the antagonist, some writers will instantly jump to the conclusion that we are referring to a "good guy vs bad guy" story.

One might ask, "What if I don't have a villain in my story?"

My response: "Not all stories have villains. But all stories have characters striving towards a goal of some sort… and there is always something getting in the way."

It is that understanding of a character's goal, and consequently what is getting in the way, that helps us to understand the protagonist and antagonist for our story.

In today's post, I want to examine what really makes the protagonist the protagonist… and what the role of the antagonist is.

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Set Learning Goals

There is a saying: You're only as good as the last book you published.

The newer writer might look at that statement and suddenly panic about not yet having a publication. Let me alleviate those fears right now. It's okay if you are still working on your first publication.

The saying above is just a reminder to us writers that we have to continually evolve. Just because you have published a book doesn't mean that you can stop learning. With every book that we write, our skills should be improving.

While some writers are able to take the same formula from one book into the next, for most readers, the same-old book quickly becomes boring. So, we writers need to adapt as a consequence.

The industry is constantly changing. New technologies are becoming available to us. As such, we have to be prepared to change too… or get swallowed up by the evolution of the industry and be left for dust.

So, how is a writer meant to survive when you are only as good as your last book?

Well, for every book that I write, and with every stage of the production process, I aim to learn something new to help me along my journey.

In today's post, I want to talk about setting learning goals for our projects.

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While waiting for feedback, LEAVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT ALONE!

The work of a writer is never really done. We are constantly tinkering with that manuscript, because there is always something that could be changed to make it better. But eventually, there comes a point when we have to put that manuscript into the metaphorical drawer and leave it alone.

When that manuscript is in the hands of another person, that's the perfect time to ignore that manuscript. Resist the urge to fix that typo or change that sentence. Just forget about it. Because if you keep tinkering, then the comments that come back might no longer be valid.

But some writers believe they have the perfect solution for this: Just send the editor the latest version. Never might that the editor is now screaming into the void, because everything that they had done up until that point has been made redundant and they have to start over again. But, at least they have the right version now, right?

Excuse me while I sit here with the phone at arm's length as my editing buddies go into a complete meltdown over the situation.

And the fallout is never pretty.

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18 Tricks for Getting Past Writer’s Block

Writer's block is a real thing, and there could be any number of reasons for why it's happening. You could be out of practice with the flow of writing. Your editing brain could be constantly clicking in and getting in the way of your writing brain. You could be fighting with characters who want to run away with the story, and you could be getting too many ideas from outside sources, distracting you with the new shiny! Or it could be something simple as you're tired and not thinking straight.

Whatever the reason, to deny that writer's block exists is a fool's exercise. However, the ways to get past it count in the hundreds of thousands.

In today's post, I want to just throw some ideas out there on how you could get those creative juices flowing again. This list is far from exhaustive, but the more tools a writer has in their toolbox, the better the chances you have to actually solve the issue that you're having.

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