McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
How powerful should a protagionist be?
DragonFire:
--- Quote from: Shecky on August 31, 2007, 12:54:17 AM ---Let's see... "tougher than my protagonist" - Harry himself says Cowl's way above him in power, skill and general toughness. "Holds about 80% of the cards" - Cowl knows what's going on, Harry doesn't. "Tough flunkies" - Harry barely beats Cowl's pair, and that's with puh-sychology an' stuff.
--- End quote ---
WEll, yes, I generally like my antagonist to know his own plans. THat why he holds the cards.
As to the rest, well I mever claimed it was a unique way of creating a protaganist/antagonist power balance.
meg_evonne:
I think Butcher has the mix perfect. Antagonist has it over the protagonist (who isn't too far behind) but manages to win w/ something human or some human characteristic. Rowling same thing. L'engle same thing. It's a mix that I happen to love and given the popularity of the authors, must be fairly conmon to tons of readers.
One could say that Jesus was in the same boat, but that's another thread. :D
Shecky:
--- Quote from: Lightsabre on August 31, 2007, 01:07:15 AM ---WEll, yes, I generally like my antagonist to know his own plans. THat why he holds the cards.
As to the rest, well I mever claimed it was a unique way of creating a protaganist/antagonist power balance.
--- End quote ---
Oh, no, sorry, wasn't trying to say it wasn't unique or anything like that - simply showing that the formula is a well-used one. I mean, if the antagonist is weaker, the protagonist would whip him regularly, and if he were that much stronger, the protagonist could only win with sheer luck, loads of help and the like.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Lightsabre on August 30, 2007, 10:25:02 PM ---I also like to have him/her have some tough flunky's that my protaganist can beat up. THat way, he shows he's competent and capable, yet he doesn't feel overpowered.
--- End quote ---
Problem with this, is that the easy failure mode for this is the completely predictable The Crow: City of Angels plot shape; villain turns up with three or four persons of hench, you know absolutely that the hero will get to fight them each one at a time before a final confrontation with the boss. Which works for some kinds of video game and more or less works for the kind of movie where showy fight scenes are much of the attraction, but is very easy to make boring in print.
Now a set-up like that in which the boss villain gets unexpectedly shot in the back of the head a third of the way in and the people of hench have to try to put the boss's plan together and do it in different ways and end up working at cross-purposes, that's interesting. The various necromancers in Dead Beat are doing something similar, come to think of it.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: meg_evonne on August 31, 2007, 02:17:07 AM ---I think Butcher has the mix perfect. Antagonist has it over the protagonist (who isn't too far behind) but manages to win w/ something human or some human characteristic.
--- End quote ---
Looking at most of Harry's big end-of-book victories, what they seem to have in common is a gift for lateral thinking, for defeating foes who are stronger head-on by coming at them from unexpected angles. Which is I suppose a human characteristic, but I like to see thinking getting people places. I have this vague notion that Harry's gift for thinking about how to do unexpected things with defined situations may owe something to having been brought up by a professional stage magician.
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