This is a useful question for determining a character’s importance. If the story is the same without them, why are they necessary?

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We usually plot from the protagonist’s perspective. But what about their opponent? As demonstrated in Infinity War, plotting from the antagonist’s POV can produce remarkable results.

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Stories are about change. This is an episode about one way to quantify change – and make sure that things actually happen in your stories!

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Fight scenes become good (or bad) before the first punch is thrown. It’s all about the set up.

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Having recently finished ‘The Blinding Knife’ by Brent Weeks, I was reflecting on why I loved it so much. Then I came across an interview with Rob Kimbro, playwright extraordinaire, and I realised why. This is an episode about my epiphany.

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Brandon Sanderson has often recommended cutting your initial drafts by 10% to make them more concise. This episode explains how this can help.

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If someone’s punched, they’re going to be angry. But what else could they feel? Could they feel glad for the chance to fight back, to unleash their pent-up aggression? Could they feel like they deserve to be hit? Going beyond the obvious emotion is how you create complex characters.

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If your characters make the decisions 99% of other characters would make … they probably won’t stand out. Choices are critical in fiction. They tell readers who a character is and what they’re prepared to do. This is an episode about choice.

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Statistically, you spend more time living your own life than anybody else’s! Why not steal from that in your stories?

In this episode, I explore what I think is the best way to use your experiences to inform your fiction. The key idea: extract qualities and emotions, not the actual facts/reality.

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“Who is the antagonist, vs who can be the antagonist” – Tricia Aurand, Beyond the Screenplay episode 12 (The Minority Report). Listen to the full episode here: https://anchor.fm/beyondthescreenplay/episodes/Episode-12-Minority-Report-e4b74a

It’s a fascinating idea. Considering who can be the antagonist puts character first and story role second, and this has potential to produce sympathetic, interesting villains.

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