Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

How to turn an antagonist into a protagonist? [closed]

+0
−0

Closed by System‭ on Mar 3, 2019 at 19:37

This question was closed; new answers can no longer be added. Users with the reopen privilege may vote to reopen this question if it has been improved or closed incorrectly.

In a piece I am writing, I want to turn an antagonist into a protagonist. I know that numerous ways to accomplish this are somewhere out there, but none of the help with a smooth transformation. Is there a way I can turn an antagonist into a protagonist in a smooth fashion?

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42894. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+1
−0

I don't think there is a smooth way; an antagonist has to reverse course, there has to be a moment of truth in which they betray their followers, or partners in evil, and transition to good.

You can show doubts appearing along the way, and building to the point the antagonist hates doing what they are doing, but there will have to be a moment of truth when the antagonist flips and first offers their aid in a helpful or altruistic act; or first refuses to pursue their own interest at the expense of causing others pain; or first betrays their fellow evildoers, and that is going to be a sharp transition no matter what.

And it should be; that is a moment of significant change, and such sharp transitions make for good dramatic moments. The Bourne Identity (and whole Bourne franchise) is built on exactly this transition; a government assassin sent to kill a bad guy, that cannot bring himself to do it while the bad guy is playing with his young children.

That is told in flashback, but nevertheless it was a sharp transition, Bourne is wounded, he has amnesia, and he turns against his handlers that are then trying very hard to kill him (as a traitor).

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads