The Problem That’s Pummelling Your Protagonist!
And three questions to help them fight back
One of the most common issues I see from first-time writers (though this issue doesn’t seem limited to beginners) is that of a passive protagonist. A passive protagonist is a character who just seems like they’re along for the ride, they don’t do enough to really warrant them being the protagonist.
One of the worst cases I ever saw of this was in a sci-fi script last year. Throughout the whole story, the protagonist didn’t make one single decision.
And I’m not over exaggerating.
Not one decision was made by the main character.
But what’s the problem with having a passive protagonist? Well, at best, it undermines the character’s motivation if they have any. If they aren’t actively striving toward the goal that has been laid out for them, then they can’t really want it that much, right?
At worst, it fails to make the audience give a hoot.
