This is K.M. Island and you are listening to the Helping Writers Become Authors Podcast. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode,

The Role of the Antigonist in Story Structure,

Part 1 of 2.

If you're a student of story structure, then you probably have a pretty good idea how each of the major

plot beats affects your protagonist, and indeed how the protagonist in turn drives the plot beats.

But what about the antagonist?

What is the role of the antagonist in story structure? Plot can be described in many ways but one of the simplest

and most useful is that of plot as conflict and what creates that conflict.

Although we often hear the word conflict

and think of confrontations and altercations,

what conflict really points to within story is simply the complications that arise

when a character's goal is met by obstacles.

The character must recalibrate, sometimes in a minor way, sometimes in a drastic way, and form a new plan to try to either maintain equilibrium or keep moving forward toward a specific goal.

The beats of classic story structure present a roadmap of sorts through the rising and

falling repeat cycles of a character's intention, action, and reaction.

That character is the protagonist and we often speak of this character as driving the plot. It is the

protagonist's intention and subsequent ability to act upon that intention that

frame the plot. But what about the antagonist?

Now, first, it's important to remember

not all stories will feature human antagonists

or even specific antagonists.

For example, a story's main conflict might arise from the protagonist encountering

...