this is actually a great and quite insightful video to watch in the wake of the series Jujutsu Kaisen, where there was a great deal of confusion around the "whose story is this" question nearing the end of the story. though to be fair, i think most of that confusion was just from twitter.
Thank you for your wonderful cultural literary channel mr Luke. I gathered main information about topic you mentioned briefly here it’s there are five essential characters in any story protagonist is main character, often referred to as hero , it’s depending on genre of story , no uncommon for romance , sci-fi, historical novels to follow two protagonist. Protagonist whose have positive traits outweigh his negative ones. Antagonist aren’t wholly good , they’re complicated and flawed, may one person or group of people, antagonist attacks protagonist in sense of villainy . Mentor is person who wisely guides protagonist in some ways. He is experienced and helpful. He is often , May set off on his hero journey, he needs someone to guide him to correct path .sidekick is loyal companion of protagonist while , mentor shows protagonist path , it’s sidekick who accompanies protagonist down path . Sidekick in story have doubts and through them as he accompanies protagonist journey.
@Khatoon170 Excellent summary! The concept you've uncovered is also known as "character archetypes." I'll do a video on this sometime soon. Thanks for watching, as always! 😁
He's back! Interesting video as always. The viewpoint character makes me think of the witness character that's very common in manga and anime, with the distinction that witness characters aren't necessarily important ones (they're sometimes just a random passerby). I find that it really elevates a story in general. I'd be curious to get your views on ensemble casts, where there isn't just one main character. There aren't much information on this topic around, yet it's a fascinating one I think.
@@creativewritingcorner I look forward to it! A friend and I are currently writing a script with an ensemble cast. I was surprised at how few resources there are on the topic.
Best luck, i think a big thing ix they are distinct enough to not get confused and its hard to neither neglect thrm nor repeat. And conflicts between them is , ok i think more pov is easier to mess up, thats why its not that often brought up. I think the start is their voice bring distinct enough. And i think of you can take s lot ftom the protagonist just alter the view that every character has some kind , whatever it is, of impact, can even be personal. Or fail. @@misterwhyte
@@marocat4749 Thanks mate. We're trying to do what Reginald Rose did with 12 Angry Men, which is having each character have a certain way of talking that instantly identifies them. It really forces you to picture the character, who they really are, what they think, how they behave. It's interesting and challenging.
Great video! I haven't picked up Card since Speaker for the Dead 10yrs ago and had no idea he wrote on writing. I wonder how he'd apply these rules to a multi-POV novel
Great question! He does address this when he discusses Octavia Butler's 'Wild Seed', which swings between the hero's & villain's points of view. Even with a multi-POV novel, for Card, you'll still have to choose a "main character" and probably a "protagonist". In 'Wild Seed', half the time we're in the heroine Anyanwu's perspective, while the other half we're in the villain Doro's POV. Anyanwu is the protagonist - the one we as the reader want to see win - but Doro is at least as much or more the "main character," since it is his decisions that drive most of the action of the story.
I actually have been writing a king main character, and it is definitely hard. Can see so much of his lack of freedom to act, so it's ballooning out to incorporate his subordinates and such. But overall, lack of freedom to act is a huge theme of the story, as he is getting bored and wants for that adventuring warrior captain life he once had, all while fully knowing he has it good with a strong family and decently growing grasp of politics.
Last part of my research sidekick is loyal companion of protagonist while mentor shows protagonist path , it’s sidekick who accompanies protagonist down path . Allow your story sidekick to have doubts and process through them as he accompanies protagonist journey. Skeptic is May also be protagonist, unlike sidekick. Skeptic won’t support protagonist journey. The skeptic is voice of reason , often reason conflicts with emotions, which may be personified as sidekick. Skeptic isn’t same as antagonist, May counsel for protagonist, but will not stand in his way . Thank you for your giving us chance to read learn new information improve our English as well . Happy thanksgiving in advance. Best wishes for you your dearest ones .
A lot of the time the villain is doing the crimes or other evil acts that motivate the hero to stop them. So in those cases the villain is the main character, and the hero is the protagonist. Without the villain the hero could stay at home
At 5:10, I have to disagree with you about Card's advice being against the grain. The main characters in most fantasy fiction are losers and nobodies. My favorite movie growing up was about a kid named *Wart,* of all things. Yeah, he eventually *became* King Arthur, but by no means did he start off that way.
I see what you're saying. I certainly wasn't trying to throw the whole field of fantasy under the bus, but Card is pointing out a pretty common trope in fantasy and sci-fi - not necessarily GOOD fantasy and sci-fi, but not uncommon, either. And of course T.H. White knows what he's doing with fantasy fiction; he practically invented the form. Hence "The Once and Future King" begins with Arthur as Wart, a poor nobody who makes good, as most stories about important people are more interesting and relatable if the characters are introduced to us BEFORE they become important - so we get to see them "earn" their power. The thing is, fantasy/sci-fi authors generally want to write about (and their readers want to read about) characters who can make an impact on the world as a whole. Hence the reason the officers are the main characters of Star Trek, Game of Thrones focuses on the nobles and their kids & retainers, Bilbo and Frodo get teamed up with dwarven, elven, and human royalty, etc. It's not a universal rule, of course, but the major characters of many fantasies do tend to be people of significance or station in their respective worlds - which means the author has to do some work in manipulating events to make such characters relatable and give them the necessary freedom and power to change things.
@@creativewritingcorner I'm trying to think of a book that serves as a counterexample to the "Wart" thing--not because I'm eager to argue with you but beacuse I enjoy discussing this sort of thing--and I'm not coming up with one. I don't think Aragorn and the others count, because Lord of the Rings starts with the little folk, and because *every* story is liable to include some major figures, but their inclusion doesn't really negate the choice of a lesser figure as a viewpoint or a main character. It could be that I just can't think of any such books because I've never bothered reading one. Admittedly, I *do* think this is somewhat relative. You can have a book about--say--the younger son of some noble family going off to the Crusades. (I think this is the plot of The Iron Lance, by Lawhead.) At home he may well be the baron's son, but at the front lines in the Holy Lands, he's just one more soft place to stick a lance. There is a difference between writing about one knight and writing about Richard the Lionheart, so there's not--in my mind--a hard and fast rule that the pauper's story is always better than the prince's. Still, paupers seem a lot more common!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
this is actually a great and quite insightful video to watch in the wake of the series Jujutsu Kaisen, where there was a great deal of confusion around the "whose story is this" question nearing the end of the story.
though to be fair, i think most of that confusion was just from twitter.
Thank you for your wonderful cultural literary channel mr Luke. I gathered main information about topic you mentioned briefly here it’s there are five essential characters in any story protagonist is main character, often referred to as hero , it’s depending on genre of story , no uncommon for romance , sci-fi, historical novels to follow two protagonist. Protagonist whose have positive traits outweigh his negative ones. Antagonist aren’t wholly good , they’re complicated and flawed, may one person or group of people, antagonist attacks protagonist in sense of villainy . Mentor is person who wisely guides protagonist in some ways. He is experienced and helpful. He is often , May set off on his hero journey, he needs someone to guide him to correct path .sidekick is loyal companion of protagonist while , mentor shows protagonist path , it’s sidekick who accompanies protagonist down path . Sidekick in story have doubts and through them as he accompanies protagonist journey.
@Khatoon170 Excellent summary! The concept you've uncovered is also known as "character archetypes." I'll do a video on this sometime soon.
Thanks for watching, as always! 😁
He's back! Interesting video as always. The viewpoint character makes me think of the witness character that's very common in manga and anime, with the distinction that witness characters aren't necessarily important ones (they're sometimes just a random passerby). I find that it really elevates a story in general.
I'd be curious to get your views on ensemble casts, where there isn't just one main character. There aren't much information on this topic around, yet it's a fascinating one I think.
@misterwhyte Ooh, good topic! Writing a multi-protagonist story is difficult; lots of moving pieces to manage. I'll tackle this one sometime soon.
@@creativewritingcorner I look forward to it! A friend and I are currently writing a script with an ensemble cast. I was surprised at how few resources there are on the topic.
Best luck, i think a big thing ix they are distinct enough to not get confused and its hard to neither neglect thrm nor repeat.
And conflicts between them is , ok i think more pov is easier to mess up, thats why its not that often brought up.
I think the start is their voice bring distinct enough.
And i think of you can take s lot ftom the protagonist just alter the view that every character has some kind , whatever it is, of impact, can even be personal. Or fail. @@misterwhyte
@@marocat4749 Thanks mate. We're trying to do what Reginald Rose did with 12 Angry Men, which is having each character have a certain way of talking that instantly identifies them. It really forces you to picture the character, who they really are, what they think, how they behave. It's interesting and challenging.
Great video! I haven't picked up Card since Speaker for the Dead 10yrs ago and had no idea he wrote on writing. I wonder how he'd apply these rules to a multi-POV novel
Great question! He does address this when he discusses Octavia Butler's 'Wild Seed', which swings between the hero's & villain's points of view.
Even with a multi-POV novel, for Card, you'll still have to choose a "main character" and probably a "protagonist". In 'Wild Seed', half the time we're in the heroine Anyanwu's perspective, while the other half we're in the villain Doro's POV. Anyanwu is the protagonist - the one we as the reader want to see win - but Doro is at least as much or more the "main character," since it is his decisions that drive most of the action of the story.
I actually have been writing a king main character, and it is definitely hard. Can see so much of his lack of freedom to act, so it's ballooning out to incorporate his subordinates and such. But overall, lack of freedom to act is a huge theme of the story, as he is getting bored and wants for that adventuring warrior captain life he once had, all while fully knowing he has it good with a strong family and decently growing grasp of politics.
@jjhh320 Ooh, that can absolutely make for a good story. A la the later Conan tales, after he becomes king.
Last part of my research sidekick is loyal companion of protagonist while mentor shows protagonist path , it’s sidekick who accompanies protagonist down path . Allow your story sidekick to have doubts and process through them as he accompanies protagonist journey. Skeptic is May also be protagonist, unlike sidekick. Skeptic won’t support protagonist journey. The skeptic is voice of reason , often reason conflicts with emotions, which may be personified as sidekick. Skeptic isn’t same as antagonist, May counsel for protagonist, but will not stand in his way . Thank you for your giving us chance to read learn new information improve our English as well . Happy thanksgiving in advance. Best wishes for you your dearest ones .
A lot of the time the villain is doing the crimes or other evil acts that motivate the hero to stop them. So in those cases the villain is the main character, and the hero is the protagonist. Without the villain the hero could stay at home
At 5:10, I have to disagree with you about Card's advice being against the grain. The main characters in most fantasy fiction are losers and nobodies. My favorite movie growing up was about a kid named *Wart,* of all things. Yeah, he eventually *became* King Arthur, but by no means did he start off that way.
I see what you're saying.
I certainly wasn't trying to throw the whole field of fantasy under the bus, but Card is pointing out a pretty common trope in fantasy and sci-fi - not necessarily GOOD fantasy and sci-fi, but not uncommon, either.
And of course T.H. White knows what he's doing with fantasy fiction; he practically invented the form. Hence "The Once and Future King" begins with Arthur as Wart, a poor nobody who makes good, as most stories about important people are more interesting and relatable if the characters are introduced to us BEFORE they become important - so we get to see them "earn" their power.
The thing is, fantasy/sci-fi authors generally want to write about (and their readers want to read about) characters who can make an impact on the world as a whole. Hence the reason the officers are the main characters of Star Trek, Game of Thrones focuses on the nobles and their kids & retainers, Bilbo and Frodo get teamed up with dwarven, elven, and human royalty, etc. It's not a universal rule, of course, but the major characters of many fantasies do tend to be people of significance or station in their respective worlds - which means the author has to do some work in manipulating events to make such characters relatable and give them the necessary freedom and power to change things.
@@creativewritingcorner I'm trying to think of a book that serves as a counterexample to the "Wart" thing--not because I'm eager to argue with you but beacuse I enjoy discussing this sort of thing--and I'm not coming up with one. I don't think Aragorn and the others count, because Lord of the Rings starts with the little folk, and because *every* story is liable to include some major figures, but their inclusion doesn't really negate the choice of a lesser figure as a viewpoint or a main character. It could be that I just can't think of any such books because I've never bothered reading one.
Admittedly, I *do* think this is somewhat relative. You can have a book about--say--the younger son of some noble family going off to the Crusades. (I think this is the plot of The Iron Lance, by Lawhead.) At home he may well be the baron's son, but at the front lines in the Holy Lands, he's just one more soft place to stick a lance. There is a difference between writing about one knight and writing about Richard the Lionheart, so there's not--in my mind--a hard and fast rule that the pauper's story is always better than the prince's. Still, paupers seem a lot more common!