Protagonist and antagonist creation

[Orilindë]

I'm exploring my characters, mainly the protagonist and antagonist. I have an initial idea, and I've started writing and exploring it. The path is to have the antagonist and protagonist start as friends.

As of now, the two have different qualities and advantages. They are close childhood friends and share a common goal. What differentiates them, or at least what I'm currently thinking will do, is how they aim to reach that goal.

I'm also exploring the scenario where the childhood friend antagonist is not the main antagonist. The protagonist's childhood friend will be a pawn in a larger scheme orchestrated by many sinister forces driven by other goals, but I'm considering exploring this further.

Is this a common antagonist/protagonist setup? Is it cliché? Is it boring? What are the opportunities/pitfalls?

 

[Super Fantasy]

Depends where you go with your writing.
You can always write some standard content and add more detail later.

 

[Incanus]

I think this may be one of those instances where the answer might just be: it depends.

Sometimes common 'tropes' or other elements in stories work really well because the writer is experienced and made a number of good creative choices with many other aspects.

I just randomly thought about the 90's movie called Se7en. It has a very familiar setup: the new rookie cop being partnered up with the guy who is just about to retire. Really sounds cliche when put that way. But the movie is pretty original in so many other ways that this tired old trope ends up mostly working well. At least in my view.

There's a sort of general idea I've seen before--you can get away with practically anything IF you handle it well.

If you're like me, you'll have to fall flat on your face a number of times while gaining the experience to make better choices. For some reason, I keep standing back up again.

If the one antagonist is merely a pawn and there is another antagonist that is more powerful, then 'antagonist' may not be the proper term for the first one. Not sure about this though.

In any case, good luck!

 

[Jackarandajam]

I'm exploring my characters, mainly the protagonist and antagonist. I have an initial idea, and I've started writing and exploring it. The path is to have the antagonist and protagonist start as friends.

As of now, the two have different qualities and advantages. They are close childhood friends and share a common goal. What differentiates them, or at least what I'm currently thinking will do, is how they aim to reach that goal.

I'm also exploring the scenario where the childhood friend antagonist is not the main antagonist. The protagonist's childhood friend will be a pawn in a larger scheme orchestrated by many sinister forces driven by other goals, but I'm considering exploring this further.

Is this a common antagonist/protagonist setup? Is it cliché? Is it boring? What are the opportunities/pitfalls?

I think the number of stories about childhood friends turned enemies speaks to the draw of the trope. It's a good one if done well. The movie Warrior comes to mind; two brothers trying to win the same competition for different reasons. Great movie.
Nothing wrong with your premise, and the real villain being someone else could add to the heartbreak of the shattered relationship between the two friends. As Incanus said, it's all about the execution. Good luck!

 

[pmmg]

Is this a common antagonist/protagonist setup? Is it cliché? Is it boring? What are the opportunities/pitfalls?

Well...everything has been done before. Moses and Ramses are often presented as bothers who strayed into different sides of a conflict. Romulus and Remus... Thor and Loki...

Cliche, boring....Who cares? You got a story to tell, start tellin it. Only boring if you make it boring.

What are the opportunities/pitfalls?

Execution. Get the story right, make the conflict real. Show me characters with depth and understandable aims, and everything else will sift down to the bottom. Set them up has having good reasons for the sides they take, and put them on a course where they cannot turn back and must conflict, and it will justify itself.

 

[Orilindë]

pmmg, I'm concerned that my story may seem rushed and that the antagonist lacks depth because I'm focusing on the protagonist. They have a shared background and goals introduced early on, and while there's a hint of the antagonist's motivations, it's not fully explored at first. The reader learns more about the antagonist only when they reunite with the protagonist later in the story, where I want to create a pivotal moment for the protagonist's character development.

My follow-up question might be something like this: Do you have any tips on creating depth and understandable aims for an antagonist when the antagonist isn't present for a while, and the protagonist is unaware of the antagonist's actions at that time?

 

[Rexenm]

I think protagonist and antagonist growing up together is solid rock. From there, just about ANY thing could happen. make believe, or fantasy; all close friends come to an end, anyhow... it might just be confusing along the way!

 

[Orilindë]

I think protagonist and antagonist growing up together is solid rock. From there, just about ANY thing could happen. make believe, or fantasy; all close friends come to an end, anyhow... it might just be confusing along the way!

How much would you say you would want to know about a relationship of this kind? Would I have to show them growing up, a montage, flashbacks? I want to avoid spending the majority of the beginning of the story explaining their deep relationship; at the same time, I feel I have to. Or can I focus on writing so that it is quickly understandable that they have a long history together effectively?

 

[Rexenm]

I had a story about a few warriors growing up, and I took it back to primary school, and it never made sense. Maturity levels have a lot to do with it, and genre specific behaviour. But fruit never falls far from the tree. I guess there is a lot that would be appropriate to show about their relationship, just the general romancing of the stone, and growing up.