31 Days of NaNoPrepMo: Day 24

Day 24: What does your protagonist fear most and why?

Your Protagonist. Considered a certain way, the flip side of desire is fear: it’s what we don’t want to have happen. As we get closer to Halloween, let the spookiness of the season inspire you to give your character unique but believable fears.

• What sort of fears does the protagonist harbor?
• What prompted these fears in the first place?
• Are they rational or irrational?
• Will the protagonist have to face any of them over the course of the story?
• How might they overcome their fears?

Action Plan: Write down the answers to their questions, again considering how this will affect the protagonist’s inner life as well as how they live their life. Are there certain people, behaviors, or situations they avoid in order to keep from confronting their fears? Do the protagonist’s fears affect the narration or the way the protagonist interacts with other characters?

Additional Reading: “Character Development: Fear” from Writeability, “Exposure Therapy For Your Protagonist” from Movie Outline