Let’s talk antagonists and how to make them relevant to your protagonist and not just something to move the plot along. 

If you’re writing slice-of-life kid’s literature, protagonist and antagonist might be a better way to think about your characters rather than hero and villain. 

***Apple Crush spoiler warning*** I’m going to talk about significant story details, so if you haven’t read it yet and don’t want to know what happens, now is your chance to go read it first. End of warning. Let’s dive in.

Our protagonist is Jen, a city kid who’s recently moved to the country. She’s finally adjusting to her new settings but fall has arrived and with that comes starting at a new school. It’s the first day and the “mean girl” Summer is already bullying her. 

Summer could have just been a jerk and a thorn in Jen’s side but little details about Summer are sprinkled in and by the end of the story we discover that Summer is jealous of Jen’s drawing ability and has been lashing out because of her own insecurity. 

It was elegant to connect the characters with a shared interest rather than something nebulous or arbitrary. It also gave depth to Summer who easily could have been a generic mean girl. On the surface, Summer is confident and brash but the truth is she is filled with self-doubt when she compares herself to Jen.

A protagonist and antagonist certainly don’t have to be linked like this but when writing, it’s worth considering if it would make your story and characters stronger. What traits or interests do they share? What opposing views put them at odds with each other? 

Write on. 

Apple Crush by Lucy Knisley

Other Stuff

I gave some spooky book recs over on TikTok.

Family Stuff

River went trick-or-treating for the first time and had a great time. Costumes and free candy, what’s not to love? Actually, he wasn’t a fan of his costume 🙁 He didn’t like wearing the hood. He was an Ewok and Sophia and I were Return of the Jedi Leia and Luke.

We live a few blocks from the Thriller house. The entire neighborhood is filled with gorgeous Victorian-era homes and is a trick-or-treater’s dream. At one of the homes, after River got his handful of candy, the owner told us since we also dressed up, we got to pick from the grown-up spell book. He then opened a book filled with full-sized candy bars. Pretty sweet! 

Thanks for reading. See you next month!

-Josh

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