Get Real

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


"The truth is out there," we are told, but lately it seems to get lost in the shuffle. The more technologically advanced we become, the more we find ourselves bombarded with beguiling betrayal. From clickbait to fake news, there is artifice around every corner trying to grab our attention.

These practitioners of prevarication may think they're pulling the wool over our eyes, but the good news is, we writers are too smart for them. As creative thinkers ourselves, we can spot a snow job from down the street.

Much like fast food, "reality TV" has a bad reputation thanks to its own generally unhealthy menu. But the discerning viewer can tell the difference between a genuine documentary like My 600-lb Life and the sitcomish silliness of Chrisley Knows Best. What they all have in common, however, is conflict.

I bring all this up to remind us of two things:

     1) People are entertained by conflict.
     2) A savvy audience can smell fakery.

Whether the drama is bonafide or bogus, the lure of any story lies in the conflict it portrays. But the more believable the conflict, the more we allow ourselves to invest in it.

Rather coincidentally, I just read a review of a new action movie in which the critic complains that the villain has no motivation nor backstory. Such a film lacks authenticity because even a bad guy has what he thinks is a good reason to give the hero a hard time.

By contrast, it's real human drama with a touch of suspense each time TV's Nev and Max catch a Catfish and get her face-to-face with the victim of her fake identity. It becomes even more relatable when we learn the reason for the ruse, sometimes even evoking a measure of sympathy for the catfish.

Similarly, a work of fiction carries the ring of truth if there is cause behind the conflict. Yes, the bad guy wants to rob a bank. But why? Because he wants money. But WHY? Because his son needs a kidney transplant. Now we have motivation, and when the truth is revealed we empathize with the troublemaker.

The bottom line is, keep it real and you'll keep your reader committed. Portraying genuine human drama in both the story and in the conflict you create for your characters is how you can avoid writing fake fiction.

Who Is Your Contagonist?

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

Every good story that has conflict (and every good story does have conflict!) includes at least one hero and at least one villain. As savvy storytellers ourselves, we look for and easily spot the protagonist and the antagonist in the tales we read and watch.  Among the most obvious:

Protagonist: Harry Potter
Antagonist: Lord Voldemort

Protagonist: Dorothy
Antagonist: The Wicked Witch of the West

Protagonist: Batman
Antagonist: The Joker, countless others

We've come to expect that these two archetypes won't come in full head-to-head combat with each other until the final confrontation. The story has to build up to that exciting climax through a variety of complications.  And that's where the contagonist comes in.

So who is the contagonist?  First, let's affirm that the protagonist is "for" something (like achieving the main goal) and that the antagonist is "against" it.  The contagonist plays a role that is "contrary" to the hero's pursuit.  That is, standing in the way of it, or being a distraction from it, though not necessarily with the evil intent of an enemy.

For example, Professor Snape could be considered a contagonist for Harry Potter.  He's not the villain of the story, but he provides tension and conflict along the way.

You could even look at the Wizard of Oz himself as something of a contagonist, because he impedes Dorothy's quest to go home by first giving her a major assignment.

Silence of the Lambs' Hannibal Lector is both an ally and a complication for Detective Starling.  In a buddy comedy like Dumb and Dumber, the heroes are often each other's biggest hurdle.

As in the above examples, the line can be blurred between contagonist and mentor or any other archetype. That alone can add an extra layer of depth to the story.  And yes, the contagonist is sometimes an ally of the antagonist, as in the case of a henchman, or perhaps someone in competition with the adversary.

As you might suspect, the contagonist doesn't have to be human.  Just as the main antagonist can be an asteroid hurling toward Earth or a drought that threatens the farm, any person, thing or circumstance that stands between the hero and the achievement of his/her goal can be considered a contagonist.

A winter storm that keeps someone from getting home in time to stop a wedding. A job change. A lost wallet. A surprise visitor. Any of these can throw a curve ball into the mix.  None intend to thwart the hero, but they do the trick.  The Out of Towners (1970) and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) are examples of non-malevolent roadblocks to simply getting from one place to another.

Since conflict is at the heart of story, could you add some characters or circumstances that will further delay your hero's progress?  A series of complications that aren't traced to the antagonist will provide added surprises for your audience. And, by some clever coincidence, conquering one of these very complications just might provide the exact skill or know-how that comes in handy during the final confrontation.

Getting Into Character

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

As they do every October, costumed youngsters will soon be ringing doorbells in search of the good stuff.  If recent eBay sales data is any indication, we can expect to see a few Minions, the gals from Frozen, and the perennial assortment of superheroes and princesses.

A neighbor friend, whose very young tykes will have their first foray into the fray this year, showed me a photo of them wearing their Mario & Luigi costumes, over which I appropriately fawned, all the while wondering how these video game plumbers from ancient history have resurfaced in popularity.  But maybe like the Muppets, they never really went away thanks to parents who cling to favorites from their own youth.

Truth be told, I'll admit to still having somewhat of an affinity for Robin, of Batman fame.  He wasn't quite as cool as the dark knight, but was more relatable to the young me; so much so that my mom painstakingly handmade a very decent Robin costume at my request, complete with satiny cape and tights.  I wore it all day when visiting my younger cousin one Saturday, hoping to convince him I was the real Robin.  I was disillusioned afterwards when his mom told me he knew all along that it was me.  But she did tell me I had nice legs.

Role playing comes naturally to kids, and psychologists confirm that it's good for us.  Some contend that the choice of costume is a mirror of one's inner self.  Others observe that costumes frequently suggest the opposite personality of the wearer.  Either way, it's a chance to walk a mile in someone else's shoes (or tights) for a little while.  

As grownups, playing make believe doesn't come as naturally, but the business world has made it more acceptable.  Using role playing for training purposes, employees are given the opportunity to make mistakes without real world consequences.  The roles they play may include someone they don't even want to be, like an irate customer, to better understand another person's POV.

Which is why writers especially can benefit from pretending to be someone we're not.  Every character we create can become three-dimensional if we get inside their heads.  While it's tempting to grab a stereotype and run with something we know to be safe and proven, the most memorable characters of literature have been anything but cardboard cutouts.

Try having a conversation with your protagonist. But instead of being the interviewer, be the protagonist.  Ask yourself probing questions to learn what makes your hero tick.  See what gets them excited, happy, angry, sad, uncomfortable. Keep digging until you discover what your character would rather keep hidden.  Tap into that, and you have an authentic character who will leap off the page. Then, if you're brave, do the same with your antagonist.

Who better than a writer has the power to role play and use it to create something that is both a reflection of ourselves and a reflection of who we want to be?

As kids, pretending to be someone else helped us find our own identity.  Today, it's a great way to help our characters find theirs.

Nothing to Fear

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


We talk a lot about giving our characters goals, and then putting obstacles in their path so they have a hard time achieving them.  We can double that drama by making their obstacle something that not only impedes their progress, but something over which they already possess a deep-seated fear.

Consider Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets.  His obsesssive-compulsive disorder is constantly put to the test for him to even have a shot at getting the girl.  The internal roadblock provides a means for conflict at every turn.

Phobias in fiction are worth their weight in gold.  Indiana Jones had a problem with snakes, and part of the fun of Raiders was seeing how he reacted to a roomful of asps. 

We identify with a hero who has hangups, since we tend to have a few ourselves.  A warrior without worries is unrelatable.  It would be hard to identify with Superman if his invincible body didn't have a soft spot for Lois Lane.

Reality TV sure knows the value of exploiting contestants' fears.  From Fear Factor (eating bugs) to Bear Gryllis' Running Wild (rock climbing and eating bugs), we're facing our own fears alongside the players, wondering how far we would be willing to go if $5000 was dangled in front of us.  Similarly, we are drawn into a story in which the protagonist is challenged on a deeply personal level.  The specific quest may not be one we ever have to face, but then again, something inside us does like to feel prepared.

Fears we can all relate to include:

• Fear of failure
• Loss of freedom
• Loss of a job
• Unrequited love
• The unknown

The biggest fear of all, of course, is death.  Physical danger of any kind is an intrinsic phobia everyone knows. But even something as simple as disappointment can be a worthwhile challenge to our hero, giving us a very wide berth within which to endanger their destiny.  

"We have met the enemy and he is us," Pogo once said.  We can up the ante of antagonism by giving our protagonist a good internal struggle on top of their outside enemies and obstacles. 

Inner demons add an easy and especially effective layer of conflict, since our internal fears are among the hardest to conquer.  Don't be afraid to use them.