Checklist: Active Protagonist

Are you struggling with a passive protagonist? Let’s look into what causes a character to be passive.

A hero is not ‘active’ because he is constantly running, fighting, arguing etc. A hero is not ‘passive’ because he is never running, fighting, arguing etc.

Here is a list of points that in my view will have a positive impact on the protagonist’s ‘activity’ level.

Like any other principle, there will be numerous examples of successful films that stray from these. It doesn’t mean you can just ignore them.

1. The hero must have strong will power.
2. The hero should have a clear goal.
3. The hero should state the goal explicitly (on or before p.25 for feature films).
4. The hero must not be forced, but chooses to pursue the goal.
5. Once the goal is known, the hero should stay on the case.
6. The hero can only be distracted because of a new, stronger goal.
7. Keep showing us the Hheroero really wants to achieve the goal.
8. Make sure the obstacles in the way are significant.
9. Stay in the