How Your Protagonist’s False Belief Drives the Plot
Compelling Characters begin with a deeply held, but flawed Belief.
It’s been said many times and in many ways that a three-dimensional protagonist starts out with some type of glaring character flaw. But what does this actually mean for writers trying to create compelling characters? These deficiencies come in a wide range from greed to laziness to a fear of commitment, but they all have one thing in common. They must matter, not only to the protagonist, but to the outcome of your story.
Everything in your story must happen on purpose.
While your protagonist might have quirks that make them unique, the lie they believe or their internal obstacle holds special importance. This false belief needs to be:
Logical based on the protagonist’s past.
Causing havoc in their life in the current moment.
It must hold meaning in the plot of the novel.
Let’s talk about how to create characters that are not only interesting people, but also their journey to face their false belief is equally compelling.
What is a false Belief?
A false belief has many names in fiction. Many harsh names, like the lie, the internal obstacle, and the fatal flaw, have been used to describe a false belief, illustrating its role in the story. Make no mistake, the false belief is your friend and at one point it helped your protagonist successfully navigate their life. This false belief, in some way, benefits them. If not, they wouldn’t have incorporated it into their lives.
Your protagonist’s outdated belief, once effective, is now preventing them from moving forward. It’s likely that your protagonist can’t see the ways the lie they believe is preventing them from reaching what they need. In the most extreme cases, your protagonist believes that their life would truly be over if they let go of their false belief. It’s so integral to their nature that they cannot imagine living without it.
What Does this have to do with backstory?
The flawed belief didn’t appear out of thin air. Something in your protagonist’s past drove them to believe that this lie is in fact true. This past event shaped them into the person they are today. As Lisa Cron says in her novel Story Genius, “The story you’re telling doesn’t start on page one. It started long before you got there.”
Whatever flaw your protagonist might have, it must logically tie into their backstory. For example, if your protagonist’s flawed belief is that they don’t believe they are smart enough, someone in their past likely told them that they were dumb. If your protagonist is greedy, there might be a key moment in their past when they felt fear due to scarcity in their life. The trick is ensuring that a reasonable person (aka the reader) will believe that your protagonist could walk away from their backstory believing this lie.
How is it impacting their current moment?
Now that we have your protagonist’s backstory squared away, let’s talk about where they are on page one. The story begins with a protagonist whose life is incomplete. Although the character may not realize it, the reader can clearly discern that there is a significant void in their life, something essential that is lacking. Their misguided belief is an obstacle to their true needs, which creates an opportunity for the protagonist to undergo internal change.
The protagonist’s journey through the plot exposes them to events that challenge their flawed assumptions. It’s natural for them to resist this change in their lives. Their false belief has provided safety, but the plot demands they confront their internal obstacle and change. The most captivating moments in your story arise when the protagonist’s internal struggle meets the challenges of the external plot, resulting in powerful scenes that grab the reader’s attention.
How does it impact the plot?
As the narrative unfolds, your protagonist undergoes a gradual transformation facing each of these moments and reacting accordingly. They realize their false belief is holding them back, but they won’t be ready to let go of it quite yet.
Only when people reach their lowest point do they truly change. This happens about three-quarters of the way through, when your main character has to decide between changing or staying the same. Blake Snyder calls this the “Stasis = Death moment” in his Save the Cat plotting method, meaning that staying the same is the equivalent to some type of loss for the protagonist. This doesn’t need to be a literal death as it could also be the loss of a relationship or a dream or anything that forces your protagonist to make a life altering choice. They must choose between embracing the theme and discarding their false belief, or rejecting it and holding onto the lie.
This brings your protagonist to their climatic moment. In this final moment, your character is face with their biggest challenge yet. Both the plot and the internal arc of change intersect in the Climax with a choice that tests your protagonist’s resolve. Their final decision in the face of their greatest obstacle yet will define their future. In the climax, the protagonist often makes a choice that their past self, with their former limitations and beliefs, would find utterly impossible. This is what makes storytelling so magical and powerful. It’s what your reader came to your book to experience and it’s all within your grasp.
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