Some antagonists can't be fought—they can only be survived.
It's common to hear "antagonist" and think "villain," but the two are not synonymous. An antagonist is just who or what is preventing your protagonist from achieving their goal. Often, that is a person and a bad one at that, but it can also be from a conflict type that has no personal stake in the game.
Like Mother Nature.
Your antagonist can come from any of the four basic conflict types, and they each focus on a different type of conflict opposition. We've discussed the person vs. society conflicts, and person vs. self antagonists, so let's look at the person vs. nature conflicts.
Person vs. Nature conflicts have often undefeatable foes to deal with, because they focus on taming the untamable or surviving the overwhelming threat.
A great example of a nature antagonist is a traditional disaster movie like Volcano.
Unbeknownst to the sleepy little town of Los Angeles, an active volcano is about to rise in the La Brea Tar Pits. The protagonist, Mike Roark (played by the always awesome Tommy Lee Jones) is the city's director of city management and it's his job to handle all city-related crises. What starts off as a basic small earthquake turns into a major event that puts the entire city at risk. To save lives, Mike and his thrown-together-by-chance geologist partner, Dr. Amy Barnes, (the also delightful Anne Heche) have to deal with the volcano and the repercussions of its sudden emergence.
What makes this such a great movie is that it covers all the elements of a man vs. nature movie.
What makes this such a great movie is that it covers all the elements of a man vs. nature movie.
The man vs. the nature part.
Mike vs. the Volcano. The hero faces off against a problem that isn't a "bad person doing something." It's Mike trying to save lies from an erupting volcano in downtown LA. NO one saw this coming and now it's up to him to figure out what to do.
Nature is the problem here and it doesn't care one whit about what it's going to destroy. It can be a big disaster like a volcano or hurricane, or something smaller and less aggressive, like a boy trying to reach the top of Mount Everest (as in Roland Smith's Peak). The hero is facing off against Mother Nature in some way.
Often in non-person-antagonist stories, there is a person responsible for triggering the natural disaster inadvertently, such as The Core, or even putting themselves at risk as in The Perfect Storm.
(Here's more with Where Does Your Novel's Conflict Come From?)
If the "bad guy" is large scale, you'll usually follow several characters who are affected by it. So many disaster stories start with the everyday lives of the people involved, making you care about them so when things start going horribly wrong, you're already personally and emotionally invested. Even if the story is more personal, a one-on-one tale, you often "meet" other people through memories or flashbacks, because these are the people the protagonist is trying to save or get back to.
In Volcano, you meet: the lead of the city works crew, who later sacrifices himself to save a subway driver. The ER doc who's married to the rich developer who indirectly plays a key role in the climax. The geologist's scientist partner who's funny and fun and whose story doesn't end well. There's Mike's second-in-command, who jokes about stealing his job the whole time—until it gets serious and Mike's life is in danger. And for that extra special touch, Mike's teenage daughter just happens to be visiting this week, so he has the added stress of protecting his child.
The personal stories part.
If the "bad guy" is large scale, you'll usually follow several characters who are affected by it. So many disaster stories start with the everyday lives of the people involved, making you care about them so when things start going horribly wrong, you're already personally and emotionally invested. Even if the story is more personal, a one-on-one tale, you often "meet" other people through memories or flashbacks, because these are the people the protagonist is trying to save or get back to.
In Volcano, you meet: the lead of the city works crew, who later sacrifices himself to save a subway driver. The ER doc who's married to the rich developer who indirectly plays a key role in the climax. The geologist's scientist partner who's funny and fun and whose story doesn't end well. There's Mike's second-in-command, who jokes about stealing his job the whole time—until it gets serious and Mike's life is in danger. And for that extra special touch, Mike's teenage daughter just happens to be visiting this week, so he has the added stress of protecting his child.
What makes these personal stories work so well is that they intertwine beautifully with the overall plot.
Even if you don't know at first why you're following this particular character. Their roles all fit together by the end to help form the solution that deals with the volcano.
For me, this is one of the most appealing parts of this type of conflict. You meet and grow to love a series of characters, knowing not all of them are going to survive. (They never do). It really keeps the tension high.
For me, this is one of the most appealing parts of this type of conflict. You meet and grow to love a series of characters, knowing not all of them are going to survive. (They never do). It really keeps the tension high.
The ever-escalating stakes part.
Just like a storm, person vs. nature conflicts tend to start out soft and build. It's probably the most obvious example of the traditional goal-problem-disaster structure there is. The protagonist acts to stop the disaster, it fails, things get worse and he has to try something else. This keeps happening until his back is to the wall, lives are at stake, and he has to do something crazy to win. And then you hit him with a major "oh no" moment.
In Volcano, Mike has a background in handling floods, so he tries flood control measures to dam the flow of lava. It fails.
But then Amy (the geologist) realizes the lava is flowing right into neighborhoods and families. So they try collapsing the street to send the lava into the storm canals. That fails, too.
Then they realize the lava is headed right for the over-packed hospital they've been sending victims to all day (and where that nice ER doc happens to work). Mike tries something wild and saves the day. (I won't give it all away, but let's just say it uses his flood control skills again) But just as he's about to trigger the whole plan, he sees his daughter caught up in the middle of it.
In person vs. nature conflicts, things keep getting worse, wearing the protagonist down and sapping all their physical and emotional strength. In order for them to win, you first need to rob them of as much as possible. (Without getting melodramatic of course)
In person vs. nature conflicts, things keep getting worse, wearing the protagonist down and sapping all their physical and emotional strength. In order for them to win, you first need to rob them of as much as possible. (Without getting melodramatic of course)
The "it's always something" part.
Even though there's this horrible event happening, other issues are still going on that illustrate this isn't just about the protagonist and the "nature wants to kill us" aspect. You see examples of how the volcano is affecting everyone else; usually using those characters you meet in the first and even second acts.
Yes, a volcano is raining lava and ash all over LA, but it's also setting fire to people's homes, sending lava down subway tubes, and putting other folks in danger at the same time.
And the key element...
The survival part. Surviving the event is always at the center of a person vs. nature story.
Survival can be literal, as in a disaster movie, or it can be thematic as in The Old Man and the Sea. The Old Man can simply cut the marlin free and head back, but bringing that fish home and not giving in is the whole point of the story. It's all about the protagonist digging deep and finding that part they didn't know they had to overcome what's in front of them.
Obviously, in Volcano, Mike, Amy, and most of the rest survive to fight another day and get their happy-for-now endings. The victory over the disaster is pretty common in disaster movies, though not every person vs. nature story has a happy ending. Sometimes, nature does win.
Person vs nature conflicts aren't about being smarter than the bad guy, or out maneuvering the villain.
It's about finding the strength within yourself to overcome the threat/event/situation you find yourself in. It's personal perseverance. It's the ultimate underdog story in a way. The "nature" is going to run its course, but how you handle this is what really matters.
EXERCISE FOR YOU: If you have a person vs nature conflict, go back and identify the aspects of your story that match the various "parts" I covered. How many do you use? Could you add anything you didn't use? And for fun...list your favorite person vs. nature stories, either novels, TV, or movies.
Do you have any person vs. nature stories or conflicts in the works? What are some of your favorites?
*Originally published February 2012. Last updated September 2024.
Find out more about conflict, stakes, and tension in my book, Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means).
With in-depth analysis and easy-to-understand examples, Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) teaches you what conflict really is, discusses the various aspects of conflict, and reveals why common advice on creating conflict doesn't always work. It shows you how to develop and create conflict in your novel and explores aspects that affect conflict, as well as clarifying the misconceptions that confuse and frustrate so many writers.This book will help you:
- Understand what conflict means and how to use it
- Tell the difference between external and internal conflicts
- See why conflict isn't a "one size fits all" solution
- Determine the type of conflict your story needs
- Fix lackluster scenes holding your writing back
Understanding Conflict (And What It Really Means) is more than just advice on what to do and what not to do—it’s a down and dirty examination and analysis of how conflict works, so you can develop it in whatever style or genre you’re writing. By the end of this book, you’ll have a solid understanding of what conflict means and the ability to use it without fear or frustration.
Available in paperback and ebook formats.
Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.
When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound
As a child, I was fascinated by the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Their family faced all sorts of difficulties from crossing a river to lasting through the long winter.
ReplyDeleteIn my current WIP I have a huge mountain chain between the heroine and her goal. Crossing it is her physical challenge that also brings out her true feelings and desires.
Another story that I've sketched out and is next on my list has a river dividing the hero and heroine. Finding ways across so they can meet and remaining undetected by their antagonists is a challenge throughout the story.
I know a lot of people didn't like Volcano, but I did. (If that scene with the firefighter and train doesn't rip your heart out through your throat, you may not actually be human.)
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I've got a scene dealing with what happens after a huge swatch of land has been clear-cut and burned, with that state being maintained for decades, allowing higher than usual winds to develop without break. The MC has to cross what's supposed to be a dead zone, and no one knows these winds are out there.
Good information! I've always enjoyed man vs. nature novels. Nature is a whole new way of looking at an antagonist. Some day I will try to write a man vs. nature novel. I will keep this blog post handy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this thought-provoking article! Around here, the film that comes to mind is "The River," with the water and bad guys sharing protagonist billing.
ReplyDeleteI'm patching up a novella now, with the protagonist a figurative one, growth, represented by a wolf that haunts places where characters "disappear."
I love stories like this where it's bigger than people!
ReplyDeleteThe hardest type of story, I think, to write is Man vs. Nature. But they make for compelling stories.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, I love stories like that. Sounds like some fun nature problems to throw at your protag.
ReplyDeleteJosin, I know, it was just a fun movie overall. Oo fun. Unexpected trouble that can't be solved, just endured.
Haley, thanks!
Mary, great example (and movie). Oo creepy symbolic wolves. sounds like fun!
Julie, me too. I think that's why I love disaster movies so much. Here's a horrible situation let's see what these people do?
Traci, they do indeed.
Great analysis, as always.
ReplyDeleteAnd, all of this is a kind of "purist disaster" approach, that leaves out what's often the biggest single factor in these stories -- people in the way. Classic example: *Jaws,* with the shark on its rampage but a lot of the story fighting the tourism-minded mayor who keeps covering up the problem. Human selfishness, stubbornness, panic, and other frailties can be an endless source of conflict even, especially, with nature breathing down their necks. In fact, the question is really how much we'll allow them into the story when we want the focus to stay on the disaster itself.
Thanks! That's very true, thanks for adding that! I was focusing more on the core conflict aspect, but all of that is totally part of a great disaster movie. Showing the various sides of human nature during a disaster. I guess it depends on whether we're writing a plot thriller, or more of a character story.
Delete