So You Want to Write a Novel: Obstacles

Every good story needs an interesting and compelling character, centered in a riveting set of events that force her or him to reveal their best, and worst qualities.

What do we call these set of events that push and prod the major character to show her or his mettle, their tenacious and persevering personality?

Obstacles.

Once the author has established what the protagonist most desires or needs for her or his survival, we must then put everything within reason every have other characters utilize every interesting ploy to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goal.

We must frustrate them. Why?

Because quite simply, a path filled with obstacles, mirrors life.

Now of course we will dramatize the major character’s encounters with her or his obstacles.

Stories are not simply reality. Rather, they bear snapshots revealing a heightened sense of reality.

Most of us live where traffic is somewhat of a challenge. Each and every time we get into our car to drive somewhere we must choose a time to leave that allows enough time, for not simply driving, but for all the unexpected things that might happen on the way.

Now I’m not saying that we all do this. I certainly don’t get to do this most times. My life is hectic. And so I usually run late, which causes an amount of frustration.

But why is it that I leave late?

Things happen. My children need something. Or my husband arrives home after he had intended which means I must wait so as not to leave my children home alone.

Then when in my car and driving there’s the slow driver ahead of me who seems to possess no idea where she or he is, better or worse yet, of where they are going.

And then there are the stoplights. We have to honor them, lest we risk the chance of getting pulled over by the police, or the worst of all possibilities, we run a red light, heaven forbid and injure someone or ourselves.

These are all obstacles.

But in a story, the protagonist does not have the opportunity to plan, at least not too much. She or he is hit head-on in their quest to achieve the goal they desire or that they need for survival.
Like all tense and dramatic situations our novels must carry and convey a heightened sense of urgency. And it is this amplification of importance that pulls our readers in, and takes them away, allows the to escape as they identify with our protagonist.

The every day activities of trying to get something or somewhere met up with the obstacles we all encounter on the road to achieving our goals become the point of identification. That it is dramatized holds their attention and takes them beyond the everyday.

Obstacles raise the tension and the stakes. Through their kinship of struggle with the protagonist, their point of identification, the reader becomes invested in the outcome. They want to know if the major character achieves her or his goal. Do they make it to the forum on time?

What are some of the goals your protagonist have or now face?

What were some of their obstacles and frustrations in trying to achieve their goals?