Writing your protagonist is writing the antagonists

The above image is from Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, NY, a film I can't wait to see, even though the critics didn't go wild at Cannes. But somehow I don't believe critics (I thought 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days wasn't THAT great) and I think festivals are just money machine and a good reason for the movie biz people to travel.

Today I want to talk about how you write your protagonist. Since you discover a character by the choices one makes, you should give your protagonists some tough choices to make. And he must face obstacles on his way. The harder the obstacle - the stronger (and better defined) your protagonist is.

Obstacles demand conflict. Without conflict there is no story. There must be something or someone standing in the way of your protagonist reaching h/her goal.

Obstacles are not only fire and big hairy men. It might be a character flaw (but that's the hardest obstacle which should be overcome at the end of the film, like the man in Jaws who is afraid of the water). We call this psychological obstacle. It can be a seductive woman (hello film noir fans), or an over protective brother: a relational obstacle. It can also be a phisical obstacle, such as a mountain or a very fast train the hero must jump from.