Ciao, SEers. Last time, we talked about Jill Chamberlain’s Nutshell process for writing screenplays or fiction. Today, we’re going to go into detail about the first of her touchstones—the protagonist.

You probably think that’s rather obvious, but consider buddy stories like Thelma and Louise, Harold and Kumar, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Maybe you think you have two protagonists. To elevate your story from a situation to a story, you need to choose one. (Or you need to define these points for both protagonists then merge them into one story.) Maybe you think the character whose name is first is the protagonist. But depending on which film you look at in the franchise, the protagonist might change. Harold was the protagonist in one of the films; Kumar was in another.

So, yes, you really do need to decide who your protagonist is, and…