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Hi Chris,
I have a question about man v self. I have read your resoponse to Man v. Self
by VCCV » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:59 pm, but I still need help.

Basically in my story, the main character has a phobia which he overcomes at the end of the story. It seems to me that the main charater’s mind should be the contagonist or antagonist. I do not want to assign the wrong archetype and am unsure of which one to use. Please help me decide on the proper archetype to use for his mind.

Thanks

It is difficult to use a completely abstract concept as a character, but it is possible. My first question, however, is since you are talking about a Main Character, then the character most influential to him would be an Impact Character. The character archetypes (and other objective characters) are all in the Overall Story throughline, so I think you might be confusing the two.

Another question I have is, "Why isn't the MC's phobia his personal problem?" It seems natural that it would be based on your description of his development. Assuming it is, WHO or WHAT is responsible bringing about the MC's Change? That would be your Impact Character. MC's won't change without external pressure -- even if that external pressure is inside his head. It must be something outside the MC himself.

If everyone in the story is concerned about your MC's phobia, then all the other characters would have positions on it. The question to ask yourself then is, "What is the Story Goal, and how does it relate to my MC's phobia?"