Protagonists/Antagonists

I started talking about characters last week, and I thought I'd elaborate on the main character, also known as the protagonist and antagonist. I mentioned that the reader has got to be made to care about him or her. At least that's what the writing books will tell you.

The reasoning is if a reader doesn't care about the main character, or about what is going to happen to him/her, then the book is put down and no one reads it.

So what makes sympathetic main characters? Well, they can be nice, caring, or interesting persons. In my debut novel, THE VASE, the main characters are Muhsin Muhabi and Hiram Weiss. Muhsin is a Palestinian potter, and Hiram Weiss is an Israeli college professor. Both have lost sons to the conflict in the region. But that's about all they have in common.

Muhsin is an unassuming merchant in the old city market of downtown Nazareth. All he wants to do is support his family. But scheming terrorists interfere in his life, and Weiss blames him for the death of his only son. Even though a storm of hatred and revenge swirls around him, he remains focused on running his pottery business.

Weiss is part of that storm. Absorbed with vengeance, he plans to destroy Muhsin's shop, and everyone associated with it. But with all storms, the winds settle, and vision clears. What's left of their lives is where the story leads.