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Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the smartest of them all? You are. That’s why you’re writing the script – I hope – because you believe in its potential excellence. And in the beginning, this confidence is easy. You have enough passion and excitement to fill the National Mall as you speak from your pulpit at The Lincoln Memorial to rally your inner troops. The problem occurs months later. You battled in the trenches doing story and character research, outlining the screenplay, and now you’re stuck somewhere in the second act. It’s all just a big nightmare mess. Your…

Rivals are adversaries. They are supporting characters who dislike the hero, creating minor obstacles, but since they don’t oppose the hero’s objective, they’re not antagonists.