Often writers create antagonists who are the stock bad guy or bad girl. Sometimes they’re abusive or neglectful parents. Sometimes an enemy. Or an otherworldly foe.
But even when you’re writing about someone who does bad, even evil things, you want to avoid simply portraying the givens. Surprise us.
The stock villain gives the reader a stock reaction. And that’s exactly what we want to avoid.
In this episode, I’m sharing 5 ways to create a more captivating antagonist.
You’ll learn to bring more nuance and complexity to your antagonist – and to your story.
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Episode at a glance:
[05:25] Find some part of yourself in your antagonist.
When you find some part of yourself in your antagonist, however small, the reader can find some small part of themselves in him or her too. They can identify with some aspect of your antagonist. You’ll learn a quick way to tap into your own impulses to connect with your most troublesome characters.
[07:40] Explore motive.
Often writers are creating antagonists who don’t deserve our sympathy. And so the writer has a hard time going beyond what that character does. The reader doesn’t need to know explicitly why a character does bad things. But you need to have your finger on the pulse of what’s driving him, and why he feels justified in doing what he does.
[11:12] Show a chink in the armor.
If you present an antagonist devoid of any human frailty, we’ll have a so what? reaction. The best antagonists don’t just throw your main character off balance, they throw us off balance. The most compelling antagonists make us feel ambivalent about them.
[13:15] Contradiction
Bring contradiction to the antagonist and to your main character’s response to her adversary. When characters have contradiction, it creates conflict within the reader. And that’s the best kind.
[17:30] Reflect your protagonist’s internal problem.
Your antagonist is not in the story just to wreak havoc on your protagonist’s life. They’re in the story to trigger your protagonist’s deepest flaws and fears. Yes, they make trouble. Yes, they create mounting obstacles. But their real purpose in story is to reveal something essential about who your protagonist is deep down. Things they weren’t even conscious of until their antagonist exposed them.
Links mentioned in this episode:
The Glass Castle a memoir by Jeanette Walls
Finding A Girl In America, stories by Andre Dubus
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