Ante Up Antagonists

This week, I attended a webinar on antagonists so I’ve been giving the possible adversaries for my character a lot of thought. One reason for this is that I don’t tend to go with your classic villain, the mustachio twirling bad guy of silent film. Does this mean I don’t have an antagonist? Not necessarily. There are six different kinds of antagonists your protagonist may face. 

People 

Very often, the antagonists in our stories are people. In a cozy it is the murderer, arsonists, or other culprit. In a middle grade story in a school setting, it might be the girl who heads up the most popular clique.  

But it doesn’t have to be that straight forward. Let’s go back to the middle grade story. Your character might think that the mean girl is the one undermining her attempts to finish a school project when really it is her jealous best friend. There’s a lot to work with in creating villainous motivations from human nature. 

Animals 

Wild animals can also make powerful antagonists. Think about the great white shark in Jaws or the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. The drive that motivates these various animals is pretty simple. Survival! 

Giving your character an animal antagonist increases the fear factor in many ways. After all, unless your human antagonist is Hannibal Lecter, you probably aren’t at risk of getting gobbled up. 

Nature 

I’ve separated animals and nature because in this category I’m thinking less about living things and more about forces of nature. It could be a storm, the weight of the ocean depths, or the vacuum of space. Natural forces aren’t consciously trying to mess things up for your character but in some ways that makes it scarier. It isn’t personal. It isn’t even conscious. It’s just the inexorable laws of science. 

You can also pair a natural force with an animal antagonist. In Megalodon, the massive, ancient shark cracks the glass in the deep sea research center. At that point the characters have to worry about getting eaten and whether they will get crushed first or drown first. 

Supernatural 

You can also give your character a supernatural adversary. You might want to slot in vampires and lycanthropy here but I’m thinking about ghosts, demons, and various spooky forces. Or a character opens up an ancient tomb, Pandora’s box, or a genie’s lamp and unleashes a curse into the world. 

This may be a thinking adversary, depending on the rules you use to create your ghost, or something more like a force of nature. 

Society 

Your character’s society can also be an antagonist. Even without President Snow, a society that pits teens against each other like the one depicted in The Hunger Games would make a believable adversary. Any character that is trying to move beyond their “station” or break with a societal convention is, in some way, confronting their society. 

Self 

Last but not least, your character’s antagonist might be themselves. Think about the many ways that a character might limit themselves. It might be a character questioning her intelligence, her worthiness, or her right to rule. Any character who battles strong enough self-doubt may well be the antagonist. 

The thing about antagonists is that you don't have to pick just one.  You can layer them into a story. Perhaps your human antagonist is a vassal of a supernatural antagonist, your character has to move beyond the limitations placed on her by society, and is also battle crippling anxiety. 

Layer them on, mix them up, and watch your story tension rise.

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of over 30 books for young readers.  To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.

The next session of her new course, Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work will begin on May 1, 2022).  Coping with rejection is one of the topics she will cover in this course.

Sue is also the instructor for  Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins May 1, 2022) and Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults (next session begins May 1, 2022). 

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7 comments antagonist, multi-layered, villains, writing fiction

Layers of Antagonism

If you write fiction, you probably work with layers of antagonism even if you aren’t conscious that is what you are doing. After all, most of us have heard the advice, “Each step of the way, make things more difficult for your character.”

I’ve been thinking about this lately because I just read Vaughn Roycroft’s essay on the topic. The timing was perfect because I was also reading Murder Most Howl by Krista Davis. No one but no one layers antagonism like a mystery author. Read on to see which layer might work in your story.

Warning: This post will contain spoilers for Murder Most Howl.

Killer. In a mystery, the primary antagonist is the killer. As the protagonist, Holly Miller tries to track this person down while the killer does his or her best to remain out of sight. This can mean lying, planting false clues, or hiding actual evidence. Sometimes the antagonist has help.

Killer’s Little Helpers. Roycroft’s term is “Agents of an Active Villain.” In a cozy, they are the friends or family who don’t want to see their loved one punished. This wasn’t an issue in Murder Most Howl because the killer was completely under the radar.

The Primary Suspect. The suspect is usually the suspect for a good reason. In this case, Shadow is on probation after a manslaughter conviction. He doesn’t actively impede the investigation, but he does stay quiet about things he knows. He also distracts Holly from looking for the real murderer.

The Suspect’s Little Helpers. Like the villain, the suspect has loved ones and who don’t want to see him back in jail. They may tamper with clues but, in standing up for Shadow, they are a distraction.

Secondary Suspects. These people may not be the prime suspect but they also want to keep Holly looking at someone other than themselves. They too may have Little Helper.

Law Enforcement. In a cozy, the detective isn’t law enforcement and that often causes problems. Holly and Officer Dave get along but she has to work to maintain this status quo.

Accessories to Antagonism. These characters aren’t related to the mystery but get underfoot. Holly has her ex, her love interest, and her aunt. The town where she lives is holding a murder mystery weekend, so everyone involved in that gets in the way as well as does Holly’s actual job which demands attention at inopportune times.

Inner Demons. Holly is assistant manager of her grandmother’s inn. Her grandmother, the manager, is on vacation so Holly worries that things will go South business-wise under her direction.

Weather and Outside Forces. Anything that restricts movement or time creates a layer of antagonism. The inn’s guests are suspects for various reasons but they are in town for one weekend. They can’t get off the mountain immediately because of a blizzard. That creates two levels of tension – everyone is trapped in town with a murderer but when the roads open the murder can escape.

Even if you aren’t writing a mystery, consider how you can add layers of antagonism to your story. In addition to your antagonist and her allies, you could have people who are creating secondary problems, time constraints, and weather. Or you might come up with something or someone that is unique to your individual story.

Just remember - Each step of the way, make things more difficult for your character.

--SueBE

To find out more about Sue Bradford Edwards' writing, visit her blog, One Writer's Journey.  Sue is also the instructor for Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. The next session begins May 20th, 2019.

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4 comments antagonist, cozy mystery, layers, Sue Bradford Edwards, tension

Writing Advice From Readers

It’s that time again! Last year I wrote about what my students wanted to read, and this year I’m back to give you an update.

I spoke with only the most eager of readers to compile this advice – readers of non-fiction, fantasy, realistic fiction, paranormal – you name it, they read it. Surprisingly, many of them gave me the same items on their “want” list. Keep in mind, they may be juniors in high school, but they read widely. Some are devoted to young adult literature, but many read books geared towards adults.

So, without further ado – I give you their advice.

1. Share your experiences

This advice is from non-fiction and fiction readers alike. They want the truth – the REAL truth – and they want it in book form. When I asked if they were hoping to relate to the characters, the answers were mixed. Some wanted to get their hands on new experiences. Others were hoping to validate their own. Either way, give them the truth – the whole, ugly truth – and don't sugar-coat it.

2. Revise your villains

Readers are tired of cliché villains. You know the type: pure evil, driven by malice, with no qualms about killing everyone around them. Instead, they want antagonists who are morally gray. Make sure they are good in some ways, but bad in others. Students want to like portions of their personality, but loathe some of their decisions.  Keep the villains real – especially in fantasy.

3. Create morally ambiguous protagonists

While this may seem contrary to what a protagonist should be, that’s what the students want. They are tired of the perfect hero and heroine. Give them someone with questionable morals who we can still root for. Create believable, fallible heroes.  Again – move away from the cliché.

4. Get rid of the weak woman

My romance and fantasy readers were adamant on this one:  Bring on those strong women! They are tired of romance novels that portray women as the weak one in the relationship.  One student advised, too, that sometimes the women will start “cool and strong and interesting,” but become weak once the male takes over. So, keep those women consistently strong.

5. Cool it on the crazy names

As one student so aptly put it, “Why does every character have some weird name like Opal Windstorm? It’s okay to name your protagonist “Cathy.”’ While it can be fun to come up with a name of which no one has ever heard, the readers may be tired of it. Something to consider the next time we start making up names.

6. Every relationship doesn’t have to end in romance

“It’s like salt,” one student said. “We all like a little salt, but once you’ve had too much, you feel sick.” In short, not every relationship has to end in romance. They’d like to see men and women be friends without it crossing over into a romantic relationship. “One romance is okay,” said another student, “but leave it at that. Stop match-making all of the characters.”

There you have it!  No matter your genre, these pieces of advice are all worthy of consideration.  Hopefully their advice will inspire your writing!



Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious, book-reading nerds. Check out her blog here and her website here.

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3 comments antagonist, character names, cliches, fantasy, fiction, Harar, non-fiction, protagonist, romance, villains, what readers want, writing ideas, writing inspiration

Why Is It So Much Fun to Write the Antagonist?

Recently I was teaching an adult education class about characters in a novel, and I said, "Writing the bad guy is so much fun. At least I think it is. I hope I'm not the only one. I think this is normal." The students kindly gave a little laugh, and we went on to talk about famous antagonists and how to write your own bad guy to stand out in the crowd.

Come on,  I'm not alone, right? Some of you out there also love to write your antagonist, don't you? Bad guys are fun to write because they can say and do things your protagonist never could, and these characters are usually what give your novel tension and page-turning action. From Darth Vader to the Wicked Witch of the West, from Cruella DeVille to Voldemort, readers have a love-hate relationship with each one. This is what you're also striving for in your novel. Here are a few things to consider:

Your antagonist needs a redeeming quality or at the very least, a reason readers can understand for their behavior. This is the biggest detail about antagonists to spend time on when thinking about this character in your novel. Why is your bad guy bad? Here's an example. When I was writing my middle-grade novel, Finding My Place, my antagonist, Mrs. Franklin, was mean just to be mean. She didn't have a redeeming quality or reason for her evil ways. Although she was fun to write and gave my 13-year-old heroine a lot of drama, the story wasn't as rich as it could be until I worked on Mrs. Franklin's character.

So, I gave her a reason for her meanness, and this reason was a bit of a redeeming quality, something that readers could possibly relate to. Mrs. Franklin was cruel because she loves her family above all else. Her family is the only important thing to her, and she's willing to treat others badly in order for her family to have comfort and safety during the Siege of Vicksburg (U. S. Civil War, 1863). She takes loyalty to her family to an extreme, which is also something many bad guys do. They have a normal desire (such as inheriting the shoes of your dead sister) to a crazy extreme (trying to kill or enslave a teenage girl to get the shoes).

Your antagonist has a past, favorites, and an appearance, too. In my opinion, it's as important to spend time on a character study of your antagonist as it is on your hero. Writers will pen page upon page of their protagonist's likes and dislikes, family, appearance, and hobbies, and write two sentences about their bad guy--why he's bad and what he does that's evil. But your antagonist had a past too, and he or she also has a favorite color or food, does something in his or her spare time (even if it's making plans to destroy the world, it's still a hobby), and might even like to watch TV. Figure this out before you do too much writing, and even if their love for everything chocolate never makes it into your book, your antagonist will stand out on the page and be a real figure for readers.

Your antagonist may not be a person at all.  Another huge discussion we had in the novel writing class was whether or not an antagonist has to be another human or even paranormal (vampire, zombie) character in your novel. The answer is NO. In my young adult novel, Caught Between Two Curses, the antagonist is the curse. Well, actually, it's two curses that my main character tries to break. Readers could argue that the woman who put the curse on Julie's family is the antagonist, but she plays such a minor role and is not the driving force of tension in Julie's life. You could also argue that it's her boyfriend, Gus; but again, what is blocking Julie from her goal throughout the book? The curses.

How about The Perfect Storm? Although this is based on a true story, the antagonist is the storm. Same for the movie Twister. In Jaws and Jurassic Park, the antagonists are living things, but animals. Heck, your very own loveable flawed hero can even be your antagonist--Mr. Hyde, anyone?

So to sum up. . .have fun writing your bad guy or force of nature or hero with a split personality. Take time to develop this source of tension in your novel, and maybe one day, readers everywhere will be discussing your antagonist the way we have He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Margo L. Dill is a writing teacher and novelist for kids and teens. She teaches classes in the WOW! Women On Writing classroom about writing novels and writing for children. To check out her upcoming classes, please see http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html . To find out more about her books, including the current holiday sale, please see http://margodill.com/blog/books/ .

Photo above by The Western Sky, www.flickr.com

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8 comments antagonist, creating characters, Margo L. Dill, novel writing, protagonist