Your story needs a successful antagonist – one who wins a lot, who has odds overwhelmingly in their favor, moves the story ahead and directly challenges the protagonist’s story goal. Without a powerful antagonist, your protagonist has nothing substantial to fight against—there’s little reason to cheer for them. Ways to…
Tag: bad guys
How To Write Fiction - Advanced Tips
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What If Your Antagonist Isn’t Human – What’s The Secret Sauce Then?
In my last post, I looked at the secret sauce you need to make antagonists menacing. Today I want to go beyond basics with non-human antagonists. In school, we all likely learned the different types of conflict in literature: human vs human (very common, no examples needed) human vs himself (Hamlet,…
How To Write Fiction - Advanced Tips
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The Secret Sauce For A Menacing Antagonist
The two most important characters in your story are your protagonist and your antagonist. They both must be equally developed and dynamic. After all, no one looks heroic, brave, or is worth cheering for if they don’t break a sweat—if everything comes easily to them. How annoying is that! We…