6 Tips for a Stand-Out Antagonist
by Script Magazine
www.scriptmag.com
Everybody loves a good bad guy, but most writers focus more on creating their protagonists
than their antagonists. A formidable, multi-layered antagonist is just as important as your
hero.
If your antagonist is flat, cliché and uninteresting, your overall story will suffer. Creating a
memorable antagonists is one of the keys to a successful story. With just a few tips, you can
develop your antagonist to a higher level.
Don't worry if your antagonist is lackluster in the first draft. That's what rewrites are for.
What is an antagonist and why are they necessary?
Simply put, the antagonist is the person who is keeping your protagonists from reaching their
goals. The antagonist must be active in presenting the hero/heroine with conflict after conflict.
This can be achieved in words or direct actions, but also in creating roadblocks the
protagonist isn't even aware their villain is responsible for placing. What action s/he takes is
dependent on the nature of the story. Regardless, every story has to have an antagonist.
Without an active antagonist, nothing will keep your readers on the edge of their seat, never
quite knowing if the hero will succeed. Nothing is more boring than a story with no conflict.
Without challenges, your hero also won't have the opportunities to evolve, which is essential
for the much-needed character arc.
Read the tips below and then reexamine your script or novel closely paying attention to your
antagonist.
1. Antagonists aren't all bad.
An antagonist has layers like any other human. Flesh them out. Find out what vulnerabilities
they have that will make us relate to them in some way. What was their childhood like? When
did they turn "bad?" Do they wish they were "good" or have any regrets? If your antagonist
isn't an actual human being, is there a way you can personify him in some way? Think of
Ralph Fiennes' character in Schindler's List, the German officer Amon Goeth. He was so
much more than just an evil Nazi. Goeth was in love with a Jewish woman. Even though he
beat and raped her, we knew he loved her... and he hated himself for it. By giving your
antagonist an opportunity to so something kind, you make his actions unpredictable.
Show the complexities of your villains emotions early in the story with believable moments. In
Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter's caring and concern for Agent Starling drew us into
him. We'd sometimes forget he was the "bad" guy... until he killed someone, and we were
brought back to reality. Because he makes us let down our guards as viewers, we're even
more scared for Agent Starling out of fear she will also let her guard down when dealing with
him. Hannibal's character was so effectively humanized that in the end, we even rooted for
him to eat another character we, as an audience, grew to loathe. Now that's great writing!
2. Resist the urge to make them purely evil.
Creating a character that is just pure evil isn't believable. Readers typically can't relate to
someone as one-dimensional as that. Oftentimes, if they're evil to the core (with the exception
of horror characters), the audience is robbed of the surprises and suspense of what they'll do
in a given circumstance. Clichés like the serial killer hating their mother or killing the family
pet as a child bore an audience to tears, as we've seen those tactics so many times before.
But if you switch up the viewpoint to that of the antagonist, allowing us to get into their mind,
we'll learn more about them, including their own insecurities. No villain typically considers
themselves the bad guy. They often feel like the victim. Take Jaime Lannister in "Game of
Thrones." In the first episode, we were horrified by his actions, but in subsequent seasons, we
saw the story through his eyes and came to empathize, and even root for him.
If shifting to your antagonist's viewpoint isn't possible, try putting your protagonist in a position
to relate to the villain. Maybe they both have Daddy issues or were bullied as kids. Dive into
their psyches to find some level the protagonist can relate to their nemesis. When you show
the audience feelings both the antagonist and protagonist can relate to, you pull them into
your story and characters on a deeper level.
3. Abstract antagonists should be avoided.
When your antagonist is abstract (society, a cause, corporation, etc.) relatability and
compassion go right out the window. You need to put a face on that abstract antagonist.
Choose a character to represent that bigger entity, such as a priest represents a religion, or a
CEO represents the corporate greed mentality in society. It's far easier to have an actual
person be an active nemesis than a belief.
Let's go back to Schindler's List. Goeth represented not only the Nazis, but also the prejudice,
intolerance, murder and greed that existed during the war and beyond. He represented
everything evil during Hitler's regime. Oskar Schindler brilliantly played to Goeth's ego to
create conflict and circumstances to battle him and win.
4. Make your antagonist a worthy opponent.
If your antagonist isn't as intelligent and capable as your hero, the reader will know without
any doubt the hero will succeed. Boooooring! Think of it like sports. What fun is it to watch a
game when you know one team has an undefeated record and the other couldn't score a goal
if there was a kindergartener as the goal keeper? Sporting events are like stories. We watch
them for the conflicts, the battle and the unexpected Hail Mary passes that make us jump out
of our seats. A good opponent makes for a good game. Your villain needs to at least be your
heroine's equal, if not smarter. Give both your hero and villain complementary qualities that
help you create great moments of conflict.
5. If your antagonist is a loved one or buddy, find ways to keep the conflict and tension
on high.
In many chick flicks, the antagonist is the spouse who is trying to crush the heroine from
going after her dream, or judge her in some way. His motivations might not even be apparent
to him, but the goal is to keep her from evolving, perhaps out of fear of losing her, if she does.
You need to maximize the potential for conflict that is inherent in marriage or other close
relationships, like parent and child. The hero won't want to destroy their loved one, so use
that to raise the stakes. But changing someone's mind isn't always easy. Push them to have
that huge argument. Push them to be true to themselves and fight for what they want instead
of just paying lip service to it. The harder you make it for both the protagonist and antagonist,
the better the story will be.
6. What about the mystery antagonist? He needs a little help from his friends...
Sometimes the main bad guy hides behind an army of friends who do the fighting for him.
Having to beat the minions to get to the mastermind is a great way to build little battles,
leading up to the main climax. Think about the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz. She made
Dorothy battle flyling monkeys, armed guards, and even poisoned poppies before Dorothy
had a chance to come face-to-face with her evil cackle and ruby slippers.
The essential element of the climax is to have the protagonist and antagonist duke it out, but
they can also have mini battles along the way. If they aren't able to come face-to-face earlier
than the climax, using proxies is a great way to create conflict and drama. Even if the proxy is
psychological rather than physical. Say the antagonist is a mastermind and they find ways to
mess with the hero's sanity with the goal of weakening the hero before the final in-person
showdown.
Now read your first draft over, thinking about these six tips. Can you make your antagonist
stronger? If you can elevate them to be a worthy opponent, your readers will thank you, and
your story might even become the next box-office hit.
Get more tips on the development of an antagonist with Danny
Manus' on-demand webinar, The Antagonist's Journey:
At a Glance:
• During this webinar, you’ll learn the keys to creating
compelling, three-dimensional Antagonist characters
•
Gain greater understanding of the pathology and POV of
strong antagonists.
•
Discover a new structural beat sheet based around your
Antagonist’s Journey to deepen your stories.
REGISTER NOW!