i have no trouble whatsoever creating characters (in fact, i think i may have too many) but when it comes to antagonists, which are necessary for me to plot the bloody outline of the story, i just can't put them together;
writers should take as much time developing their antagonists as they do with their mcs, right?? but i just can't think of motive!! i've been stuck with this story for months! and i'm invested now, i need to get these babies on paper. please help, any kind of advvice or prompts are welcome and thank you
What kind of conflict are you hoping to have? If you could narrow it down, developing your antagonist might be a bit easier!
General advice I have is to try and consider for a moment that your antagonist is your protagonist—because no person is inherently evil. Consider the story as if you were writing your antag as your protag, and take the protag's motives and make it an obstacle for your antag to overcome. Once you figure that out, ideally it shouldn't be too hard to figure out a motive when it's reversed!
I would love to help!
Making your antagonist 3D is hard, but you need to give them more than "They're evil just because" So, make sure to show tons of emotion. Maybe make the villain have a soft side they must never show. Give them good traits along with the bad. Have the villain be someone the audience that they can relate with, not to only sympathize for.
Why does the villain act the way they do? How did they come to be? Those are some excellent started questions to ask yourself (Do remember, the villain doesn't have to have a tragic backstory or terrible childhood to become the antagonist. There are many possibilities as to how villains came to be and why they act). Now, into the villain motivation help.
Why do they oppose the protagonist in the first place? Is it for means of survival? Is it for love? Maybe family? To prove themself? Feels like the victim? Remember, the villain thinks that what they are doing is right in their mind. The protag is the villain to the antagonist.
Let's think about it like this. What does the antagonist claim that the protagonist did that is appalling to them. For example, my villain claims the good guys spread lies and cause pain. He feels wronged. He believes they all are the reason his sister died. He thinks he's doing good by making the good guys paying for their crimes and ridding the world of them.
How does the villain oppose the protag? Maybe it's been a long generational war, the villain thinks the protag wronged them, the protag stepped up to the podium to stop the "good" the villain thinks they're doing.
I hope this at least a bit helpful :3
Some good villains don't really need a sympathetic motive—Sauron, Fire Lord Ozai, and so far Minister Eebie(?) from The Oyster podcast appear menacing and either power-hungry or revel in the power that they have over people.
If you're sure that type of villain won't suit your story, then there's "the hero of their own story…but the villain of yours" mentality, in that the designated villain genuinely believes that they're doing what is right and what is needed…but so, if somebody gets in their way then they're forced to harm them but the villain tells themself it's worth it because the villain is aspiring to accomplish something more important than some goon fool's life or comfort (your hero being the goon fool from this villain's perspective.)
The same mentality with more negative motivations is that the villain has suffered in such a way that "I'd burn my hometown down just to feel some warmth" like the designated side of good has failed the villain in a way that left the villain wounded and lashing out. It's more out of vengeance than out of having ambition.
There can be a sense of, "both the hero and villain are theoretically correct and well-reasoned…but the way the villain chooses to get something done is wrong and very hurtful."
What kind of conflict are you hoping to have? If you could narrow it down, developing your antagonist might be a bit easier!
General advice I have is to try and consider for a moment that your antagonist is your protagonist—because no person is inherently evil. Consider the story as if you were writing your antag as your protag, and take the protag's motives and make it an obstacle for your antag to overcome. Once you figure that out, ideally it shouldn't be too hard to figure out a motive when it's reversed!
hmmm that was actually really helpful! thinking of them as just a regular character with their own motives that simply clash with the protag's makes it a lot easier to start seeing them as a three dimensional being, thanks!
I'm really glad I could help! Good luck ^^
I would love to help!
Making your antagonist 3D is hard, but you need to give them more than "They're evil just because" So, make sure to show tons of emotion. Maybe make the villain have a soft side they must never show. Give them good traits along with the bad. Have the villain be someone the audience that they can relate with, not to only sympathize for.
Why does the villain act the way they do? How did they come to be? Those are some excellent started questions to ask yourself (Do remember, the villain doesn't have to have a tragic backstory or terrible childhood to become the antagonist. There are many possibilities as to how villains came to be and why they act). Now, into the villain motivation help.
Why do they oppose the protagonist in the first place? Is it for means of survival? Is it for love? Maybe family? To prove themself? Feels like the victim? Remember, the villain thinks that what they are doing is right in their mind. The protag is the villain to the antagonist.
Let's think about it like this. What does the antagonist claim that the protagonist did that is appalling to them. For example, my villain claims the good guys spread lies and cause pain. He feels wronged. He believes they all are the reason his sister died. He thinks he's doing good by making the good guys paying for their crimes and ridding the world of them.
How does the villain oppose the protag? Maybe it's been a long generational war, the villain thinks the protag wronged them, the protag stepped up to the podium to stop the "good" the villain thinks they're doing.
I hope this at least a bit helpful :3
yes, thank you!! i think the main point i'll have to work on is essentially how they oppose the protag, not making them necessarily evil! i love the "good" villain trope an i think that my main trouble with it was that i started agreeing a lot more with the antag's side of the story and suddenly my protags sounded like assholes who just stood by and let a lot of bad shit happen to innocent people :/
i think i'll have to develop my antag as more of a grey character than a just a "good" character in the opposite side, and work on those motivations you mentioned. thanks again my dude!
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