save Gansey 2016

I received an influx of antagonist questions in the past few days, so I thought I’d compile my posts on the topic. I think I might have written a few others, but I think these are the most helpful. Thanks for your questions!

Understanding Your Antagonist

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to make an antagonist realistic/relatable without excusing their bad behavior. Many of the questions are afraid that giving the antagonist back story is a poor way to give the villain a “pass” for all the terrible things they’ve done.  I’ve previously posted about antagonists and how you should focus on making them as real as your protagonist, which explains you need to develop their back story just as much as you would any other character. Here are a few tips that should help:

If you’re having trouble developing your antagonist, try to think about the story from their point-of-view.

For the most part, making your antagonist evil for no reason doesn’t make any sense. There’s usually a reason, even if it’s not 100% exposed to your readers. Everyone in your story should have a motive, just like they would in real life. Your antagonist thinks he is the main character. Your antagonist thinks he’s doing the RIGHT thing. Very rarely do villains with no motive work out or feel realistic (I know they have, but it’s a very hard thing to pull off). In the mind of your antagonist, your main character is stopping them from accomplishing their goals.

Discussing your antagonist’s bad childhood is not the same as trying to give him a “pass” for his evil ways. 

You just need to find a way to interweave his back story without it feeling forced. If you say “He was abused as a child and that’s why he treats other people so badly”, your story will feel flat. Finding a way to show that information instead of telling it is very important. You don’t need to flat out say why the antagonist is so bad, but you should help the readers come to their own conclusions. For example, maybe your antagonist becomes furious when someone mentions something about their father. The readers will be able to infer that there’s been some sort of issue between the antagonist and their father and we might start to understand the source of their rage.

Like I mentioned before, developing a realistic past for your antagonist is the same as developing any other character. 

Your main character has to have flaws and their flaws need to come from somewhere. I would suggest doing some research on real life serial killers and see what sort of places they came from. Sometimes it’s impossible to tell why people snapped, but there are usually some clues or some build up from that person’s past. You’ll get ideas for your own antagonist.

In order to make it seem like you’re not excusing what your antagonist has done, you need to remind the audience about free-will. 

If your antagonist has a past that seems like he was driven into doing evil deeds, there needs to be actions your antagonist has done while making his own decisions. Your readers need a way to understand that your antagonist is capable of making his own choices and can also stop what he or she is doing. Having a sympathetic antagonist is not a bad thing, but you need to make sure your readers relate more with your protagonist. Your readers should usually want your protagonist to come out on top.

 ——————————————————————————————

Why Bad Characters Aren’t Always Bad

This is a follow-up to my Why Good Characters Aren’t Always Good post, but this time I’m going to focus more on antagonists than protagonists. I previously talked about the differences between writing a strong character (well-written, developed, interesting) and writing a morally strong character. This time I’m going to talk about writing a strong antagonist that might also have strong morals. It’s important to remember that your antagonist will not always be wrong; they are just someone who opposes your protagonist.

Your antagonist won’t always do the wrong thing

Just like your protagonist won’t always do the right thing, your antagonist isn’t always trying to destroy the world. In fact, your antagonist might actually do the right thing every once in a while and they might be the one with all the right ideas. They might decide to save your protagonist, even if they don’t necessarily agree with what they’re doing. They might even side with your protagonists on some issues. The antagonist doesn’t always have to be out to completely destroy your protagonist, so keep that in mind. Take time to discover their motivations and how it will fit into your story.

Good vs. Good is an interesting way to think about characters

If you want to write an interesting story, think of your character conflict as good vs. good. Your protagonist thinks they are doing the right thing, but so does your antagonist in most cases. I know there have been cases when the antagonist is just an awful person, but most of the time they do think what they’re doing is necessary. If we find reasons to side with both your protagonist and antagonist, your story becomes very fascinating. Consider that both characters believe they are in the right.

Your antagonist might have the best intentions in mind

You protagonist is only the protagonist because it’s the character your story is focusing on. They’re the main character of your novel and the one we’re told to care about more. However, that doesn’t mean your protagonist is making all the right decisions and what they say goes. Your antagonist might also have the best intentions in mind. Some of the best stories are when your protagonist realizes that they might not have been making the best decisions OR when they see themselves in the antagonist. Remember, your antagonist might think they’re doing the right thing and they might intend to do something good.

It’s possible for your antagonist to care about your protagonist

Your antagonist and protagonist do not have to hate each other. As I mentioned before, your protagonist does not have to be the good one and your antagonist doesn’t have to be the evil one. They just oppose each other in some way. Usually whatever they want they can’t have unless the other one fails. This doesn’t mean that your antagonist can’t care about what happens to the protagonist. Stories become more interesting when the protagonist and antagonist have a relationship that goes beyond hating each other.

This post is intended to help you switch up how you look at antagonists, so hopefully you can explore this in your writing. Antagonists and protagonists come in many shapes and forms, so don’t always think one has to be “good” and one has to be “evil”. I usually think of the “wrong” character as the one who doesn’t change or develop throughout your story despite the information presented to them and the experiences they go through. Figure out what works for your novel and what helps make the plot most interesting/exciting.

—————————————————————————————-

Reasons Why Your Antagonist is the Antagonist

Any antagonist or villain that doesn’t have a reason for being the antagonist will come off as a flat character. Even if you know as the writer why a character is doing something, you need to find ways to explain it to your readers. When you reveal this information is up to you, but you need to do it at some point to make your characters relatable and believable. Here are a few things that might explain why your antagonist is the antagonist:

Family behavior

Looking at your antagonist’s background is always a great way to explain why they are the way they are. Think about how your character’s parents had treated them in the past. Maybe their father was busy at work and didn’t have time for your antagonist. Maybe their mother left the family or never wanted a child. Though these particular situations do not make people “evil” or “bad”, they do help shape your character. Build the individual situations of your characters and use them to help explain why your character turned out the way they did.

Again, family behavior doesn’t always negatively affect a person and turn them into something bad, but it might have an impact on your character. Try to only include information about this behavior if it has helped develop your character in some way. Or consider the reverse. Family behavior like a mother being too caring or suffocating might have caused a character to act out. There are so many ways to do it!

Personal background

Outside of family behavior, your antagonist might have had some bad things happen to them.  Maybe they were bullied when they were younger or there’s something they wanted badly that they never got. Looking into your antagonist’s personal background will help you understand a lot about your character. Were they constantly made fun of? Did they witness something violent that helped shaped them as an adult? If a character has felt weak at certain times in their life, they might want some control over other people.  Consider these factors.

Mob mentality

An antagonist might be an antagonist simply because they got caught up in something bigger than themselves.  They might have heard something from other people and decided to join the cause. They might have gotten swept up in something they didn’t fully understand and gained power. Something might be so ingrained in them that they can’t see your protagonist’s point of view. A character can be susceptible to what everyone else is thinking, so conformity might be a factor that turns them into the antagonist.

Desperation

If someone is in a desperate situation, this will definitely shape their behavior. Consider the idea that your antagonist is just as desperate as your protagonist. They need to succeed. If they don’t, maybe something horrible might happen to them. A villain doesn’t always do things just because they want to stand in the way of the protagonist. They’re not just simply evil. There’s always a reason behind their actions and desperation might be one of them.

Remember, your antagonist isn’t always the bad person; they’re just someone who doesn’t want to see your protagonist to succeed. Their ideals clash and they believe different things. You should develop your antagonist just as much as your develop your protagonist. Explaining why they’re doing the things they’re doing will help your readers understand what’s happening.

So I’ve been reading a lot of amateur writing lately, and I’ve noticed what seems to be a common problem: dialogue. 

Tell me if this looks familiar. You start writing a conversation, only to look down and realize it reads like: 

“I’m talking now,” he said. 

“Yes, I noticed,” she said. 

“I have nothing much to add to this conversation,” the third person said. 

And it grates on your ears. So much ‘said.’ It looks awful! It sounds repetitive. So, naturally, you try to shake it up a bit: 

“Is this any better?” He inquired. 

“I’m not sure,” she mused. 

“I definitely think so!” that other guy roared. 

This is not an improvement. This is worse. 

Now your dialogue is just as disjointed as it was before, but you have the added problem of a bunch of distracting dialogue verbs that can have an unintentionally comedic effect. 

So here’s how you avoid it: You mix up the dialogue with description. 

“Isn’t this better?” He asked, leaning forward in his seat. “Don’t you feel like we’re more grounded in reality?” 

She nodded, looking down at her freshly manicured nails. “I don’t feel like a talking head anymore.” 

“Right!” That annoying third guy added. “And now you can get some characterization crammed into the dialogue!” 

The rules of dialogue punctuation are as follows: 

Each speaker gets his/her own paragraph - when the speaker changes, you start a new paragraph. 

Within the speaker’s own paragraph, you can include action, interior thoughts, description, etc. 

You can interrupt dialogue in the middle to put in a “said” tag, and then write more dialogue from that same speaker. 

You can put the “said” tag at the beginning or end of the sentence. 

Once you’ve established which characters are talking, you don’t need a “said” tag every time they speak. 

Some more examples: 

“If you’re writing an incomplete thought,” he said, “you put a comma, then the quote mark, then the dialogue tag.” 

“If the sentence ends, you put in a period.” She pointed at the previous sentence. “See? Complete sentences.” 

“You can also replace the dialogue tag with action.” Extra guy yawned. “When you do, you use a period instead of a comma.”

So what do you do with this newfound power? I’m glad you asked. 

You can provide description of the character and their surroundings in order to orient them in time and space while talking. 

You can reveal characterization through body language and other nonverbal cues that will add more dimension to your dialogue. 

You can add interior thoughts for your POV character between lines of dialogue - especially helpful when they’re not saying quite what they mean. 

You can control pacing. Lines of dialogue interrupted by descriptions convey a slower-paced conversation. Lines delivered with just a “said” tag, or with no dialogue tag at all, convey a more rapid-fire conversation. 

For example: 

“We’ve been talking about dialogue for a while,” he said, shifting in his seat as though uncomfortable with sitting still. 

“We sure have,” she agreed. She rose from her chair, stretching. “Shall we go, then?” 

“I think we should.” 

“Great. Let’s get out of here.” 

By controlling the pacing, you can establish mood and help guide your reader along to understanding what it is that you’re doing. 

Oh man, okay! I’m going to give you what I can tonight, and if I remember anything more when I’m awake properly in the morning I’ll reblog this post and add on.

WAR FOR THE OAKS WAR FOR THE OAKS. The book is by Emma Bull and it’s a huge huge influence on me for this kind of subject (and for writing in general). If you even think you might want to read about a woman starting a rock band and getting wrapped up in a Faerie war, read it.

Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series, which starts with “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making”. The books are technically for younger readers, but they are lush and for all the nonsense they have the darkness and cruelty of Fairyland down too. Any series that contains the sentence “The only price in the world that matters is the one that hurts to pay” has Fairyland down.

“The Perilous Gard,” Elizabeth Marie Pope. Another formative book about the Good People of the Hills for me. Gorgeous and shivery and romantic, and an excellent Tam Lin adaptation, in many ways.

Speaking of which: Tam Lin adaptations! Find a version of the ballad that you like, or skip directly to the book retellings. I can particularly recommend Pamela Dean’s “Tam Lin” and Diana Wynne-Jones’s “Fire and Hemlock.”

Terry Pratchett’s “Lords and Ladies” and also his “Wee Free Men” have great takes on elves. Particularly, Lords and Ladies contains this quote, which frequently informs my characterization (though not always, I think summarily calling them “bad” isn’t very interesting).

I’m not all that fond anymore, but in high school I was very into Holly Black’s “Tithe” and its companion novels, and again, it probably informed how I build those worlds.

There are such good tumblr posts about it! So I can’t discount my myths legends fairy tales tag for the odd post that may be relevant to your interests.

I can’t really think of movies that have the feeling I try to evoke down? Labyrinth might come closest, though it is sprinkled liberally with the 80s. But it’s very much got the be-careful-what-you-wish-for, everything-has-a-price kind of vibe I like.

Four years after Harry’s left Hogwarts he visits McGonagall’s home to talk her out of retirement, and the door is opened by a woman he doesn’t recognise. Confused, he introduces himself and asks to see McGonagall. The woman recognises the name and invites him in, saying Minerva will be home soon. She then talks a mile a minute, but not about the war - about the stories she’s heard about the golden trio from their head of house. About how Harry stood up to Umbridge, and how clever Hermione was, and how Ron had been able to beat her chess game, and how PROUD Minerva was of them all.

By the time McGonagall does arrive, Harry and her wife are chatting like old friends. Minvera’s wife calls her things like “Darling” and “Pumpkin.” Harry cannot believe his ears.

these new sun-proof vampires come and get him, and put him on trial, and when he’s taken out for public execution he looks out into the crowd and sees the fear in all of their faces, little vampire children hiding behind their parents’ legs, and realizes that they are the new humans, and to them he is the boogeyman that’s committing genocide against them in their sleep (thus the title, ‘i am legend’)

You know now (not then) that power comes through and from favors.

If you had known that then you would probably not have done so many.

(This is where it starts.)

One.

There is a strange creature crossing the road behind the lecture hall. You stop on your bike and frown at it. It looks a little like a turtle, but it’s limbs are longer than any turtle you’ve ever seen. It’s stretched out on the hot asphalt, long, pale limbs clawing forward towards the small stream that runs on the other side.

 You hop off your bike and gently pick the creature up, hands under the belly of the shell like you learned from the internet.

Imagine your surprise when the shell slides off the creature instead, dropping a tiny woman onto the asphalt.

“Water,” she croaks, tiny eyes screwed shut.  Her eyelids are the size of yours which means they’re huge on her. “Please.”

(You will not know until later what exactly please means to the fae.)

You feel yourself move through your shock. You pick her up and take her to the water’s edge. She slips under the surface, pale skin flashing like the scales of a fish, and she’s gone.

You’d wonder if your roommate slipped you something this morning if she wasn’t back a moment later, pushing a small rock into your hands.

“A boon,” she says. Her eyes are large and black, suited for her underwater world. “For a favor.” She smiles, showing teeth jagged and sharp like a piranha.

When you blink, she’s gone.

You stare at the rock in your left hand. It’s smooth and worn from years in water, an interesting swirl of granite and quartz. “I wish I knew,” you tell it.

The rock ices over so fast that you don’t have time to drop it. The frost swirls across your skin, burning you where it touches, and you watch in horror as your skin turns a mottled black and blue.

 You fall to your knees from the pain and choke on a scream as the stone sinks into you, touching your bones and sending more ice through your marrow. It climbs up your arm and touches your eye, changing you vision so now that you’re see double, a strange, blue world juxtaposed next to the one you know and love.

“First off, I have to say that I simply hate it when reviewers call my work “wacky” or “zany”. Those people are going to be hunted down by the Mafia! Seriously, I suppose around the fifth of six Discworld book, I discovered the joy of plot. I think it was Esther Friesner who said you have to have tragic relief. If a book is nothing but funny, then it is nothing but funny. There is no contrast and it’s hard to take anything seriously. It’s hard to worry about the fate of a character. You do need those moments when you bring people down to Earth. I think the book which generated the most mail and email was Jingo. In Jingo, there was a theme of what you might call quantum confusion (and only in fantasy can you get away with this kind of thing). Vimes picks up his personal organizer just at the moment when the Universe is splitting into two. So that is the point where he picks up the personal organizer that belongs to the Vimes that makes the decision in a different way, so he gets a personal organizer which is effectively telling him what would have been happening in his life had he not made a particular decision. There is a scene where he’s actually seeing (as if it were notes in organizer) all his colleagues dying (although in his universe they are around him and are alive). There is a war going on and in the section of the organizer that says Things To Do Today, the entry says “die”. This was quite chilling to see. These terrible things happened because he made a small decision which had a profound effect. Because there was just that moment of uncertainty when the two organizers in the two universes could interchange and because of that minor decision, he and every one he knew died. In fact, he hadn’t made that minor decision in this universe, so he was alive, but he could hear what would have happened. We don’t often get that opportunity. Writing those scenes taught me a few things. One of the things it taught me is that you should never regret. You should never say, “If only I had taken that job. If only I had not done this or I had not done that.” Because you don’t know what else would have happened. If you had taken that job, yes it would have offered better promotions and more money, but if you had been going to work to that job on a particular day, you’d have been run over by a bus. You don’t know what other things would have happened as a result of the decision. So, basically, you better just take what comes down the pipe.“

This week for @bibliophilicwitch’s tomes and tea I have Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - the story of the life and death of Chris McCandless who was found starved to death in an abandoned bus in Alaska in 1992 - and a cup of green tea in my poppy mug.

This week for @bibliophilicwitch’s tomes and tea I have Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - the story of the life and death of Chris McCandless who was found starved to death in an abandoned bus in Alaska in 1992 - and a cup of green tea in my poppy mug.