Well, I think that considering you say that it is about human relationships and betrayal, you could show the effect of the antagonist’s actions and develop her through those avenues -- people will know of the antagonist and what she’s up to, and people would likely want to get and share information about what she’s doing.

I don’t know the details of your story, but I think it would probably be reasonable for your protagonist to be told by a third party ‘oh, have you heard what Antagonist has been up to? Here’s the latest--’ and whether this is true or not and whether this person is being honest or not, that is going to mean that your antagonist’s actions are an active force in the story.

There are a few things that you’ll want to consider:

What is the relationship between the antagonist and the protagonist at the beginning? 

Are they perfect strangers, or did they know each other from some previous meeting? 

What did they think of each other at the time? 

Do they have any standing/ established disagreements or bitterness between them?

When you know the initial relationship between them, or lack thereof, then you can figure out how your protagonist’s opinion of this person will change when they’re given new information.

As well as this, you’d want to consider what the protagonist feels about the people that they are getting this information from -- Are they being told something by someone they trust, or someone they don’t? Is it someone they know well or someone they only met recently? These are factors that will affect how trustworthy your protagonist believes this information is.

In a political story I can imagine a number of scenarios that might occur that would make your antagonist’s actions to be at the forefront of the protagonist’s attention even while the antagonist is absent.

Whether your protagonist is acting on news reports, or on rumours, or on information from ‘trusted sources’, or from, perhaps, documents or letters from the antagonist, etc, there are probably going to be times when information is faulty, or given in bad faith, and there will probably be people who attempt to leverage the enmity between the protagonist and antagonist for their own benefit (say, someone that the protagonist trusts enough to listen to, but who is feeding misinformation to sway the protagonist’s actions to their own benefit).

I’m not personally a big fan of political thrillers, and so I can’t give you many recommendations for further reading, although there is some parallel to murder mysteries, especially serial killer stories -- a detective working on finding a killer when all they have to go on is the information they collect after the killer has been and gone.

I will also just add that you have a great opportunity here for a dramatic confrontation toward the end of the story, which could be really exciting. I hope it goes well for you.

And I hope that helps!

–

Hi there, your friendly blogger Mason here!

At the moment I’m fundraising to cover the costs of my gender confirmation surgery, if you’re able to donate, please click [HERE] to give me a helping hand!

If you’re not able to donate, I would be really grateful if you would reblog [THIS POST] so that more people will be able to see the fundraiser.

Cotton Candy: What is your favorite dessert? 

Already answered here c:

Periwinkle: What’s something ordinary that has personal meaning to you?

My plant. Some people seemed confused about why I included keep a plant in my steps to a better life and I understand it might sound completely unrelated. But keeping a plant has helped me stay a little more positive and motivated on those days when I don’t even feel like getting out of bed. I know I probably sound a bit dramatic but keeping a plant, as in actually taking care of a plant might be just the little boost of productivity that sets your mood for the upcoming day or week. It’s just another tiny task (such as cleaning my room, taking time to cook for myself, have a skincare routine, etc.) that makes me feel somewhat less sluggish and then it’s easier to tackle down the important tasks of the week. Idk is this stupid?? Do any of you have little things that just make you feel more productive?