When you write your antagonist, you want this person to be someone that people fall in love with, while still wanting him to “lose.” Your hero will always be the one to triumph, but without the antagonist, there is no relationship challenge to conquer. In order to write an antagonist that is powerful and stirs the right emotions, this is what you need to do.
Practice Writing Scenes That Include Your Characters
If you take the time to play out various scenarios involving your antagonist, and choose from the best ones, you will open yourself up to a whole new written world. Start by using various writing exercises to get the creative juices flowing. Once you’ve warmed up, you will be able to pull more from the corners of your mind to create the perfect antagonist.
Art Imitates Life – So, Use Your Own as Inspiration
Writing is an art form developed over centuries, beginning with cuneiform tablets, moving through the era of Shakespearean prose, to today. Now we write books in all genres, and blog posts to promote them. What evolution of antagonistic events have you experienced in your life? Think of someone you once hated, and now you have grown to love.
Use this person’s despicable behaviors and redeeming qualities to help you with your antagonist. If it helps you with your writing, use a similar name, describe the facial features and mannerisms of this muse as you move readers through your storyline. The more believable your antagonists are to you, the more likely they will be realistic to your readers as well.
How to Construct the First Impression of Your Antagonist
If you introduce your antagonist with one of the most horrible actions that will take place in the story, rather than build up to it, there is more room for redemption later. You want your antagonist to make people cringe, so do it the first time he or she appears. If it feels like you should build up to the worst action a little bit, do so, but make sure you take it easy on hints. Show them that he’s bad, then show them that he’s human. This will give you the most impact.
Conclusion
When writing a character that moves people, you have to be moved yourself. So, use someone you know as a model for your bad guy. When you first introduce this character to your readers, make sure that you show the worst side first. Build in the redeeming qualities in later. This how to write your best villain yet. Share your feedback in the comments below, and tell us what tips you have for writing a great antagonist.
Marry McAleavey is a muffin lover, avid reader and beginner author. She currently writes for The Essay Service.