As writers, much like actors, we are given the unique opportunity to live as many different lives as we can imagine and create. It’s a power that enables us to explore new lands, create jaw-dropping scenarios, and live vicariously through the senses of those whom we could never be in real life.
And that’s why as a writer you should embrace your antagonist 100%.
This is your chance to live in the skin of someone who can do and say things you wouldn’t do and say. This is your chance to cause chaos and in a peaceful world. This is your chance to disrupt your main character’s normal life and give them a reason to fight for their return to normalcy.
Think about your favorite movie, TV, or book antagonists. Someone had to create them, and someone definitely had fun writing them. This is your chance to have the same level of fun. It doesn’t mean that you have to agree with or condone the character’s actions, but you can explore what it would be like to engage in those actions and see the resulting chaos that ensues.
This is why it’s important to enjoy what you write and enjoy the characters that you write.
In that rough draft, don’t be afraid to “go there” with your characters. You can make your antagonist as heartless, as nasty, as evil, and as morally reprehensible as you want. Then, if you feel it’s too much, scale it back when you revise the story. Never edit or second-guess yourself as you write a rough draft.
Allow your creative mind to take that journey into darkness with your antagonist.
In doing this, you will help mold and shape a stronger force for your main character to challenge and battle as the climax of the story nears. You want your audience to believe that the main character has truly met their match, and that there may be no way to defeat this opposing force no matter how strong the protagonist appears to be.
Give us a reason to doubt that the protagonist will win in the end. This creates a sense of tension and suspense in the audience’s mind, which draws them even deeper into the story.
Whether it’s a story about a pie baking contest or one with world-ending stakes, the main character needs a strong, dimensional, and intriguing antagonist to compete against in order to create strong conflict and dramatic tension.
Embrace your antagonist as much as you do your protagonist and your story will be all the better for it.
