HighFantasy Tips & Tricks

Section One Part Two - Antagonists

A massive part of the world that you have created is the antagonist. Though the antagonist may be simple to create, there are many different ways in which you can make your audience dislike your antagonist, as well as how to improve them.

Per definition (as provided by the ever amazing google dictionary) is: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary. Though not to be confused with the protagonist, who is so often the hero/main source of good; think of the antagonist as Lord Voldemort, and the Protagonist as Harry Potter.

Why is your antagonist your antagonist? How did they become the antagonist? (and some things to think about while creating and fleshing out your antagonist)

One of the things that will make your story stand out is how you portray your antagonist, and how they tick as a person.

Below are some questions that can help with fleshing out your antagonist:

-Did they become the antagonist due to some sort of incident that happened at some point in their lives? 

--Did they become the antagonist to avenge a person(s) close to them that died? How did their deaths affect the antagonist?

--Do they hold the protagonist responsible for their loved ones deaths?

--What events shaped them to be the person that they are today?

---Was your antagonist (a) abandoned as a child, left in an orphanage, etc (b) at one point, friends with the protagonist and something got in the way of the friendship, or (c) raised in a different setting compared to the protagonist (ie one raised in royalty while one grew up in a poor village) and fears the change that the protagonist will bring? 

----There are plenty of questions that could also be added on to this, but for the sake of not making a massive list, I have condensed it down.

What are the different types of antagonists?

Type one- The Evil Villain

When developing an Evil Villain type antagonist, think about Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter), Sauron (The Lord of the Rings), or The White Witch (The Chronicles of Narnia). The evil villain is truly the top of the top, a true villain. They are intent on harming others, to cause chaos, to get revenge, etc.. The narrative of the story could so often play out into light vs dark, the light (the protagonist) being forced to take out their greatest fear, the dark (the villain). To make the antagonist stand out, keep in mind how evil isn't born, it's made, try to spend time crafting the humanity of your villain (more of the why behind them).

Type Two- The Immoral Entity

There are times in which the protagonist doesn't find conflict with a single person, but rather a group of people or a larger entity, such as a government or social system; think The Capital (The Hunger Games) and The Republic of Gilead (The Handmaidens Tale). The vast majority of the time, the Immoral Entity wants to harm (or supress) the protagonist because the protagonist belongs to a certain group - as a way to attain power, wealth, or success.

Immortal entities tend to be quite large, so they can be difficult to fight, hence why there tends to be one 'main' villainous character. While the main protagonists will fight the entire system, the points of interaction would be with the 'main' villainous character.

Final notes for this part:

While there are many other types of antagonists I could have included on this list, such as the Internal Struggle and The Everyday Antagonist (think Draco Malfoy or a school bully), that are very popular in works of fiction, they aren't the only types of antagonist that you can go with.

Different types of antagonist forces include (but are not limited too): nature, technology, a supernatural entity, or a physical condition.

Keep in mind, some stories CAN make good use of multiple types of antagonists (mix and match, the choice is up to you).