I’ve spent the last couple of
weeks trying to rethink my characters. I want my characters to have “attitude”
and “spunk.” I want my protagonist to demonstrate a strength she didn’t even
know she had in her.
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| "A strong antagonist makes a strong protagonist" Janice Hardy |
I began by trying to see his
perspective.
We often view the antagonist
as evil or at least a very dark character. They are often viewed as the villain. Of course there are authors out there who break that rule on a
regular basis and have us love the rogue character.
Let’s face it… two wrongs do
not make a right. Therefore, even though the antics of Robin Hood intrigued me
as a child and the Sheriff of Nottingham was indeed treating people badly,
stealing is stealing. Robin was a thief. In any other law and order story, the
Sherriff would have been the protagonist, rightfully capturing and imprisoning
the criminal.
I want Dottie’s son to be loveable
and intriguing as well. I don't want him to be evil. I want him to be strong-willed. I went online to research the development of the
antagonist. I read at least a dozen
posts about antagonists. I found two that stand out above the rest. I’m sharing
what I learned here so you have the benefit of my research.
Janice Hardy writes, “A strong antagonist makes a strong
protagonist…” So how do you write in a strong antagonist?
First you need to know your
antagonist. What is his purpose or goal? My antagonist isn’t so intriguing as
Robin Hood. He’s a son trying to look out for his mother.
Award winning author Kathy
Steffens suggests we write the story from the antagonist’s point of view even
if we never use it in our manuscript, we get to know our antagonist…what make
him tick…before we begin writing our story. It would be like interviewing the
antagonist. At the very least, the story would be outlined from his
perspective. As I did this, I see that much of what Dottie’s son, Ethan does
for her in the name of “caring” is perceived by Dottie as him trying to control
her life.
I recently read the first two
books in The Windy City Series by Dave and Neta Jackson. They wrote them as
“parallel” novels so they incorporate some of the same characters and events
and conversations. The difference is the plotline and the point of view. In
other words, the stories take place at the same time and intersect where the
characters intersect.
Anyway, I started thinking
about creating a strong antagonist and wonder what parallel novels might look
like if we could write one from the protagonist POV and then in the second,
tell the story from the antagonist POV. It has probably been done, but I can’t
think of where. Do I have another story
where Ethan is the protagonist? Uh…I’m rambling now. Back to building a strong
antagonist. An opponent worthy of my main character. A person who will indeed
challenge her to change and become the strong woman I suspect hides within. As
I do so I want to also take care of Ethan. I want him to come out of this as a
better person as well. Is that asking too much?
In reading Janice Hardy’s
post and Kathy Steffens tips for developing my antagonist in a powerful way,
two points grabbed my attention. I wrote these down at the top of the character
sheet I created for Ethan.
1. What is he trying to accomplish? What is his goal? That of course
leads to a long list of possible ways he tries to do what he wants or perceives
as best for his widowed mother. In turn, those surface as roadblocks to Dottie
in her quest to reclaim her life.
2. What flaws does my antagonist have? Steffens reminds us that the antagonist
needs to be “flawed in some relatable way.” I like Ethan. He’s trying. He doesn’t always follow through and he often
treats his mom as a child, but I need to now look at his other flaws. They
should be easy to find. We all have them.
I’m including the links to
these articles by Steffens and Hardy. Be sure to read them. You can count this
as your “education piece” this week.
One of the best articles out
there is a post by award winning author Kathy Steffens. It is called Ten Tips
for a Terrific Antagonist and can be found here:
Janice Hardy offers Ten
Traits of a Strong Antagonist in her blog Fiction University.
Who is your favorite “bad guy?” Please be sure to post
your comments below.
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