Writing An Antagonist
There is no character so woefully underrated than the antagonist. So often when reading, we focus solely on the protagonist: their hopes, desires, motivation, backstory. But what we often forget is that our protagonist’s story simply could not exist without an antagonistic character: someone to place our hero under stress; to push them to their limit and show us how they react when the status quo is upended; to press on flaws and test the cracks in otherwise pristine façades. An antagonist exists not simply to generate tension, but to serve as a black mirror for all the things our protagonist would rather keep hidden. Antagonists are unquestionably the lifeblood of any novel. I’d even go so far as to argue that they are perhaps more important than the protagonists themselves.
I’ve always loved antagonists. There is nothing better than that small shiver of revulsion that comes with a well-crafted anti-hero, the spluttering outrage at their sheer tenacity, the occasional fissures in nastiness which go some way to explaining why they are the way they are. Antagonists force us to feel in a way that is sometimes confronting, often uncomfortable, and always intense.
Which is probably why, when I went to write my novel, it was not long before my protagonist had started to develop some very antagonistic behaviours. Flawed in a way that was difficult to come back from. This posed a problem: when your protagonist is problematic in and of herself, who then occupies the role a traditional antagonist would take?
If the antagonist exists to reflect the worst parts of a central character, then perhaps it was a case of matching that darkness in her counterpart to create a push and pull, to force the reader’s allegiances to change, so they are never quite sure who the true villain really is. These are irredeemable characters: for one of them, there will be no redemptive arc, no dramatic moment where they are brought to justice, no instance of self-reflection where they recognise their behaviour as troublesome and make a change.
And, for us as readers, there is nothing more unsettling than someone who is allowed to continue with bad conduct, unchecked. It is not always easy to write an antagonistic character – to spend so much time in the head of someone so fundamentally opposed to rules we all live by. But part of the appeal of fiction is that it allows us to explore a world we recognise with subtle shifts in its makeup. And in thrillers, this is usually humans behaving at the very parameters of what is deemed acceptable. Nevertheless, it is behaviour we recognise. That we have collectively decided is iniquitous. Is that not part of the thrill? There is a reason True Crime and thrillers frequently dominate the charts. We are hard wired towards mystery, drawn to the illicit and taboo.
It’s not the protagonists we are reading for. It is those characters who place the protagonist into situations that were previously unthinkable, who behave in ways that – as law-abiding members of society – we find repugnant and fascinating in equal measure, who force us to look at ourselves, and wonder if we could ever be pushed to such extremes. Because the antagonist is often motivated by feelings we recognise: betrayal, anger, even grief. An antagonist is a mirror not just of the central character, but the very darkest parts of ourselves.
And a story would not – could not – exist without one.
Discover the Book
From the moment Jack first takes a shabby plastic chair in the circle, he is positively dashing. And Iris can’t help but feel that fate has brought them together.
But their chance encounter sends them racing through a series of hairpin twists where nothing is as it seems and no one plays by the rules. As Iris is drawn deeper into Jack’s world, she begins to realize that her own deceptions may be no match–or maybe they’re the perfect match?–for all the dirty secrets Jack has been hiding.
Edgy, intricately plotted, and totally chilling, Sorry for Your Loss is a blistering psychological thriller for fans of Ashley Elston, Ana Reyes, and Ashley Audrain.
