We have a fantastic mailbag question for you today, but first I wanted to say THANK YOU all for your excitement and congratulations this week. In case you hadn’t heard, news about my upcoming book hit Publisher’s Weekly on Tuesday.
I cried. I did. It’s been a long time coming. For those who missed it, here you go. The official announcement.
Again, thank you. My heart is full.
And now, for today’s mailbag question:
Can the antagonist be literally anyone who causes the main character to make a decision that is difficult and/or painful? I’m working on a story that is about a year at a girl’s school, and it’s hard to find a good antagonist in that scenario.
This is a good question! For several reasons, but primarily because it gives us a chance to talk about what a story must have and what a story can have.
Every story must have conflict. But not every story has to have a villain.
Our confusion here often stems from the different and interchangeable ways we use the word antagonist.
If we define the protagonist as the character moving the story forward (usually the main character), it will help us understand the role of an antagonist.
An antagonist is a character who opposes the protagonist. A character who stands in their way. A character who hinders their growth or their ability to reach a goal. But that can look very different depending on what kind of story you’re telling.
An antagonist doesn’t have to be evil. If the protagonist in your story is a runner and his goal is to win the race, the other competitors are antagonists. If they win, he doesn’t. By winning, they keep your protagonist from reaching his goal and that makes them antagonistic.
Also, a story can have multiple antagonists. Think of Harry Potter. The big bad villain is Lord Voldemort. And while he is certainly an antagonist, Harry has plenty of other antagonists to deal with. There’s Draco Malfoy who’s always competing against or provoking Harry. There’s Professor Snape who is a bit of a mystery–always seeming evil but working for his own secretive reasons. Each book brings a new antagonist or two to oppose Harry and his friends, and not all of them fill the role of villain.
Sometimes a group of people act as antagonists in a story. Think of The Capitol in The Hunger Games and the Red Feathers in Troop Beverly Hills.
Another source of confusion around the topic arises when we start talking about obstacles as antagonists. A mountain that must be climbed before the goal can be reached. A storm that threatens to derail the journey. A car accident that bars the way. These things are great sources of conflict and certainly antagonistic. If you’re looking to add a bad guy because someone said you need more conflict, perhaps you’re struggling because your story doesn’t need a bad guy. Consider adding an obstacle instead.
So! Dear reader, to answer your question. An antagonist can be many things, so long as they oppose the protagonist. You may have one antagonist or you may have many. Your story may feature a villain and it may not. But what you simply can’t leave out is conflict. And there are many ways to achieve that.
Thank you so much for your question!
Tell me, writers, do you have a favorite antagonist in a story? They don’t have to be evil, just in the way. Tell us why you love them so much.
Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.
Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.
It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.
To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.
For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
My antagonist is far from evil, as she’s my main character’s best friend 😉 She’s definitely one of my favorite characters, too!
keturahskorner.blogspot.com
Funny how that happens!
What a great way of looking at it!
Hooray!
Interesting. Also your new book sounds really cool. Congratulations on finally getting it to this point.
Thank you so much!
Oh man, your new book sounds really intriguing. I’m definitely going to be reading it when it’s released.
Thank you!
Congrats on your book! It sounds interesting, I will be reading it once it comes out! Thanks for the insightful post!
You are so welcome. And thank you!
I’m so excited about your book! Wish I didn’t have to wait so long. 😉
And this is great advice! I think it’s interesting how you can have an antagonist but not necessarily make them an evil villain. (Maybe it’s so interesting to me because I can’t not write a story with an evil villain. xD)
theonesthatreallymatter.blogspot.com
I know! Publishing definitely makes you wait for everything! I wish you all the luck with your villains!
Another person put it this way (wording not exact): Not every story has to have a villain, but every story must have an antagonistic force.
The antagonistic force could be person (evil/criminal or not), a setting, a culture, and so on.
Congrats on the book, Shannon!
THANK YOU, David!
This is super helpful, thanks!!
Congratulations on your book, I can’t wait to read it!
You’re welcome, Aster! And thank you so much!
WOOOHOOOO, congratulations, Ms. Shannon! Definitely adding your new book to my TBR when it releases!!!
This post was very helpful! Thank you. I tend to like villains more if they’re actually evil through and through and make it really difficult for the protagonist(s) to accomplish the goal. (Maybe part of that is because I love fantasy the best :). But I never really thought of the antagonist as simply being someone who opposes the protagonist, even if the antagonist is not *evil*.
swordmaidenoftheking.home.blog
I actually enjoy my antagonists like that more too, which is why this is super helpful. My latest WIP isn’t fantasy, and it’s hard to find an antagonist who’s an evil villain at a highschool.
It’s hard to beat a good villain! I totally agree. I do think it’s helpful to know that we can create conflict any number of ways and that there are many ways to antagonize our main character.
My antagonist is going to spend some time as the hero’s mentor, but it turns out she really wants to kill Ms. Protagonist. I’m struggling a lot with giving Ms. Baddie a reason to not do it right away. She certainly has the power to; she’s a ruler. But… she doesn’t. Because there’s a prophecy in my story (we’ve never seen thaaat before) I was thinking it’s something like she doesn’t want to do it yet because it’s not the right time.