Creating Believable Antagonists

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that left you wondering why the villain of the story ever tried to harm the main character?

The antagonist may want to kill off the main character, take over the world, or execute other evil deeds, but sometimes the story doesn't include a good explanation for the antagonist's actions.

 The underdeveloped antagonist
When a villain is underdeveloped with unmotivated actions, the story will suffer regardless of whether the main character is well formed or not. The story will become flat and predictable (Tapply, 2004). Many writers overlook the importance of properly developing the antagonist of their story (Baldwin, 2008). It is hard to find good information on how to develop an antagonist, because many people fail to even realize the importance of developing them.   This is why there is a need for a blog aimed at helping writers improve their character development skills.

Why this blog was made
I have created this blog to help writers such as you improve their stories by suggesting ways to create better antagonists. Although this blog is specifically aimed at creating antagonists, many of the same principles can also be applied to other characters. This makes my blog an efficient source for writers who want to improve not only their antagonist, but all the rest of their characters. My blog is not only efficient, but also reliable. I have selected only peer-reviewed scholarly journals for credible sources. And much of my information comes directly from famous novelists and professors of writing. Also, I have written one novel, various short stories, and am currently working on a second full length novel. I have been in a creative writing club and have read several books on creative writing.

Blog posts will be scheduled for every Friday, with the exception of November 21st, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Some of the topics that will be discussed in the blogs include:

    - What makes a good character in general?
    - What should a villain look like?
    - How to develop valid emotion and behavior (may span over several posts)
    - How to create a temperament for your villain
    - I’ve created my characters, now what?

In short...
Writers need to realize the importance of creating a believable, well developed antagonist. Even if they realize this importance, many writers do not know how to go about producing a great antagonist. That is why I have created this blog that will not only show the importance of a well developed antagonist, but will also provide clear, efficient ways on how to create an antagonist.

References
Baldwin, F (2008, March 01). Infuse characters with sincere emotion. Writer (3), 20. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com

Tapply, G, W. (2004, July 01). Creating a worthy villain. Writer (7), 34. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com