It can be the steady snowball that rolls down the hill to create an avalanche, or instant doom. Either way you look at it there is nothing like making room for a whole lot of trouble. I am not talking about the small misunderstanding or the one off fight. I mean the creature that awakens from the deep only to have one goal in mind, wreak havoc. This is where it gets tricky because one sided characters tend to be one dimensional and lose depth. The villain that grips is the one that deep down, even though you don’t want to admit it, you can somehow relate. It can be the dark creature that wants to be left alone to sleep for another hundred years, and does not like people trying to kill it. After all who could blame it for not wanting to be killed, when all it wanted to do was sleep.
From Cause to Conflict
Often it can be the little misunderstandings that lead to conflict. Then there are the times where there is going to be no middle ground. Like the antagonist who believes he was going to rule the land, only to find out the protagonist has other plans. On some level the villain may have a worthwhile reason to dislike the main characters and this can add weight to the trouble. When the lines and actions are not so clear it can be difficult to determine who will be the victor.
Make Way for the Antagonist
You either love, or love to hate your antagonist. Either way this is a character that needs the same level of attention as your main characters. The villain’s views may be warped or mislead but the reasons behind the actions need to have equal depth. This is no place for a shallow character, especially if you want to bring out the best in your main characters. Don’t be afraid to give the villain room to move, it is okay to let the antagonist take over once in a while. In fact it helps to build more depth in the story if you do.
Chantelle Griffin 