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Moonscape

Now that you have a rough idea of your antagonists purpose....

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01

Antagonist is Protagonist

It is crucial to remember that your protagonist could easily become the antagonist. Take a look at your protagonists' traits; which ones do they share with the antagonist? In which way do they differ

02

Role

What is your character's job/role in society? What are the traits of this job/role? What expectations does your character meet, and which do they not? What do they have to give up to fill this role? What do they gain?

Image by Jonathan Francisca
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03

Morals and Values

What does your character value? How did your character gain these values? Is it cultural? Did they learn them from a parent? A teacher? A bully? What event or which person influenced your character the most during their childhood/teenage years? How? What is too far for them

04

Needs Versus Wants

Why does your antagonist torment your protagonist? What does your antagonist want? What do they actually need? Do they realize this? 

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05

Backstory

Why is your antagonist a villain? What is their backstory? Are their parents alive? Dead? Do they pressure your character or support them? Did your character grow up in poverty? Rich? How did this affect them? If your antagonist was once a hero-type. What changed? What made them stray? 

What is their hair color? Eye? Skin? What's their style? Gender? Anything else that is noteworthy? 

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If you answered those questions with more than one word each, ask yourself how useful the extra information is. You could describe a character as fiery red-haired with sage green eyes, pale skin dotted with freckles who wears ripped, studded, black goth clothing who has many piercings, or you could say that your character is a pale goth redhead. It's important to remember that the inside of your character, their traits, actions, words are more important than their physical appearance. 

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My last statement isn't a golden rule. For example, suppose you are writing a character who is a person of color. In that case, their physical appearance may be crucial to the story, not because of the color itself, but because of how people react to it.

05

Strengths and Weaknesses 

It is important to remember that your antagonist is more powerful than your hero until the very end. What do they possess that your hero could never? Do they have a large army? Tons of money? Fame? Power? What are your antagonist's flaws? Do they overcome these?

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Congratulations!
You now have a solid base for your antagonist.

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