worldofwritingthings

[worldofwritingthings]

I’d want to talk to Sam Smorkle too

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[worldofwritingthings]

please listen to Bert’s nephew i am begging you

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[worldofwritingthings]

Writing does not mean condoning.

Writing does not mean romanticizing.

Writing does not mean normalizing.

Writing means writing.

Writing means exploring.

Writing means creating.

Stop conflating the mere act of writing dark content with condoning/romanticizing/normalizing that content.

[worldofwritingthings]

Writing awesome antagonists

You guys asked for it. So, here ya go:

1. An antagonist isn’t necessarily a villain

When I hear the word ‘villain’, I think of someone with sinister/evil intentions. Someone who wants to rule the world or ruins nature by using dark magic or kicks puppies. These characters can be great in stories, but they’re not the only option for conflict.

An antagonist can be your protagonist’s competitor, an overprotective loved one, someone with a different view, or even a different side of the protagonist themself (think Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde).

If your aim is to write an antagonist (who may or may not be a villain),then this post is for you!

2. Motivation is the holy grail

Do not make your antagonist evil for the sake of being evil. The most famous example of this is Iago in the Shakespeare play Othello (yes, Shakespeare made mistakes. Deal with it.)

In children’s stories or melodramatic stage plays, it’s fine if your villain simply exists because there has to be someone evil to oppose the MC’s good. But if you’re writing anything MG or higher, this isn’t gonna cut it anymore. 

People are complicated. They have different morals, beliefs and alliances. But most people believe that they are good, that they are justified in the way they act and treat others. So, even though a great amount of people are dicks, they don’t think they are.

This should translate to your antagonist. They need to have a reason for opposing the protagonist. The first thing you should determine for each character in your book, is their fundamental motivation. What is it that they want/are striving for? Is your antagonist ambitious above all else and they are determined to become King? Is she trying to kill your MC because their blood is the only cure to some alien disease. Are they scared of the unknown and detest the protag because of their ancestry? Whatever the case is, it needs to be a real, identifiable and strong motive.

If you want to go into a more evil direction and use an inherently flawed/dangerous motivation, I would suggest linking it to solid reasons. e.g. If you’re writing something like the evil queen in Snow White, you need to link her psychopathic vanity to the flaws of the society she grew up in or the way she was treated as a child etc. Maybe the character has antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy) or was raised to squash all competition etc.

Motivation is even more important if you intend to write some scenes from the perspective of the antagonist

3. Near invincibility

You can have more than one antagonist in your story, but the big baddie should be REALLY big.

The main antagonist needs to be the biggest thing your protagonist has ever had to face. And they need to be a more-than-worthy opponent.

This ups the tension in your novel, since the reader will be anticipating the final showdown and truly wondering whether the MC will be able to come out on top.

The way to do this is to litter small conflicts between the two characters throughout the story. You protagonist should have altercations with the antagonist/their army/their minions before the big conflict at the end. Each of these smaller show-downs should end in the protagonist losing/having to retreat/surrendering/getting severely injured and discouraged. 

You can show the protagonist beating other opponents, but they shouldn’t get the upper hand over the main antagonist until the final conflict. This shows the reader than the MC will really have to dig deep in order to overcome the big conflict.

NB: The antagonist needs to start out waaayyy stronger than the protagonist.

4. Antagonist plot twists

Antagonists/villains can be great tools for shocking plot twists.

This mostly has to do with playing with expectations of who the villain will be.

So, maybe the person your characters thought was the antagonist has been under the evil influence of an even bigger baddie the whole time.

Maybe the antagonist turns out to be the one with the better philosophy/plan.

Maybe one of the “good” characters turns out to be the actual villain.

Maybe the antagonist is only a figment of the protagonist’s imagination (think Black Swan).

Maybe the system is the real bad guy and your antagonist is just another victim.

Whatever floats your boat. Just know that you can do wonderful, twisty things with the antagonist. Use that to your advantage.

5. Redemption, anyone?

This is a highly contested topic, but I believe that antagonists can and should sometimes be redeemed. 

How this happens depends on your specific story and the character. Obviously, if the antagonist committed genocide and poisoned kittens, they got some splainin to do. In these cases, the change in mind of the character has to be warranted. Something HUGE needs to happen to them that changes the way they think and behave. And they better be fucking sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.

If your antagonist isn’t the personification of evil, this will be a bit easier. Since they probably opposed the protagonist due to societal ideologies or fraudulent beliefs, it only requires the truth to be revealed for them to shift their alliance. They should still say sorry, though. It’s only polite.

My advice with redemption arcs is that the antagonist has to suffer before they can truly be redeemed. They have to face some consequences for the time they spent on the wrong side of the fight. And they shouldn’t be trusted/accepted by the protagonist immediately.

If you want to learn how to do a redemption arc right, look at Zuko’s story in Avatar: The Last Airbender. He has the best redemption arc in fictional history.

Alright, that’s all I have for now. I hope that you guys found this useful. If you want me to do a post about creating an antagonistic character that hooks the reader, be sure to leave a comment.

Reblog if you found this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

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reblog this if you’re a fanfic writer & your motivation to write actually increases when readers actually show interest & give you feedback. even just a reblog or a little comment here and there

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Hey guys I’m looking for new people to follow so please reblog if you’re a writeblr or booklr :)

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"We your dad and I fought only once many years ago, Sally."

"Really, Papa? What was it that made you two?"

"Honestly, I don't remember. John, do you remember what was the reason we fought at that time?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Albert. I think it had to do with a waffle house or something like that."

"Wait a minute. We once had a fist fight outside a waffle house and neither of us can actually remember that?"

"I know, right? I think the owner of the locale intervened in his waffle costume and beat some sense into us with his pillow-type waffle plushie before eating there. I don't know."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"... the fuck?"

"That's a story for another day, dear. Now, go to bed and have pleasant dreams."

And so, Sally said good night to her dads and went to sleep. Unknown to her, she would keep both men awake at night as she imagined a man wearing a waffle costume beat both of her dads with his waffle plushie and spread syrup on them while laughing in a maniacal way and saying, "I'm the Waffle Man! Eat my food, bitch!"

“We once had a fist fight outside a waffle house and neither of us can actually remember that?”

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Image Prompt

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Much bad luck

[worldofwritingthings]

in superman adventures #19, there’s a villain named multi-face who can convincingly disguise himself as anyone, even tricking dna tests and x-ray vision. Superman initially can’t stop him

and the only reason he gets caught is because multiface decides to disguise himself as, of all people, CLARK KENT i’m screaming

[worldofwritingthings]

vine compilation #2345346234 (feat. vines i haven’t really seen in other compilations)

[worldofwritingthings]

Arnold walked into town with a smile on his face as he saw his best friend sitting on one of the benches in the park. He whistled at her and she smiled.

"Arnold! I thought you were at work today or something!"

"Nah, I'm free today," Arnold said. "I wanted to see you today, Cecilia."

Cecilia blushed as she smiled and said, "Aww, how sweet of you! C'mon, let's go to my place tonight!"

"Alright, calm down," Arnold laughed.

They both walked out of the park and headed to a nearby coffee shop to buy lattes. Arnold couldn't think of anything other than to confess his feelings to Cecilia as they sipped their hot drinks. Arnold took a deep breath and faced her.

"Cecilia," he said, "I need to tell you something."

Cecilia looked at him, "What is it, Arnold?"

Arnold gulped, "I-I just... wanted to tell you that I... I..."

"Yes?"

"I really, REALLY, like it! Please go out with me!"

"A-Arnold," she stuttered, her face reddening from the confession.

"I-I know it's sudden and that you have someone else in mind, but please think-"

"Yes!" Cecilia answered.

"Wh-What?" Arnold asked, astonished to hear her answer his proposal.

"I will gladly go out with you!"

"REALLY?!" Arnold was now bouncing in excitement.

Cecilia giggled. "Of course, silly! We've been besties since we were kids and we got to know each other well. Besides, I was about to tell you my feelings one of these da- Oh my gosh, pie!" She jumped from her seat and ran towards the restaurant upon seeing the pastry in the hands of a customer leaving the locale.

"... And now I have lost her attention to a freaking pie," Arnold sai as he saw his crush pummel her face to the shop's windows. He put his hands on his face and groaned, "Just great."

"Don't worry, bro," Emmett, another friend of Arnold, walked up to him as he saw his friend stare at his crush obsessing over the delicacy. "Just bring pie next time you meet her. I'm sure she'll fall heads-on-heels for you."

"I hate you," Arnold retorted. "I really do."

Emmett laughed and jogged away. The next day, following his advice, Arnold brought pie to Cecilia on his visit to her house and, to put it mildly, the neighborhood won't forget for some time the day Cecilia screamed in joy for receiving her favorite food of the world: pie.

“Oh my gosh, pie!”

“And now I have lost her attention to a freaking pie.”

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"Mary, you look beautiful tonight!"

"Thank you, George. I hope Mother gets to smile at my choice of wear for tonight's gala. It was her idea to wear this ridiculous gown, if you ask me."

"But it shows your hot bod in all its glory! It makes me want to caress that smooth and elegant skin of yours with my hands and savor those puffy lips-"

"George!"

"What? It's true."

"It took me a good 20 minutes to get into this damned dress. I swear on my father's life, you touch me right now and I'll explode. In a figurative way, mind you. So please, for the sake of us both, keep your hands to yourself."

"Very well. I'll do as you say so."

"Now then, let's go to the gala before they barge in here and ask us many questions about our tardiness."

They both walked towards the ballroom and enjoyed the gala. George made good on Mary's promise to not touch her dress and Mary got to make her mother smile genuinely at her fashion display. Unfortunately for Mary, that moment went down the drain when another man bumped into her, ripping her gown with his shoe in the process and stripping her into her lingerie. And to this day, she refuses to wear gowns as memories of that night, specifically between her embarrassment and the beating she gave to the man, kept playing back and forth in her mind.

“It took me good 20 minutes to get into this damned dress, I swear on my father’s life, you touch me right now and I’ll explode.”