 Hello Hello Writers, I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources and you are listening to the Well-Sturried podcast where I share insights, encouragement and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less so you can get back to writing of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking! Hello Writers and welcome or welcome back to the Well-Sturried podcast. Today is Tuesday, November 21st, 2017 and I'm your host, Christine Kiefer. Today our episode is titled, The Four Main Types of Epic Antagonists. If you'd like to read along as you listen in, head on over to well-sturried.com slash antagonist. Now let's dive in. Every story needs a good villain, right? Well, not so fast. Conflict drives plot, certainly, but it doesn't take a mustache twirling supervillain or omnipotent dark lord to create the conflict your protagonist will encounter. In fact, there are four main types of antagonists that appear in fiction. Understanding how each type operates can help you develop the most effective edge-of-your-seat conflict for your story. Conflict number one, the classic villain. It may not take a mustache twirling supervillain to fan the flames of your story's conflict, but there's a reason such nefarious characters are often found in fiction. They feed the classic good-versus-evil narrative whose high stakes can make stories so engaging. The classic villain is irredeemably immoral. Any sad backstory or humanizing attributes they possess exists solely to lend horror to their attitude and actions. Classic villains often possess seemingly omnipotent powers, a wide breadth of resources, and a definitive lack of empathy for the suffering others experience. Examples include Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, The White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Miss Trunchbull in Matilda by Roald Dahl, and Sauron in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Classic villains are most often found in fantasy, science fiction, and action-adventure novels, though they do appear in other types of fiction as well. Typically the extreme nature of the classic villain's antagonism casts the protagonist into a hero's light. Though classic villains are often evil for evil's sake alone, this antagonist is sometimes considered a cliché in modern literary circles. Helping readers understand the why behind your villain's evil actions can lend some much-needed depth to their character. Type number two, the everyday antagonist. Antagonists are commonly understood to play the role of bad guy in fiction, and this is true to a degree. Antagonists exist to create conflict in your main character's journeys. However, they don't necessarily need evil intentions to effectively play their role. The everyday antagonist is a flawed character who happens to serve as an obstacle in your protagonist's journey. Their actions may be rude or even cruel, but they're still human. They have hopes, dreams, hurts, and fears. Examples include Supreme in On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, Allie's Mother in the Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and The Lannisters in a Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. The everyday antagonist typically appears in character-driven stories such as romances and contemporary dramas, though they can appear in nearly any type of fiction. This type of antagonist may create conflict in your protagonist's life by sharing the same goal in which only one can succeed, or by pursuing a goal that creates obstacles in the protagonist's journey. They may also encourage the protagonist to act against their better judgment, feed the quote, lie, the protagonist believes, or otherwise fuel the emotional fires your protagonist must overcome to find their happily ever after. To craft an effective everyday antagonist, take care to develop their humanity. Explore who they are, what they want, and why they want it. Give them fears, flaws, and history. In essence, make them the protagonist of their own story. Make sure to check out today's episode transcript at well-draid.com slash antagonist to find some links that will help you better explore these topics. Type number three, the corrupt organization. In some stories, it's an antagonistic force rather than a specific character that creates conflict in the protagonist's journey. This force may be a gang, cult, corporation, government, or militant group, among other types of organizations. Regardless of how it manifests, this type of antagonistic force typically has highly immoral intentions. They often operate similarly to the classic villain, lacking all empathy and seeking omnipotent power and control. A classic villain may even serve as the leader of a story's corrupt organization. Examples include The Capital in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and The VFD in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Similarly to the classic villain, the corrupt organization often appears in fantasy, science fiction, and action adventure stories. Developing one or more characters who represent the greater organization can provide your protagonist with a more direct antagonist to combat in scenes of conflict. Take for example, President Snow and The Career Tributes in The Hunger Games. Finally, type four, the internal antagonist. Sometimes a protagonist is their own worst enemy. In character-driven stories, the primary source of conflict isn't an external antagonist, but rather an internal obstacle that hinders a character from finding happiness or success. This obstacle is typically a doubt, fear, flaw, or false belief, which the protagonist may or may not recognize as a hindrance. Examples include Landon's Pride in A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, Elizabeth's Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Bryony's Guilt in Atonement by Ian McEwen. An internal antagonist often creates the primary conflict in romance novels and contemporary dramas. However, such internal roadblocks can and should create some measure of conflict in nearly any story. Often, a secondary character may reinforce the lie the protagonist believes, lending to the internal conflict they experience. Again, if you'd like to explore some of these topics in greater detail, be sure to check out the links included in today's episode transcript. Some authors also choose to manifest their protagonist's internal struggle in physical form to provide them with a more material source of conflict. For example, consider the Portrait of Dorian Gray or Frankenstein's Monster. What other types of antagonists appear in fiction? While the four types of antagonists we've mentioned today are by far the most popular sources of conflict in modern fiction, they aren't the only forces that can cause mayhem in your main character's journey. Other antagonistic forces include Nature, consider The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Technology, as can be found in Eye Robot by Isaac Asimov, The Supernatural, such as The Shining by Stephen King, or even A Physical Condition, such as can be found in The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Each of these antagonistic forces can create powerful conflict in the right story. Depending on the nature of your novel, you may also wish to manifest these forces as physical characters or beings to heighten the opportunity for direct external conflict. Most stories include multiple types of antagonists that create both internal and external conflict. For example, in A Walk to Remember, Landon's Pride serves as the main obstacle between the happiness that he and Jamie might share prior to the midpoint, while Jamie's terminal illness provides conflict in the latter half of the book. In A Song of Ice and Fire, most characters act as antagonists in others' journeys, while the White Walkers remain the true villains of the series. Introducing multiple sources of conflict doesn't necessarily strengthen your narrative, but it can lend depth and realistic complexity to your character's experiences. Which type of antagonist is best for your story? Consider the nature of the narrative you'd like to tell, as well as your protagonist's story goal and false beliefs. Define the type of antagonist that will most effectively create obstacles for your main characters to overcome, and you'll identify the sources of conflict that will keep readers glued to the pages of your book. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Podcast Writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode, and to give the podcast a quick rating or review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout out directly on Instagram at christen underscore keeper. For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com, where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses, and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's www.well-storied.com. Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing!