Understanding the Antagonist
Quote: "You don't really understand an antagonist until you understand why he's a protagonist in his own version of the world." John Rogers
It is hard sometimes when you get to the end of a book you've been writing and you know that in order to have that classic happily ever after, the good guys must prevail and the wicked must be punished. As the writer, you are more intimate with the inner workings of your antagonist's mind. You know them better than anyone else and why they did the things they did. Suddenly, it's not as black and white as the good guys vs. the wicked. There's all these shades of grey, and what you really want is to help your antagonist to reform, help them to find their happily ever after as well.
In a truly well written book, the readers should become intimately familiar with the characters. All the characters, including the antagonist. I can't count the number of times I have gotten to the end of a really good book and just hurt for the antagonist. Then again, sometimes that makes for the best books!
This past year I was reading Who Would Win? Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark to my class. One boy in particular was extremely excited over the book, and he was firmly camped out on team Hammerhead. Spoiler alert-this time the hammerhead lost. The little boy was so torn up. He crossed his arms, ducked his head, and tried to give off a very mad vibe. Anyone who knew him, though, could see the hurt. I told him that what I do when I get to the end of a book and don't like the ending is I just rewrite the ending in my mind. He needed a little nudge to get started, but after we had rewritten the fight in our minds in a way where the hammerhead won, the little boy was fine and joined his friends at lunch like all was well in the world.
Several of the ideas I've had over the years have come from antagonist. I come across that antagonist who I feel so sorry for, I just can't let it go. I start thinking through how things could be different for them. I get so attached to the changes that I end up writing their story even though by the end I have twisted the character and events with my own twist to the point that no one would ever recognize the original character theirs was based on.
In Black & White, the book we are set to release June 27th, the antagonist is one of those who I feel so sorry for. He does in his mind see nothing wrong with what he's done. According to him business was just business. It was totally separate from protecting the country that he loved or even the people. Two jobs that never the two shall meet. He didn't mean to hurt anyone, but greed has a way of hurting everyone around us. If you want to know who done it, you'll just have to check the book out for yourself, and who knows maybe there could be a sequel somewhere in the future to find out what was really going through our antagonist's head.
Oh, heads up on the cover for anyone who has been following the blog, it looks like the etching, Two Become One, may not be out of the running in some capacity for the cover of Black & White! Stay tuned for more details of what's to come.
