CHAPTER XXXVII – The Other Side of the Character Spectrum
OK, this part of the guide isn't really that important, seeing as how most stories have no enemies and are usually just about someone not able to say "I love you". Cause…sure, that always happens. So what if you decide to actually throw in a bad guy into the fray? Jealous best friend?Just an all-around prick? Evil mastermind and all that fun stuff? All right then, it's time for me to cover the types of antagonists that would make them memorable.
/= [A BAD ANTAGONIST] =/
Here's the simplest way to make a bad guy. If it's a nation, this is what I want you to do. Follow this list to make the simplest antagonist ever. All you need is an Internet connection to get the information that I am going to provide to you right now. Have fun learning all of this~
1. Google "TV Tropes" and click on the first link. It should look like a fancy Wikipedia article.
2. Click on the Google Custom Search bar and type in "Axis Powers Hetalia". Click on the first link that is listed.
3. Go down the page and find something called "Ron the Death Eater". Click on that link.
4. Find the nation that you need, read the information, and EXAGGERATE THE HELL OUT OF WHAT YOU SEE. At least you can say that you were "pushing the limits".
/= [A GOOD ANTAGONIST] =/
All right, if that's all you want in your antagonists, then you are done with this chapter. If you want an actual fully-fleshed, great antagonist that could get people to swarm around him (or her, whatever) and at least understand the causes they go through, then keep reading. Depending on what you want in anantagonist, feel free to listen to everything I say or just one of them. So what makes a good antagonist?
Know the meaning of the word "antagonist". There's a difference between the word "villain" and "antagonist". Villain usually means an extreme amount of evil, like "taking over the world because of I don't really know, I was bored?" kind of motivations. Simple antagonists are known as "villains". True antagonists are just those who differ from the protagonists through sheer point of view and maybe one different motivation. Keep this in mind when we talk about how to make a good one.
See if there even should be an antagonist in the first place. There are some stories that don't need an antagonist. A simple love story (which, let's face it, you're probably writing that anyway) won't need an antagonist. A simple "life story" doesn't need an antagonist (unless it's for the lulz). Only stories that have a huge conflict should have an antagonist. Otherwise, people are going to say that you didn't need that.
Antagonists do not have to be evil. Some antagonists are memorable just because their motivations compliment the motivations of the protagonist. For a blatant example, say the goal of the protagonist is to save the world and bring peace to the people and whatnot. The antagonist is introduced killing a whole bunch of people, but then it turns out that their goal is to save the world as well…just through radical means. Basically, they agree on the end goal but not the journey there. Usually, this is how friendships are broken in introduction stories of really good stories. What do I mean by radical means? Basically, save the world by killing all the humans because (let's face it) humanity in itself is crap.
It's like a staple for good character development.
Though this isn't really what most people write, yes? I mean, most of your stories are going to just be about two nations falling in love, right? So how in the world do you put in an antagonist in that? Unless…well…you just want the antagonist of the story to be winning the award for "Biggest Jerk Ever", in which case go ahead and go to the "bad antagonist" section and read from there. That's all I have for that segment. Any questions will be added onto this chapter as they are asked.