And we’re already 10% done with our novels! Or hopefully, we will be 10% done by the end of the day. I have found that nothing that makes a month faster than trying to write a novel in it. It just starts zooming by.
Given that you are about ten percent into your novel, odds are that you have introduced your antagonist. The antagonist can be a person, but it can also be a thing—to give a Shakespearan example, who would be the antagonist in Macbeth? It’s more the situation Macbeth is in rather than anyone in particular. So at the very least, by this point the antagonist has been introduced.
The funny thing about antagonists is that they are oftentimes the most interesting characters in the narrative. We want to know why they are antagonist-y and why they are causing so much trouble for the main character. You don’t have to start diving into the deep, scary backstory yet, but it can be good to start alluding to it. Even if you don’t know it, you can mention a few different things to help establish the character. A very good example of this is from the classic movie Mean Girls.
It does not have to be huge, or even too plot related. But just start to explain the antagonist. It doesn’t have to be everything. Just let it mention a few things to help flesh the character out. Odds are, it will give you more ideas about your antagonist.
TODAY’S PLOT DEVICE: There is a crazy kitty. The crazy kitty comes towards your protagonist and glares at them with a hiss. What happens next?
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