8 Different Types Of Antagonists In Your Novel

8 different types of antagonists in your novel

can you create more than a standard villain who wants to take over the world?

For a new writer, they might feel limited in how to create a villain for their new novel, influenced by blockbuster movies that create a standard villain. But is there more out there to trigger your imagination? Give the reader something new, something different.

in this blog, we will look at the 8 different types of antagonists in your novel…

8 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTAGONISTS IN YOUR NOVEL

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As a new writer, you might believe there’s only one type of antagonist in a novel. One who is a physical person, who’s evil. Who sets out an evil plan to take over the world. but in reality, you can have countless other types of antagonists in your novel to choose from.

ANIMALS

1/ animals. Like the shark in “Jaws” or the Saint Barnard in “Cujo”. These types of antagonists are scary because you cannot “reason” with them. You cannot speak their language. They’re bigger and stronger than you. They could kill you, but it isn’t being mean on purpose. They’re simply living out their nature. Doing what animals do. Once you go into the water you’re trapped in the shark’s world. If you time travel back to the time of dinosaurs you’ll now have to deal with massive creatures who you cannot outrun. They not targeting you on purpose, they’re just looking for food.

When out of the city and in the animal world we are lowered on the food chain. For the first time, humans fear for their lives. We’re not used to such a thing when in the city. But out in the wilderness, we are aware of how fragile our lives are. The reader will sense it as well. There are countless creatures on land and in the ocean that can kill. The ocean itself can kill with currents and cold temperatures.

Not only do you fear creatures within the water, but simply drowning is an issue. It feels creepy when reading about anything happening in water or out in the wilderness. The reader cannot predict what will happen next.

YOURSELF

2/ YOURSELF. your own mind can work against you. In the novel “One Flew over the Cuckoo Nest” we see what happens when a group of men are in an institution because their minds are working against them. The reader feels creepy because it’s not something you can walk away from, but we can relate. it’s not an alien from another planet or dinosaurs, it’s your own mind. Anytime the mind is the issue the reader will find it a compelling study.

A HIGHER POWER

3/ “a higher power” greater than man. In the novel “The Exorcist”, we see a young girl whose body is taken over by a demon. The young girl cannot free herself. The mother cannot get anyone to believe her daughter has been possessed. The demon cannot be reasoned with because it has no reason to. It’s not looking for anything from anyone. It simply wants the young girl to die and take her soul to hell. You cannot fight it because you will harm the girl’s body. You now have to deal with something greater than man without harming an innocent human. But how do you deal with something from the afterlife that has no weakness?

NATURE

4/ natural causes like the weather. In a movie like “Twister”, the biggest threat was massive tornados destroying anything in its path. Out of nowhere, it can appear killing and causing destruction. You cannot reason with it and have very little time to get out of the way. An earthquake can damage a large area. Or a forest fire can trap you, spreading fast. A great number of lives can be at risk very quickly.

A volcano can go off at any time destroying a city in minutes. You cannot reason with nature, it will threaten everyone excluding children and seniors but we’re powerless to stop it. Writing a novel with mother nature as the antagonist can create great tension. The reader cannot guess what will happen next.

ILLNESS

5/ illness. Not all villains have to be something external. You can have something like an illness in the body threatening the life of the protagonist. The illness can be happening to the actual protagonist or a family member. No guns, no aliens, no car chases, but it’s just as gripping. It’s something the average reader can relate to and will turn the page to see what will happen next.

TECHNOLOGY

6/ technology, like the terminator in the movie “The Terminator” or Hal 9000 in the movie “2001 a space odyssey“. These types of villains cannot be reasoned with. You cannot stop them with reason or money. You cannot express any emotion to them because they do not feel. What’s worse is they’re man-made. What we have made is now coming after us. Now our protagonist has to figure out how to stop such advanced technology. We have to outsmart the computers we’ve made.

In the movie “Wargames” the computer “Joshua” was playing a game, but in reality, it was actually nuclear war. If it went ahead with the launching of all warheads everyone would die, but it was a computer, you could not reason with it. It was doing what it was programmed to do, now the humans had to figure out how to stop it.

ALIENS

7/ When dealing with alien life you have no idea what you’re up against. It could be friendly or evil. it could be more powerful or bigger. Since we know nothing about it we have no defense against it. We need time to study our enemy, but if it comes from another planet we are limited in what we can do. Or worse visiting their homeworld. They will have the advantage. Humans will have a difficult time simply breathing on another planet much less fighting off alien life.

LIFE ITSELF

8/ But this is interesting, in the novel “Forrest Gump” it does not have an “antagonist.” Not an actual person who is evil. But the antagonist is life overall towards the other characters. They’re not happy. However, the protagonist Forrest Gump is happily living a simple life. We see the happiness of Forrest Gump and wish to be like him by letting go of the things that plague us. We feel sorry for the other characters who are plagued by life.

In the novel “Terms of Endearment,” the mother is the antagonist towards the daughter. When we think of an “antagonist” we think of people who are evil who have evil intentions towards the world. But the mother is not “evil”. She is overbearing towards the daughter. All the daughter wants is unconditional love but the mother makes it impossible. It’s a storyline the reader can identify. Sometimes a story about family has more drama than any science fiction novel could. And is more emotional than any monster.

WHAT IS AN ANTAGONIST

But we have to ask, what is an antagonist? Can a novel exist without one? Why are they important to your novel? In reality, the antagonist reflects the hero. They are the opposite like yin and yang. There’s a dance between the two, as if they could be one. The more you make the two similar the more interesting it becomes.

It’s like the protagonist is looking into a mirror seeing themselves. The antagonist is them but in a different light. The best stories are the ones in which the antagonist is the external negative side of the protagonist brought to life. As though the protagonist is at war within themselves. In order to be happy, the protagonist has to defeat the external antagonist, but in reality, they’re defeating the evil within.

THE BARRIERS WITHIN THEMSELVES

Like in “The Empire Strikes Back” we see while being trained by Yoga, Luke Skywalker walks into a cave where he confronts Darth Vader, only to then realize the man behind the mask was himself, symbolizing how he could become evil as well. How he has to first deal with the evil within in order to truly defeat the external evil later. An interesting story is when the protagonist could be the antagonist. Like how Belloq says to Indiana Jones. “You and I are a lot alike.”

It’s important to remember the protagonist has to overcome the barriers and evil within before they can defeat the antagonist. The more the writer connects the villain with the negativity within the hero the better the story. The reader should sense on a subconscious level the hero could walk down the bad path and become the bad guy.

AS IF DESTINY IS CALLING THEM

When writing remember the antagonist and protagonist are on a course to meet each other. As the story progresses they move towards each other. As if destiny is calling. The reader should sense it as well. If they fail to meet up the reader will feel disappointed.

When creating your antagonist make them bigger and stronger than the protagonist. (Even if it’s the weather. You don’t want the hero battling mild wind, you want them battling the largest tornado.) Like in the movie “Jaws” they were not up against a barracuda or tiger shark, they had to face the biggest one of all, the great white. Your average great white measures 14-feet. In the novel, it was 25 feet. The bigger the villain the more the reader will fear for the protagonist and will turn the page.

THE VILLAIN SHOULD BE MORE POWERFUL

But not just in physical size, but in money, intelligence, connections, job. The more the villain is powerful the more the reader will turn the page. Look at Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes, a worthy villain because he’s smarter than Sherlock.

Remember, the antagonist has to have a reason for what they’re doing. You don’t want someone bad for the sake of being bad, it feels weak. They believe they’re the good guys. Even warlords who invade other countries believe in what they’re doing. As a writer, you want to know why your antagonist is doing what they do. What are your protagonist and antagonist’s “wants and needs.”

THEY SHOULD BE EACH OTHER MIRROR

In the beginning, they should be mirrors to each other. As though they could be the same person. They both have the same wants. But as they move towards the ending the protagonist moves towards their need as the bad guy still focuses on their want. That is when the reader understands the difference between the two.

in the end, what have you learned from 8 different types of antagonists in your novel