I dare you to write from the antagonist’s point of view
Imagine what the story would be like. Would it be more interesting? A better read?
Could this actually be done? Would anyone want to read it? Is it something a new writer could take on? Would the story be better for the reader if told from the “bad guys” point of view, or should you not risk it?
in this blog, we will be looking at I dare you to write from the antagonist’s point of view…
I DARE YOU TO WRITE FROM THE ANTAGONIST’S POINT OF VIEW
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Ask any new writer what would scare them the most and they would say having to write from the antagonist point of view. It’s easy to write from the protagonist’s point of view, just make the character likable. But could you write a full novel from the antagonist’s point of view and have people want to read it?
But, when you step back you realize that writing from the bad guy’s point of view could actually be a worthwhile challenge. Something the reader isn’t used to seeing.
A STORY LIKE THIS WOULD BE INTERESTING
Imagine a novel written from Jack the Ripper’s point of view. We have never heard of such a thing. We have seen novels of Sherlock Holmes investigating Jack the Ripper, but what would happen if a book was written from his point of view?
Imagine if you read a Zombie novel from the zombie’s point of view. Over the years we’ve seen countless novels from the survivors of a zombie apocalypse point of view. To a point where they’re getting old and stale. We know what will happen. But what if a writer attempted to write a novel from the zombie’s point of view? Showing a character’s life before the outbreak, during the outbreak. How they were attacked and what it was like to die. Coming back to life as a zombie, wandering around looking for the living. A story like that would be interesting.
THE STORY WOULD HAVE BEEN BORING
Imagine a story from the shark’s point of view from the novel “Jaws” from start to finish. With the writer describing everything from under the water. What it was like battling the three men on the Orca.
“Gone with the Wind” is one of the few novels out there written from the antagonist’s point of view. There is a debate as to whether Scarlett O’Hara is the antagonist. Believing Melanie and Rhett to be the protagonists. She was kind while Scarlett was selfish. Rhett wasn’t the best man but he wasn’t mean to others. If we saw the novel from Melaine’s point of view it would be boring. She was always doing things the right thing. However, seeing it from Scarlett’s point of view made for an interesting read.
SEEING THROUGH THE EYES OF ANOTHER
By writing from the Antagonist point of view the reader can live through someone they never thought they could have. You see a bad person and wonder what goes through their mind. By reading a book from the antagonist’s point of view this can now happen.
The number one word that drives someone to read is “why”. As people, we can’t help but wonder why people do what they do. Reading a newspaper does nothing to answer the question. This is why we’re drawn to read books. So w can get into someone’s mind and understand their thoughts. We’re looking for answers.
In fact, most people would like to read from the antagonist’s point of view. So we can try to understand them.
WE READ BECAUSE WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND
Have you ever asked, “What is going on in that head of theirs?” Well, when reading a book from the antagonist’s point of view you find the answer. You understand their thought pattern, their emotions. Giving you a glimpse into the mind of someone who’s selfish or evil.
But it’s tricky as a writer to make the reader “understand” the antagonist’s point of view. We have to see from their eyes. Understanding their mindset. Understanding their past. What makes them believe what they believe. Are they driven by shame, guilt or anger?
UNDERSTANDING THEIR WANT AND NEED
What is their “want” their goal? By knowing what they’re after and why, we can understand their actions. We may not agree with them but at least we can understand.
One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make is believing they have to make the reader agree with the actions of all the characters. As a writer, you do not have to make the reader like the lead character. The reader can read a book from the antagonist’s point of view and still read on.
THIS IS WHY WE DON’T REREAD NEWSPAPERS
Reading is not about “agreeing” with the characters, it’s about “understanding” them. A lot of amateur writers can’t tell the difference between the two. They feel they have to make the protagonist good, likable, agreeable, and friendly for the book to sell. And all antagonists evil, cold, mean. But in reality, we read to “understand” the thoughts that lead to action.
This is why we keep novels and not newspapers. Your average newspaper tells us what happened and is thrown out the next day. But novels take us into the mind of the characters, letting us understand them. Knowing their thought patterns. Resulting in the book standing the test of time. Being read hundreds of years later.
WHY DO THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE JUSTIFIED
You can write from an antagonist’s point of view and have the reader understand the mindset of the character. Why they do what they do. Why they believe they’re justified in their actions. They may not be right, they could be far from it, but what’s important is they believe they’re right. You can read the story and fully see they’re wrong, but you read on to see how the story will play out.
Your average reader will live through the antagonist. Taken to an interesting world. What it’s like seeing through the eyes of a bad person. Leaving the reader to ask, “Do they know they’re bad?” It’s the question we’ve always wondered about “bad people”, do they know they’re bad?
SEEING THE STORY FROM A NEW ANGLE
The short story from Stephen King has a short story called “Popsy” from his novel “Nightmare and Dreamscape.” In the story, a man who has gambling debts abducts kids in his van and takes them to “The Wizard.” He tries abducting a boy from a shopping mall only to find out the boy’s father is a flying vampire bat who attacks the man in his van.
Most writers would write the story from the boy’s point of view. Afraid to write from the child adductor’s point of view. But Stephen King’s writing from his point of view, it made the story more interesting. Seeing it from a new angle. It made us read on. letting us have insight into the antagonist’s mind. Something we’re not used to.
GIVING US INSIGHT INTO A NEW WORLD
Because of his gambling debts and fear of being killed by a mob boss, he feels he has to do what he does. Clearly, the reader disagrees. We do not like this character. We do not cheer for him. Not wanting him to succeed. But we read on seeing how it will end. We are in his head, seeing through his eyes. Given insight into a world, we never thought we’d see. Understanding why they do bad things.
If the story was from the boy’s point of view we would never have understood the man in the van side. But seeing his side makes us understand. Not agree, but understand.
A BAD PERSON CANNOT WIN IN THE END
But this is what’s important to remember if you are writing from the antagonist’s point of view. They cannot get away with their actions/crimes in the end. If they do the reader will not be happy. They have to get what’s coming to them. Pay the price. We read from the antagonist’s point of view for two reasons. To understand their actions and see how they will be punished for their selfishness.
If the child abductor had gotten away with abducting the young boy the reader would have been upset, wondering why did Stephen King bother writing it at all. But seeing the man get punished makes us feel good. A bad person cannot win or the reader will be upset.
THE READER WOULD HAVE BEEN UPSET
In “Gone with the Wind” Margret Mitchell proves to us that Scarlett is the antagonist because she loses everything, Ashley and Rhett in the end, and the reader is happy. If she was the protagonist we would want her to succeed. But we’re happy when she loses everything from selfishness.
If she had ended up with Ashley the audience would have been upset. If you do write from the antagonist’s point of view make sure they do not win in the end.
IT MAKES THE WHOLE STORY WORTHWHILE
One of two things has to happen. The antagonist has to see the error in their ways and change or end up with nothing. If we see one of these two endings we feel happy. but if they win then we feel disappointed in the story.
Imagine reading “A Christmas Carol” from Charles Dickson and Ebenezer Scrooge does not change. And he ended up accepting his death not caring. As a reader, we would’ve been shocked, wondering “Why did I bother reading this?” But with him changing it makes the story worthwhile.
THE ANTAGONIST HAS TO SUFFER IF THEY FAIL
Remember all lead characters have “wants and needs”. Both the protagonist and antagonist start off with a “want”. But by the end, the protagonist sees their want as “wrong” and embraces their need. Whereas the antagonist doesn’t care for their need, believing their want is more important. As a writer, you want to make sure the secondary character being your protagonist finds their need. But the antagonist goes for their want and suffers for it.
Similar to how Rhett in “Gone with the Wind” walks away from Scarlett at the end. He found his “need” which is to find someone who isn’t selfish who will love him. Once he becomes aware of his want he leaves Scarlett. He saw what real love was in how Melaine treated those around her, it realized that’s what he always wanted But realized Scarlett would never show that type of love, she was too selfish.
THE READER SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THE MESSAGE
Scarlett in the end ends up alone because she always chanced after her want, not her need. in the end, she was punished, as all antagonists are in the end of a story.
But it’s important to note, the reader has to learn the lesson. even if the antagonist fails to see it, the reader needs to. If there is no lesson to be learned then the whole story makes no sense. It should never have been written. The overall message lives on for the reader to sense. We should be aware of the antagonist’s suffering because they failed to see the message
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THEIR THOUGHTS
When you set out to write a new novel, ask yourself “Can I write this book from the antagonist’s point of view and make it work?” Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes you have to write from the protagonist’s point of view. That’s great, but sometimes a novel from the antagonist’s point of view could be more interesting.
However, you don’t want to write a novel from the antagonist’s point of view and give us a play-by-play of what they do and leave it at that. The whole reason why we’re reading is to “understand” and get into the head of the antagonist. If you only tell us what they do that means nothing, we need to know the thoughts which lead to the action.
AT LEAST WE CAN UNDERSTAND THEM
Think of hard-boiled detective novels. The detectives or Private investigators are not nice people. At times it’s hard to tell them from the bad guys. But the writer gives us insight into their mind and why they believe they’re right. So we read on. We may not like them but we still read on.
A lot of hard-boiled detectives stories are “first-person narratives” with the reader having access into the lead characters’ thoughts. everything they do is explained, letting us understand them. We see through their eyes.
START OFF WITH A SHORT STORY
As a writer, if you wish to try writing from an antagonist point of view start off writing a short story and build from there. Don’t put pressure on yourself to write a full-length novel right away. Start with a short story and build from there. See if you can give insight into the antagonist’s mind. After you have made progress you can then try a full novel. Giving the reader a twist they would not expect.
you might be interested in these blogs…
8 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTAGONISTS IN YOUR NOVEL
THE PROBLEM WITH TWIST ENDINGS IN YOUR NOVEL
THE BIG NO-NO WITH MacGUFFINS IN NOVEL WRITING
