So far, this discussion has revolved around villains, but I think it’s useful to remember antagonist and villain aren’t necessarily the same. You can have villain protagonists and hero antagonists. Protagonist and antagonist (and deuteragonist and tritagonist) are just narrative roles, while hero, villain, anti-hero, and anti-villain are more moral judgements, so you can mix and match to your heart’s content.
Turning to villains specifically, I think the truth of “You have to love your monster” hinges on how you define love. Like, I don’t love most of them as people. Many of my villains have done some abhorrent things, and most of them are utterly unrepentant. I understand them and what makes them tick, but understanding isn’t love. However, I do love them as characters. I like them, the aura about them, and their deeds in a dramatic sense.
This is an interesting question, because when I think about the ones I find most memorable, it’s kind of a grab bag of different motivations. Some are all about indulging their own desires or acting to further their own interests (Ramsay Bolton, Leo Bonhart, the Joker). Some are fully convinced of the righteousness of their cause (Loghain Mac Tir, the Lord Ruler, the Illusive Man). Some act out of duty even without a real ideological commitment to the cause they serve (Tom Theisman).
For me, I think the best antagonists are defined less by their motivations than by how they interact with the protagonist or the rest of their world and what those interactions say thematically.
My favorite is probably Rian Mac Colla from The Skull in the Tree. At a glance, he’s a humble carpenter in a backwater village. His friends and neighbors would call him a good, hard-working man. But he’s secretly made a deal with a demon to curse his childhood sweetheart. She married another man while he was off on his apprenticeship, and he’s been seething ever since.
So he’s concocted this plan for the curse to kill her husband, their unborn children, and leave her life in ruins so he can swoop in to play the consoling hero. Then she’ll marry him because it’s what he deserves, of course.
He’s no physical threat to the heroine, and he’s honestly pretty pathetic overall, but that’s the point: this world is one where a wretched little man can cause a lot of pain and suffering, all because his love corroded into entitlement.
Turning back to “antagonists aren’t always villain”, Tom Theisman from the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
He starts off more or less an anti-villain, an enemy naval officer who nevertheless possesses deep personal integrity and continues to serve his increasingly broken government out of patriotism. Over the course of the series, as he rises through the ranks and confronts that government’s atrocities firsthand, he becomes more and more of a hero antagonist until he ultimately carries out a military coup to restore their original democratic constitution.
By the end of the series, he’s a full-on hero protagonist/deuteragonist in his own right. And what makes it all the more remarkable to me is that he never really changes as a person.
I think this is important, as well. Honestly, any sort of conflict benefits from it, even if the conflict is between the protagonist and a sidekick or romantic interest. Bonus: also a good skill to hone in real life.
Ooh, this is another good point and something I’ve implemented in my trilogy because I was really intrigued by the idea and it fit the villain protagonist. He is manipulative. Something I've noticed with main characters (and will make me a bit bored) is that you can usually kind of know what they’re going to do because they don’t hide it. So my solution, while writing first person present - make my MC be vague. I’ve tried to give him a veil that he can hide his thoughts and ideas behind (when I want him to) to remove a little of that transparency that main characters, and especially first person POV characters, have. Again, it fits this character perfectly. Though this aspect of the trilogy definitely needs some revisions work, it’s something specific that I’m excited to sharpen and give more teeth.
I think this is important, as well. Honestly, any sort of conflict benefits from it, even if the conflict is between the protagonist and a sidekick or romantic interest. Bonus: also a good skill to hone in real life.
Something I've noticed with main characters (and will make me a bit bored) is that you can usually kind of know what they’re going to do because they don’t hide it.
I would agree with this in most cases, but I know many will be thrown by what my MCs do. Because many would be classified as villains in other stories. But yes, I think the reader has expectations of the heroes that are usually on a set path.
I believe that's true. You don't have to think they're a swell guy or gal you'd like to have tea with, but you should love them unconditionally.
I know not everyone "humanizes" their characters or form relationships with them or think of them as real in any sense of the word. I didn't always, but since I started doing that they turn out so much better.
It's all about taking a genuine interest in who these story people actually are. Don't force anything on them, just listen, and pretty soon they'll show you something. I think you should definitely be emotionally invested, but not to the point of getting judgmental (it's fine to dip into that, but overall take a broader view). Offer your antagonists and villains no less dignity, respect and understanding than you do your protagonists and heroes, regardless of what might happen in the story. However vile and misguided they may be, strive to understand them, and chances are they'll quite naturally end up with a good deal of dimensionality.
As mentioned above, form a relationship with them. Care about them, take an interest, and love them. Nourish them and let them grow at their own pace. I like to imagine antagonists as the protagonist of their own story; you flip the script, as it were. Be willing to see their perspective. It helps to write some scenes from their viewpoint, whether those make it into the actual story or not.
Also, allow them to be more than just the bad guy or opposing force. If they're a villain, a monster, give them a past where they weren't one. Learn who they are beyond their story role, let them tell you who they might have been under different circumstances. Let them have quirks, passions, foibles, relationships, or hobbies. Let them be equal to your protagonist in the care you show them.
I think it's good to give them various drives, maybe even conflicting ones. I don't think the fuel source is as important as their relationship to whatever situations they're entangled in. Seeking petty revenge because someone cut in line can be made quite as compelling as the insidious overthrow of the good-guy empire. An antagonist should probably have one clear main goal, but it could stand to be underpinned by universal wants like security, belonging, fulfillment and so on. Not always, of course, there are so many ways to go about this. Sometimes all you need is a destructive maniac with an obsessive streak and inscrutable motives.
If I had to pick just one... Let me think about it. There are so many I wanna give a shout-out to. You're not seeing it, but I wrote a number of drafts here!
In the end I have to go with Hummingbird from my Yggdrasilium series. I find her to be an insanely compelling character. I'm gonna spoiler wrap this in case anyone wants to read those books fresh when they come out in the Year of Our Lord 2057.
I wrote a ton more here originally, but decided against giving it all away. My post is turning out long enough as it is.
Basically Hummingbird is three characters for the price of one, appearing in different guises, times, and places by virtue of time travel, soul displacement, reincarnation and suchlike.
As Hummingbird she's a superpowered assassin, a top henchwoman to the bigger villains, and eventually an army commander. She later defects and joins the nominal good guys. The other versions of her are an insane temporal nomad slash monster hunter; and just the sweetest, most adorable girl-child in existence. She's multifaceted, to say the least.
Why's she a good character? Well, for one thing her whole arc is just really unusual (as far as I know, never seen a thing like it that comes to mind). It's some of the most convoluted and radically unhinged stuff I've ever concocted, and if you know my body of work that's saying something. As a character Hummingbird is crass, vulgar, wildly eccentric, bloody-minded, a scarily competent killer, and a complete wildcard. I designed a whole style of goofy jargon just for her, and she's bloody hilarious. She's gutsy and raw, stubborn as anything, lives out loud every step of the way in any circumstance. She has some of the best action scenes in the series, and some of the top lines. Overall she's a pretty tragic figure, having endured so much, and two of her versions struggle with mental illness in different ways; but she's also just fun.
I think her quality as an antagonist comes down to her duality and wobbly moral compass, as well as her high activity level throughout the story. She is at once villain and hero, she's peripheral and central, she's a side character and the One True Protagonist. She's all over the place in every literal and figurative way. She's also intimately tied to several main characters, being originally the granddaughter of one, the nemesis of several others (she really does not get along with most other antagonists even though she works with many of them) and a catalyst for someone's ultimate arc. She serves variously as a love interest, a guide, a body snatcher, a damsel in distress (at other times she is the distress) a cryptic apparition, a menace on the battlefield, a savior in need of saving. And she's a woman figuratively and literally at war with herself, as two of her versions co-exist at one point in time and have a bloody epic duel. Her inner life (as Hummingbird) is rich and twisted and her outer life is just a 24/7 circus. The ending I have planned for her is so sad and sweet. Just a great character on every axis and a true original.
Okay, I can't do just one. Hel from the same series is, as you've rightly deduced, the Norse goddess we all know from mythology and sundry adaptations. I originally nominated her, and I think she deserves a mention.
Although she's a borrowed character, I think I succeeded in making her my own. She's unrepentantly evil and a very scary lady. She's at the head of a formidable military force, has tremendous magical powers, and is a canny politician and strategist. She's also a broken person, lending a brittleness to her strength. Hel was somewhat good and compassionate before the powers that be destroyed her family and drove her into centuries-long exile. She's certainly mad and evil, but still capable of mercy, kindness, and love under select circumstances. There's a vast sadness in her, which we get to see some of in her POV chapters.
I think she's a good antagonist because she's a potent threat to the world, whilst being somewhat of an underdog in the grand scheme of things. Because she uses both brute force and deft diplomacy. Because the military alliance she is part of is full of characters every bit as devious as she is, and provides a constant source of tension and unease. Because she's driven in equal parts by rage and grief and ambition, and isn't afraid to make big, risky plays. She's overall just a solid character with good dialogue and mannerisms.
Honorable mention to King Sebastian Mournepeake IV, the undead monarch of the Eight Barrows Braves series. He's less of a dark lord and more of a bad employer. What I like about him is his motivations and his sheer grit in pursuing them. Essentially he's waging an eternal war on the underworld to liberate the soul of his one true love. His crazed, haughty declarations are great fun. His royal court and advisors is also just a gorgeous kettle of snakes.
First one that comes to mind is... Okay, I'm gonna spoiler wrap this.
Bayaz, First of the Magi. He starts out as the mentor/leader figure for several of the protagonists, a wise and crochety old git. Even when he poses as a good guy, his willingness to sacrifice others is clear. Yeah, turns out he's super evil, and that his power is far greater than merely being a powerful wizard. He's the one-man shadow government of the central nation, as well as owning the biggest bank in the world. His impact comes from the twist, the sheer extent of his power, and his utter ruthlessness. The amount of suffering his greedy ass causes over the course of all nine books is vast. Fucker has his fingers in every pie out there, or near as makes no difference. His also a really charming and charismatic figure, he's folksy and relatable in a certain way, all of which puts his heartlessness into stark relief. He's a properly intimidating man, because outside of his magic stuff I very much feel like he could be real. Even though he's rarely seen beyond the first three books, his presence is palpable.
Advice, hmm... Pretty much what I've said already, which goes for any kind of character. Not sure I have much antagonist-specific to say.
I guess one useful thing you could do is tailor your antagonist to your protagonist and whatever thing they're in contention over. That's not really my style, I like to let my antagonists form more naturally and have their own broader schemes, but it'd work for some writers and some stories.
At the end of the day, just make sure they're fun, threatening, compelling, and as interesting as anyone else around. Remember to give them all the love and attention you grant your heroes, and they'll likely turn out just right.
ETA: I needed to make some changes to the Hummingbird thing, as I've been away from that story for a long time and had forgotten.
