Today we look at "The Cloaked Man: Life of an Antagonist" by AshleyNicole Shelton. I thought this appropriate seeing as we were talking about how to work with antagonists this week and a bit last.
This story is incredibly short, so I won't go into too much on the specific details, since I don't like giving out spoilers and such. However, what I will say is that this story does a delightful job of showing you the life the antagonist had before turning 'evil', and also what drove them to go the lengths they have. Something that makes you feel bad for the villain has obviously done something right.
It reminds me, in a sense of 'Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog' in that the character had this desires for power, but everything began to hinge on a woman, and when it comes time for him to make his big power play, he has to choose between her, and the life of a villain.
"The Cloaked Man: Life of an Antagonist" is available on Smashwords for absolutely free, and which this being such a short story, that means there's no excuse as to why you can't go pick it up. Please go check it out, I recommend it at the very least for getting an idea of how to work out your own antagonist when it comes to figuring out back story and motivations, since this gives you a good sense that they are people too.
Thanks everyone for stopping by again, I really do appreciate all your continued support! If there's ever something you'd like for me to feature here, feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, twitter, or comment below. I'll be back Monday, as I hope you will be too! Until then!
Let me first say, I am honored that you featured my short story. Sometimes I like to randomly google my work and see what the search results come up with which is what brought me to your blog. Truly, I love this post, and not only because you featured my short story ;)
ReplyDeleteConnecting with the villain of a story is important to me because every person is dynamic and has good in them at some point along with evil. When a reader falls in love with the protagonist and the antagonist, it makes the story more interesting and realistic, pulling them into a tug of war over the reader's heart.
Thank you and I look forward to checking out your other posts.
Thanks so much. I'll admit I do the vanity search sometimes too. I always believe that the point of a villain is to be just as strong and relatable of a character as the protagonist. I'm glad I'm not alone in that thinking. ^__^d
ReplyDeleteThanks so much. I'll admit I do the vanity search sometimes too. I always believe that the point of a villain is to be just as strong and relatable of a character as the protagonist. I'm glad I'm not alone in that thinking. ^__^d
ReplyDeleteHaha, vanity search. That's a good name for it. :P
Delete"Everyone loves a good villain" ~ Unknown ;)