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Get to Know Your Antagonist



Get to Know Your Antagonist Writing Exercise
Go through magazines until you find a picture of your antagonist. Post the picture above your computer.
Spend at least five minutes three times a week with your antagonist while writing your short story or novel. Ask questions and let him answer.
Write one or all of the following scenes in your antagonist’s point of view, whether or not you plan to use his viewpoint in the story:
·        love scene
·        action scene
·        flashback scene from childhood
Choose a prop (piece of clothing, object, music, etc.) that will enable you to slip into your antagonist’s voice at will. When you write from your antagonist’s POV, wear or use this prop.
Pretend you’re your antagonist, put a CD on, and dance in your living room.
Pretend you’re your antagonist and write an essay titled “What I did last summer.”
Create a timeline for your antagonist’s life. Fill it in in detail.
Just as an actor must get into his character, spend one day as much as you can in your antagonist’s head, thinking his thoughts, holding his attitudes, being with his feelings.
Create a collage of all of your antagonist’s favorite things.
Choose a movie star that most reminds you of your antagonist and watch all of this star’s movies-in a row, if you can.

This creative exercise came from the course Creating Dynamic Characters
Every fiction writer will tell you—and every fiction reader instinctively knows—that compelling characters are at the heart of all good fiction. Creating believable characters and bringing them to life on the page requires observation, understanding, imagination and skill in the techniques of character development and characterization.
You will learn:
·        Techniques of character development and characterization
·        How to apply these skills to specific fictional characters of your own choosing
Learn More About Creating Dynamic Characters!



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