tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post4568576306717198916..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Antagonist Conflict ScenesDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-68102473402020324152013-07-05T05:43:56.220-06:002013-07-05T05:43:56.220-06:00Such scenes are essential for ratcheting tension.
...Such scenes are essential for ratcheting tension.<br /><br />Morgan Mandel<br />http://www.morganmandel.comMorgan Mandelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10118929301591850918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-5218899569765288542013-07-04T13:54:53.002-06:002013-07-04T13:54:53.002-06:00Mysteries are slightly different but the sleuth st...Mysteries are slightly different but the sleuth still has to have encounters with the guilty person. A really good mystery writer can have the perpetrator "hiding in plain sight." It is one genre that spends very little time with the antagonist layer and more on the interpersonal layer, i.e. multiple suspects. Sometimes the antagonist is someone in the hero's camp who makes solving the case next to impossible. There is also a "benevolent" antagonist in literary or romantic stories who interferes instead of directly opposing the protagonist's goal. In my fantasy roadtrip story, the island itself served as an antagonist.Diana Hurwitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216220574149672733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-50430869237667723902013-07-04T11:39:36.905-06:002013-07-04T11:39:36.905-06:00These are wonderful examples. Of course, if someon...These are wonderful examples. Of course, if someone told me I had to do this, I'd probably stop writing. But the "take what you've written and delete the other stuff" could work. I do much better after the fact. Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-19753432245010892112013-07-04T10:52:04.432-06:002013-07-04T10:52:04.432-06:00Thanks for this post, Diana. I write mysteries and...Thanks for this post, Diana. I write mysteries and tend not to write from my murderer's POV, although I try to remember that even though he/she is going to get caught, they deserve a character arc.Elspeth Futcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330102545384369360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-66926152008181226892013-07-04T10:14:33.817-06:002013-07-04T10:14:33.817-06:00This is an excellent exercise in making the most o...This is an excellent exercise in making the most of antagonistic scenes. Straightforward confrontations are not all that difficult to write (in fact, they can be fun), but the details that provide depth and add realism to the conflict require careful planning and choreographing. <br /><br />I've edited manuscripts in which the authors created physically impossible gymnastics for the characters, scenarios that would never fly with a discerning reader, or that contained no groundwork validate and support the sudden hostilities. One story had an antagonist milling around for half an hour inside a burning building filled with flammable materials. That verbal camera has to film a believable scene.<br /><br />Great post, Diana!Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686488133905538811noreply@blogger.com