I've come to the point in my plot development where I'm about to introduce the main antagonist and set up the clash with the MCs. Story-wise it will be some time before I get around to writing the sequence, but I'm trying to force myself to plot it early. I think my main issue is that I'm a non-confrontational person. At least in the most egregious uses of that term. I'll happily step into a discussion and add my two cents (you're all shocked, I can tell from here), or go address an issue that seems to need addressing. But I'm not a fighter. I grew up around those sort of people, and I don't like it. So when it comes to plotting a story where there's an enemy, I'm not sure I know what to do. My project tells the story of two young adults, born into privilege in the distant future where the rich have everything they want including near-immortality (at least hundreds of years of life span). In Part One, on a picnic one day, they find themselves, entirely unprepared and unprovisioned, thrown back to 14thC Europe. With some effort, they figure out how to make a life for themselves and create a home. But even though they've created a wealthy living situation for themselves over a decade, with a large house and staff, they're not satisfied and are homesick. They make an attempt (one of many) to return home, and get at least part way there. (Part One is 'in the can' and only needs some editing and polish to make it ready) In Part Two (17thC), they sort of need to start over, but have some resources to play with and their standard of living comes up quickly. They also arrive at some (shocking to them, though not the astute reader) conclusions about their future, given what they know of their past. So now they're on a mission, and they set about plotting what to do next. Just about the time they're getting up a good head of steam, in comes the antagonist. He too is a time traveler, and doesn't want anyone else knowing how to use the time travel device (a mystic cave). Our antagonist is from the future, though not privileged sufficiently to be immortal(ish), but he knows how to operate the time travel function. He wants to live a quiet life, but realizes that if others have come, that's going to complicate things for him. He watches them for a while, then attacks them. Our MCs defend themselves, and the attacker runs off. The MCs put up chase, and follow their attacker to the cave, where they get swept up in his time jump. Which brings us to Part Three (early 21C to late 23C). Our MCs find themselves in a modern enough time period where it feels like they'd better settle in and stay. Also, this fits in beautifully with the plans they laid in the 17thC (because it has to). So they consider the attack to be a happy accident, count their blessings, and go about executing their plans. Little do they know that the attacker is searching through time for them as young people, so he can kill them and keep them from figuring out his secret, after which he plans to return to his quiet life in the 17thC. Over about 250 years, they encounter him several times, but he can't figure out where in the time stream the MCs originated, and he's groping around a bit, getting closer all the time... Here's where my plotting runs out. Somewhere there needs to be an epic clash, and the antagonist needs to be defeated (probably killed; the jury's out on that). During that 250 years, there's a lot to deal with, including WW-III, a plague, a famine, and a few other significant events. The MCs need to slog through it all, but the antagonist has the ability to pop in and out when he pleases. He's trying to spy on them so he can figure out when and where they came from, but from his perspective it's a bit random. Speaking of perspective, I don't know how to write from the antagonist's POV, though I think I probably should in order to address the above motivations. I'll work on that, and will address any questions in the Character Development forum. Any advice you can provide on where to go from here is appreciated. I know, it's my story and you can't write it for me. I wouldn't ask. Mostly I'm using you all as a sounding board. So toss out opinions and ideas if you have them. Thanks. JD
If the antagonist's goal is to go back to the 17th century and live there just minding his business, what does he care if someone else knows about time travel? Unless I'm missing something here, there doesn't seem to be any real reason to oppose the protagonists. Seems like any potential conflict could be solved with a civilized conversation. "Ok guys, Imma need you to stop messing with time." "We're just trying to get back to the future. Can you help us?" "Alright". The end.
How many conflicts in this world could be solved with a little civilized conversation? And where would the story be in that, anyway? I'll embellish it enough to show that the guy is just a little off his rocker. That part, however, wasn't part of my question.
Have his power or lifestyle be endangered by the group's continual existence. The longer they exist, the weaker his existence in the future becomes i.e maybe have his sanity be effected by the group somehow.
