Soooo, this might belong more in the plot section, but I'm pretty committed to the outline I've drawn out and my concern is as to whether or not I should try and come up with ways to give my "final antagonist" some more screen time. The short version: the "antagonist" gets introduced 1/3 of the way through the story, disappears for a while, and then plays a major role from 2/3 through and on. It has no way to interact with the MCs (or anyone who would be willing to work with it) outside of that one brief appearance. The long version, for those who are interested: my story has, for the first 2/3's of it anyway, primarily a "man against society" conflict. This changes towards the end when the MC decides to accept the role she was being prepared for during the rest of the book. At this point, the story shifts more into a "man against man" conflict presented as a "man against self" conflict (she and her friends are psychologically toyed with by a nearly all powerful entity). Honestly, the antagonist isn't so much an antagonist as it is a final obstacle for the heroes to overcome, though the character's existence is very important in terms of explaining why the heroes were made to got through their journey in the first place. I'm aware that shifting the conflict and introducing a major character, especially later on in the story, is generally considered bad practice. I've made sure to introduce the villain about 1/3 of the way into the story so they don't just come out of nowhere, but as the story is currently outlined they don't make another appearance until the 2/3 mark. This entity is, in my current draft, completely confined in such a way that it can't influence the MC's journey outside of that one brief appearance at the 1/3 mark, and at that point it has little reason to do so other than suspicions of the MC's at-the-time-unrevealed purpose. The question: how bad does this sound? Should I give this character some more freedom so that it has more of a presence, or should I stick with my current plan of making references to the importance of the place where the "antagonist" is confined, hoping that the association with the location will serve the purpose of giving the character more of a presence. I'm just getting to the point in my story where characters would start making these references, so I figured now would be a good time to ask about this.
Personally I think this sounds interesting. You have foreshadowed the appearance of the main antagonist who then appears to shift the conflict to one of overcoming the main antagonist. Just a few things I would try to bear in mind when doing this: Keep foreshadowing every so often. You don't want to abruptly change from a section with the main antagonist, to a section without, and back to a section with. That would seem disjointed and inconsistent and could read like one story with another one stuck in the middle Try to make the other conflicts relevant to the final conflict, otherwise it will feel like they went through all that other stuff for no reason (or at least no reason that was relevant to the actual story). For example, during the 'man against society' and 'man against self' segments, the protagonist(s) should learn or develop in some way which helps them in the final act (or even hinders them if you want to complicate things for them further and make the final challenge harder) Make sure other conflicts are either resolved, or are acknowledged as unresolved, so that the reader does not feel dissatisfied Good luck with it. It sounds like an interesting idea
Definitely keeping the different conflicts relevant to each other, as @mashers said. I think this sounds interesting. I have several antagonists in my current story, but they are each very different types of antagonists, if that makes sense. The one who proves a more direct danger to the MC was introduced about 1/3 or 1/2 through the story, just like yours, while I also have a "man against self" plot as the key conflict (the MC having doubts about herself and her position in society). So I definitely can relate to your issue! I will keep an eye on this thread to see what other people end up suggesting.
Just curious, in what way is our antagonist confined? Why was that one instance 1/3rd of the way through the story so important? How did it escape its confinement long enough to confront our protagonist? Just a few questions I have to help me understand the character a bit better so that I can, hopefully, provide a bit more accurate feedback. If you'd prefer not to share this information, as it may give away your plot, I completely understand. You could also message me directly if you'd rather not post everything on here. Your deepest, darkest secrets are safe with me! Well, maybe not that one about feet and Mr. Clean.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! One thing I love about these forums is they force me to think more deeply about my concerns before I ask for advice, and that in turn leads to the advice being more motivational in terms of working out a solution. I'm glad to receive such a positive response to the conflict shift. I think the biggest weakness in my story is connecting the main antagonist to the journey prior to the climax; the shift is rather sudden in my current outline and might be jarring. After reading your comments and thinking about it more, I think I can remedy this by revealing to the MC her intended role shortly after the 1/3rd mark. She can gradually realize she needs to accept this role as opposed to having a sudden realization. If I go this route, I can link the main antagonist to the journey by having the characters speculate more once they realize they may have to face it again. I'm open to any other advice or opinions on the matter, as well, so don't hesitate to chime in if you're so inclined. I'll PM you about how the antagonist is confined. I think that's a bit of a spoiler and I only want the readers to speculate about the true nature of where it resides. The event at 1/3rd of the way through the story is a result of my MC entering where the antagonist is located due to curiosity, so the antagonist doesn't escape confinement. The place is one of legend and not exactly difficult to enter; her journey takes her nearby so she takes advantage of the opportunity. As to why this place is so important, it's alluded to throughout the story, but I'll PM that info anyway.
@SolZephyr Well done, it sounds like you’ve used the feedback you’ve received to come up with a way of making your intended plot work I would argue that a shift in conflict would make the story more interesting so I’m glad you were able to figure it out
