So far into the writing of my WIP, I'm coming across an issue where I feel like half the antagonist is "missing." The thing is, my antagonist isn't an evil person, he's not even really bad, like, the people in the MC's (protagonist's) and antagonist's school actually like the antagonist better. The antagonist is only mean and terrible to the MC, but other then that, he's a pretty nice guy, maybe even having some better morals than the MC. I really want to show the reader that the antagonist isn't a completely terrible person, but I haven't been able to come up with a way to show this, since the story is first person. I want to show that he's just an over all "gray" character when it comes to good and evil, as I've done with the MC. So, anyone have any ideas or help on going about showing this?
In Paradise Lost, Satan is the Hero of the story, and God is the villain. Rhetorical writing. (I can't explain it in a single post, but if you google the subject, you will get the info on what it is and how it works.)
You know why he's horrible to the mc, right? Can you clue the mc in on it, so that the reader can find out, too? On the flipside, if he's pretty chill to everyone but the mc, has the mc seen this? Do they feel that he's shallow/fake, or does he seem to be genuinely nice to other people? As long as the reader sees him honestly being a normal, fine person otherwise, then the good qualities can outweigh the bad from the reader's perspective - or at least bring them into balance. This might be a bit of a pull, but have you seen Little Witch Academia? In that, an antagonistic character - Diana - is pretty spiteful and shitty to the mc Akko, through whose eyes we see most things. So along with Akko, we see Diana helping and saving tons of other people, working hard, and generally being an overall admirable person. Eventually, we come to understand why she dislikes Akko, still mostly through Akko's own eyes. Granted, the show focuses on their dynamic a fair bit and Diana becomes more of a protag later on, so that may not really fit your plot / setting, but it's a thought. The main question is why does the antag not like the mc and treat him poorly, and if that reason can be sympathized with, then the shitty behavior can be - if not excused - then understood.
Well, thats how high school really works. You can be nice to other people who are popular or inside your group of friends, but be mean to people outside those circles and still be considered a nice guy. I mean if you take the stereotypical jock, he'll probably be a bully to nerds or weird people, but a nice and attractive person anywhere else. It's not even really something you really need an event to distinguish, just have him be nice to everyone else other than the MC and especially the girls. If you really need a situation to distinguish that, have the MC get in a fight with his girlfriend, then have the antagonist play mr-steal-yo-girl.
It might be difficult portraying your antagonist as positive if they are actively mean and terrible to the main character (who I assume the reader will already be more sympathetic towards). Without knowing the specifics of your book, I can totally see you showing the antagonist play with puppies or help the elderly, or something, only for readers to say "Whatever, it doesn't excuse their earlier behavior at all". Be sure you have a very solid reasoning for why the antagonist might, well, antagonize your main character (maybe they saw the main character do something suspicious and now act according to their own impressions, etc). Without knowing your POV situation, it's also somewhat tricky to make suggestions. Like, would it be out of place to have chapters from their POV? If the book is primarily in your main character's perspective, it might not be wise to cram in a chapter or two from the antagonist's. If they live on the same campus, it may be enough just to show the antagonist be nice/reasonable to other people to contrast their treatment of the MC.
I think it's important to show something in the antagonist that is primal. Something that's relateable. I read a book called "Zombie" once. The main character was certainly not a good guy, in fact, I think he was based on real life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The author shows the characters frustration with his repeated failed experiments and the pressure he feels hiding himself from his family like an awkward teenager. There are also scenes in "It" from the POV of Pennywise the clown. In those sections, he's not a shapeless horror but a homeless entity who's simply hungry. From the point of view of something like that, killing children is no different than stepping on an insect.
I would have the main character witness some decent deed the antagonist performs and then muse to himself why the antagonist hates him so much. Speaking of which, why are they at such odds? Both seem like fine fellows?
Several reasons, but probably the biggest ones are conflicting personalities and different beliefs of what's right and wrong. They're identical twins, so that just pretty much amplifies the whole situation.
Your antagonist doesn't have to be an evil bad guy. The protagonist and antagonist just have to pursue conflicting goals and evolve (for the better or worse) as individuals for the adventure. A lot of writers like to keep the antagonist as a Snidely Whiplash character just because of the bad guy notion. Good guy/ bad guy is really just a matter of perception.
