Stuart J. Tanner and Cullen McHael trade examples of compelling antagonists in speculative fiction from Sci-Fi to Fantasy, deconstruct the role of the antagonist, and offer advice from hard-earned lessons about how and when to consider your antagonist in your writing process. Cullen lists nine kinds of antagonist, which one are you?
0:00 Intro
5:28 The Role of the Antagonist
8:40 Antagonist Example: The Joker in the Dark Knight
15:41 The Antagonist Letdown
24:32 9 Kinds of Antagonist: Which One Are You?
30:46 The Complexity of Antagonists
33:01 The Bully: from Nurse Ratchet to Big Brother
41:23 Antagonists Beyond Ideologies
48:26 Cullen's Final Comments: Lowering the Bar and Escaping Inflated Expectations
53:04 Stuart Final Comments: Joys of Speculative Fiction
Questions of the Day
When do you decide on an antagonist?
Great Antagonists—what makes them great?
The Joker from The Dark Knight
Roy Batty in Bladerunner
Sauron in The Lord of the Rings
Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Johan from Monster
Failed Antagonists—why?
Types of antagonist?
Fallen hero
Competitor hero
Evil mask
Bully
Corrupt priest
Unstoppable force
Grand shadow
Wild beast
Hostile environment
How might you fit an antagonist into the narrative, especially at the first third of the book?
How does your choice of antagonist shape your narrative?
How do we set out to decide what kind of antagonist to use in a given story?
Follow us!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InkingNeon
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inking-neon-light-up-your-stories/id1838329557
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1qSplbBX4oYmd2pYoSAzOF
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c7826f91-085a-4509-9c69-d90fef1bdb5b/inking-neon-light-up-your-stories
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-inking-neon-light-up-your-294206954
PodBean: https://inkingneon.podbean.com/
Cullen McHael: https://cullenmchael.com
Stuart J. Tanner: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08XW3G4WG/ https://www.amazon.com.au/Art-of-Story/dp/B08JL6GJBR/
Music by Cullen McHael
Edited by Cullen McHael
Produced by Cullen McHael
Hosts: Stuart J. Tanner, Cullen McHael
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com