What is the essential ingredient for a compelling narrative?

Trouble. And the people who make it.

Sympathetic characters are made much of in today’s literary circles. But what about the bad guys (or girls)? They lie and lust and lead the good guys (and girls) shockingly astray. At their worst, they’re the writer’s best friends, driving the plot by creating conflict, the linchpin of fiction. They deserve attention and thoughtful rendering on the part of the writer in order to reach their full potential as characters, rather than flimsy caricatures of evil.

In this class we’ll discuss the nature and purpose of antagonists in fiction and consider specific examples, both classic and contemporary, from Shakespeare to Daphne du Maurier to Cormac McCarthy. We’ll pay particular attention to the various ways in which they function and especially what makes them memorable and unique. We’ll also consider the challenges of writing about particularly heinous characters and their potential effect on readers. To fully benefit from the class, it’s highly recommended to read three stories in advance: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, “Victory Lap” by George Saunders, and “Child’s Play” by Alice Munro. All can be downloaded using the following links:

https://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/05/victory-lap

http://www.kirstenbrandt.dk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Alice-Munro-Childs-Play.pdf