- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
- Messages
- 2,376
- Reaction score
- 539
- Location
- Seattle, WA
- Website
- www.mattdinniman.com
...generally, that an explanation for the existence of the antagonist is necessary?
For example, using movies because it's easier, in Tremors we learn pretty quickly what the creatures can do and the problem the characters face, but we never learn where the monsters came from, why they suddenly came out of the woodwork now, etc.
On the other hand there's something like Jurassic Park, book and movie, where we know what they are, how they came to be, and how they came to run amok.
In both examples, the protagonists don't need to know how the creatures are unleashed upon them. All they know is that they're in deep crap, and they have to survive.
I have always been pretty firm in the "the reader wants to know where they came from" camp, but my current WIP isn't going to allow this. So it's driving me nuts.
For example, using movies because it's easier, in Tremors we learn pretty quickly what the creatures can do and the problem the characters face, but we never learn where the monsters came from, why they suddenly came out of the woodwork now, etc.
On the other hand there's something like Jurassic Park, book and movie, where we know what they are, how they came to be, and how they came to run amok.
In both examples, the protagonists don't need to know how the creatures are unleashed upon them. All they know is that they're in deep crap, and they have to survive.
I have always been pretty firm in the "the reader wants to know where they came from" camp, but my current WIP isn't going to allow this. So it's driving me nuts.