I hope this is in the right place. I'm about 75% of the way through my YA novel and am at a point where I need my main character to convince an antagonist to help him. I'm looking for some examples in other works of fiction to provide inspiration. Any ideas you can think of would be greatly appreciated!
Stuck on a plot point for my novel!
- Thread starter MatthewSteele
- Start date
Could you summarize your story's plot? It would help us to give you better examples. Why does this antagonist not want to help your MC, and what are the personalities of those involved. A lot of the times I can think of it was when the situation or problem would affect them both, and even though the characters don't like each other, they learn to get along because it works in both their self interest's. Or other times it's because a 3rd party is despised even worse by those involved.
Hard to say with so little info about the set up. If the book is seen through your main character's eyes, could it be that they were wrong about the antagonist? That perhaps the antagonist was acting in a 'bad' manner for a good reason?
Yes sorry, a little more information would be helpful. So the main character is a relatively new boy at a high school while the antagonist he needs to convince to help him is a snooty British girl who is an upperclass man and all of their interactions thus far have pretty much been the girl disregarding the main character as a waste of time. Now the main character needs her help because she has a special ability he needs to make use of. (It's an academy for people with super powers. It's totally different from x-men I swear!)
In that situation, I would probably go with "MC figures out what antagonist wants/needs and finds a way to offer it to her in exchange for her help." He could offer her an actual quid pro quo ("I'll do this if you do that"), or it could be more subtle, like flattering her to get on her good side.
Best of all would be if they have some common interest that will be served by her using her power in this way, and he points it out to her. Is she the story's ultimate antagonist, or is there a greater enemy they could face together? "Seeming antagonist who becomes ally because of shared interests" is a common pattern — like Cordelia on "Buffy."
That is a good idea. She is not the main antagonist and so it is plausible to give them a common enemy or cause. I'll have to toy around with the ideas thanks!
In these situations I try and put myself in the character's shoes and figure out what it would take to be convinced. Everyone has their price, so based on my past experiences, needs and wants, what's mine? Then just figure out a way for the MC to pay that price (or pretend to, depending on their own personality).
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In this case I think it would help you to give some thought to the backstory of your antagonist. Even if you never use any of it in your story, it will help you to figure out her personality. Sometimes, working together for a common goal is possible even for characters who don't like each other, but it usually comes with some interesting personal dynamics. These dynamics can be crucial in science fiction, as they are often what we humans can identify with as we read.