WRITING FOR CHILDREN
EVIL MCSQUEEVIL
Writing chapter book baddies
You book’s success depends on your villain just as much as your hero. Get your baddie right with advice from Amy Sparkes.
Amy Sparkes.
Anyone who has attended any of my Story Godmother workshops will know I am ever-soslightly excited about antagonists. Ever since I was small, I have been fascinated with ‘baddies’ and found them significantly more interesting than the ‘heroes’ that everyone else wanted to be in our playground games. I adored being the Wicked Witch of the West, or Mrs Hannigan. They were gifts of characters to explore. As the submission window for the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize is open, it’s the perfect time to consider chapter book antagonists. They are tremendously good fun to explore. Here are five top tips to creating an outstanding baddie for young readers:
1 CHOOSE WISELY
Why does this particular antagonist appear in this particular story? What is it about this character which pits them perfectly against the protagonist? How do their values, attitudes, experiences and approaches perfectly conflict with those of the protagonist? How and why do they clash? Keep an open mind and experiment until you find the perfect opponent. How could changing the gender, age or species of your antagonist add to the dynamics and originality of the story? Sometimes chapter books run the risk of relying on aspects which feel overly familiar. Although chapter books are aimed at younger readers, don’t feel you have to keep things too simple or stereotypical.