Antagonist motivation help [closed]
Closed by System on Sep 27, 2013 at 00:11
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My (A)ntagonist (or antagonizing force) in my novel causes a nuclear disaster in a remote nuclear facility. I've decided on certain circumstantial plot points, such as the post-disaster coping of the surrounding characters, but I've come to realize I don't know what motivation A had in causing the disaster in the first place. I need a bit of help developing this.
Some information about A:
- gaunt, silent, more alarming than frightening
- male, late 40's, pale, thin
- possibly under hire by some other force, though money does not seem to be a motivation
Potential elements:
- A needs the use of the nuclear facility for ------
My novel is more rooted in the general survival of the people involved, with some frightening quasi-otherwordly elements. Thus, I would prefer a motivation that remains plausible, but would be open to an interpretation which has some minor scifi or fantasy elements.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
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1 answer
Started a nuclear disaster, potential for otherworldly elements — I'd say he's a fanatic trying to bring about the end of the world so that aliens will swoop down and rescue him.
No seriously. The guy doesn't have to be sane. The chain of logic can make perfect sense in his own head (sort of a cross of Heaven's Gate, Rapture-awaiting evangelicals, and Scientologists who believe in Xenu) but be obviously nuts to everyone else.
If you have scenes from A's POV, you could have him "receiving signals from out there," but because he's clearly unhinged and an unreliable narrative view, the reader doesn't know if the signals are real or delusional. That could leave open the possibly that he's actually not crazy and that the aliens are coming.
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