A great antagonist

[Morbid Misery]

Does a Demon make for a great antagonist?

This is something I am curious about and if I were to use a Demon in a manuscript how do I use it effectively without letting down the story at the climax?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated

MM

[delboy]

A bit of foreshadowing never goes amiss. Also, whatever powers your demon has make sure that it doesn't suddenly lose them (or neglect to use them) to destroy the protagonists, who, of course, will need to defeat the demon using their wits and skills and initiatives...

Basically, it's the same problem as any other tale. The villain needs to be so dastardly and evil and strong and wicked that the reader can't see how on earth the heroes will defeat it... so when they do, using whatever cunning plan you have up your sleeve, the readers will slap themselves on the forehead and say, man how did I not think of that? And rush out to order your next book.

On the other hand, if that dastardly plan suddenly involves the demon catching a common cold, or being allergic to sea-water, or being susceptible to a high-pitched whistle or a strong light(*) then that let down that you mentioned might just be around the corner...

Of course, if your demon is going to win then you mightn't want to write too long a tale.

(*) Any of which are okay so long as you've set things up right. Have some "rules" for your demon and adhere to them. And if you need to build in a weakness do it from the start with subtlety and imagination.

Derek

[Morbid Misery]

Thanks for the tip

MM