I'd dare say that one of the most important aspects of writing a story begins with creating an inspiring antagonist. I say this because I feel antagonists aren't given nearly as much credit as they should when it comes to story writing.
An antagonist is the villain or circumstances on which our hero is propelled. Everything that has happened that has caused the protagonist to proceed in the way that they have is all, in large part, due to what the antagonist has done. There would be no epic adventure, trial against the odds or otherwise without the antagonist.
Without the antagonist there is no need for a protagonist.
And when I say "antagonist" I mean to say that there is a force, in one form or another, that causes the protagonist to respond. To "rise to the challenge".
In some stories this could be a person, a certain set of events or mother nature herself.
But it is in creating the antagonist that we begin to form our protagonist. Sure, we may have some sort of vision already formed for the hero. But our hero would still be back at home living out her/his everyday life if it wasn't for the antagonist. So, though we have captured a visage of who we want our hero to be, we'll need an amazing antagonist to keep the plot chugging along so that we can have our hero mature and flourish against the odds.
The antagonist whittles back the weak and unready if we can create one well enough.
The importance of a good antagonist is paramount to creating a good story, a great protagonist and an epic read.
(Done far too late at night, will amend later XD)
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