CONFLICT #4: The Nemesis
HERE’S a TV trivia question: what do “Laverne and Shirley,” “Better Call Saul” and “CSI: New York/Miami/Tacoma” all have in common?
Yup. They’re SPINOFFS. Their characters or premises were first introduced on original TV series that had become huge hits (“Happy Days,” “Breaking Bad” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”).
Why does this matter? This article about the Nemesis character is the fourth in my series on adding conflict to your stories to elicit emotion. But because including a Nemesis is such a powerful method for building conflict, I’m going to spin off this topic into its own series. The six articles that follow this one will examine the 6 qualities of a great Nemesis.
But before we can explore what constitutes a great Nemesis, we have to be clear on what a Nemesis actually is….
In your screenplay, your manuscript, your origin story from the stage, or your former client’s success story in a marketing email, the conflict may come from within (your hero’s wounds, beliefs and fears) or from some force of nature (the disease your hero overcame, the earthquake your hero survived, all those plagues in The Ten Commandments).
But the most common and visible obstacles your characters must face will come from other characters.
And the primary character your hero must battle is the Nemesis. The more intriguing, compelling, powerful, unique and memorable your hero’s opponent, the more emotionally involving your story will be.
There are two essential principles for creating a strong nemesis:
#1. A nemesis is a character. He or she is not an organization (the government), a physical challenge (Mount Everest), a disease (alcoholism), a quality of life (poverty), or some threatening horde (aliens/terrorists/Nazis). These situations and groups will certainly add conflict and emotion to your story. But readers and audiences want to identify an individual character who stands between your hero and your hero’s goal – someone your hero must confront face to face and overcome in order to succeed.
Just as with the setting of your story or the revelation of your hero’s goal, the more clear, vivid and specific your hero’s nemesis, the easier it will be for your followers to picture – and root for – your hero’s victory over that character.
If the hero of your story is desperate to win a promotion, a trophy or a battle, then introduce a rival, competitor or commander that your hero must eventually defeat.
Inglourious Basterds involves two intertwined story lines, and a whole bunch of characters who want to defeat the Third Reich. The anticipation, suspense, humor and violent confrontations Quentin Tarantino creates using these elements provide an immense amount of conflict and emotion.
But imagine how much less involving and successful the movie would be without the character of Colonel Landa (Christoph Waltz). This brilliant, powerful, hateful nemesis serves as the personification of the Nazi army, and allows audiences to anticipate the ultimate confrontation between him and our heroes, Lieutenant Raine (Brad Pitt), and Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent).
#2. A nemesis is not necessarily a villain. A nemesis can be the bad guy or the force of evil in your story, as Colonel Landa illustrates.
But your nemesis might also be an opponent (Apollo Creed in Rocky), a rival (Kimmy in My Best Friend’s Wedding), or simply someone who stands between your hero and the visible finish line he wants to cross (Gerard in The Fugitive).
Maintain these two principles as you identify your hero’s nemesis. Then you can begin the process of making this character as captivating and emotionally involving as possible.
And the next six articles in this series will reveal how you can do just that….
– Michael
[Click below to read the previous articles in this series.]
CONFLICT #1: Tiger
CONFLICT #2: Combat vs. Conflict
CONFLICT #3: Follow the Pain
QUALITIES OF A GREAT NEMESIS #1: Powerful
QUALITIES OF A GREAT NEMESIS #2: Threatening
Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I
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Your information here is so helpful. Thank you. I’ve just ordered 3 of your books for further learning.
After reading this article and considering the “coming of age / personal development” story I’m writing, you have me wondering what you would think about the central character also being his own nemesis (i.e., as in a person being their own worst enemy), as this better fits your guidance that the nemesis must be an individual. Otherwise, it seems I’m left with making the nemesis as (i.e., blaming) parents, the system, society?
James –
Thank you so much for your very kind comments (and for the book order!).
To answer your question, it isn’t possible, by my definitions of the character categories, for someone to be his own Nemesis. A Nemesis is the character who most stands in the way of the hero achieving his VISIBLE goal. And it is physically impossible for someone to actively pursue a goal and actively stop himself at the same time. More important, the purpose of the categories is to make certain your story is rich enough, has enough conflict, and that the characters are recognizable and behave in a somewhat consistent manner.
Also, a NEMESIS can not be a group or collective noun or some quality of life – that will just confuse the issue more, and one of the goals with my categories is to keep things simple.
HOWEVER, this does not mean you’re wrong about a character being his or her own worst enemy. That is what the inner journey is all about: the inner conflict between the hero being safe but unfulfilled in his identity, or going after what he wants but being emotionally afraid. We often stop ourselves from going after what we truly want or need because it simply too scary. In that way, we are our own “worst enemies.”
Hope that helps.
Thanks again –
Michael
Thanks, Michael – very helpful advice.
Thanks, Michael! Excellent point that it’s easy to overlook the opportunities to create an exciting nemesis when one is focusing on the hero’s actions towards the goal. In real life there always seems to be an individual someone else in the way in addition to natural forces and inner issues, however benign or noble one’s goals.
Great information, as always! I completed two novels portraying one heroine and finally developed her nemesis by the end of 800 pages! Good news is, this is a series and I wrote the novels with the full intentions of screen or TV series. The nemesis development has made all the difference. This helps even more.
Sherry
S.G. Savage