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Originally Posted by crich70
I'd say you are probably ok. If the protagonist knew exactly who the antagonist was what would keep him/her from taking action that might neutralize the threat of the Mastermind? You could say that 'good guys don't do x' but then there are the anti-heroes who can even get away with that maybe. I think part of the suspense of a thriller is that the protagonist can't prove right away that character x isn't what he/she appears to be and can't just shoot him or have him arrested etc. because they have no proof against the baddie. Would Prof. Moriarty be such a big problem to Sherlock Holmes if Holmes could just give evidence to Scotland Yard and have him taken into custody? I doubt it. And if it was easy to catch Count Dracula would we read through to the end of Dracula to see how he gets it? Unlikely. It's the fact that the good characters can't just solve their problems easily that makes the stories as interesting as they are (I think).
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Thanks crich. What you say makes sense. If it's a done deal who the antagonist is, a HUGE opportunity for building tension is gone. I guess, the one thing with my story is I'm not planning on having the antagonist known (like Prof. Moriarty). It will be more like, one character says the antagonist is something (or someone) and someone else says something different. Thanks for the feedback. Priceless.