I struggle sometimes when I'm writing to bring forth the perfect bad guy or evil regime. They have to be crafty, power hungry, and bad to the bone. You don't want everyone to know how bad they really are right out of the gate. People need to trust the protagonist, look up to him or her, and feel like they're getting some kind of help or protection at first.
Some of the best stories I've read are those where you can feel something isn't quite right, but nothing proves it until the end. Take the Hunger Games: You know President Snow is a baddie, and he doesn't show just how bad until the second book. You never see President Coin's evil until she has Katniss' sister killed to spur the girl into killing Snow. But it backfires.
This is what I'm talking about. You need to create something your protagonist must struggle against. What better than the power saturated mind of a leader? You're probably going to want more than one antagonist in a case like that, so people can't pinpoint who's really behind it all.
Keep some mystery.
If you want to create a Utopia, feel free to do that. But where's your protagonist going in a world like that? Unless they're the first bad guy in your world, where's the story?
Remember, your character is on a journey down the path of life. Make it twisty and give them some obstacles in their path. Otherwise, they'll end up plodding along and the action will be nill.
What kind of baddies have you thought up lately? Ever tempted to write up a Utopian society?
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
