Writing an effective antagonist or villain that creates conflict for your main character is essential to any good story. If you are writing a sci-fi or horror story that includes a monster as your antagonist, you may want to add depth to your monster to make your story even more intriguing. Per author Neil V. Young, you can make your monster gripping by having it do something completely unexpected and repugnant. This type of monster doesn't necessarily have motivations other than survival. If you want to take your monster to the next level, give it some human-like motivations. One that Young thinks works really well is giving your monster parenting instincts, because what parent wouldn't do whatever it takes to protect his or her offspring?