Baddies are people who go around in black hats. We know they're baddies because everyone hisses and boos when they enter. Baddies are fine in panto, but they don't have a place in most novels because they're one dimensional. They are defined by their badness, but nobody in real life thinks they're bad. I expect even the most appalling murderers feel they have justification for their actions.
In fact, if we understand and sympathise with a character, we can cheerfully accept their justifications for doing dreadful things. In The Talented Mr Ripley, Tom Ripley murders Dickie Greenleaf, then Freddie, and we're happy because we've taken on Tom's world view that he really has no alternative but to bump them off.
But Anne Tyler doesn't have baddies at all. Instead she has ordinary people who are in conflict with each other. In The Accidental Tourist, Macon and Sarah are recovering from the death of their child. They are both grieving, in their own ways. The trouble is, those ways are in conflict with each other. Sarah is trying to cope by talking about Ethan, Macon is trying to cope by systematising his life and not talking. Neither of these approaches are wrong, they're just different and the difference leads to conflict.
When I started writing my opposing characters were a bit one dimensional: they were defined by their 'badness' alone. Now I try to make my opposing characters good people, just ones who want different things from my main character. There will still be conflict, but the characters will (I hope) be more real and understandable.
NEW!!! I've finally got round to organising some course dates....
How to WRITE a Novel: London 3rd May/Birmingham 7th May/
Oxford 8th May/Exeter 21st May/Bath 12th June
How to SELL a Novel: London 24th May/Exeter 4th June/
Bath 3rd July Details are on my website
