Put a Face on It

It has come to my attention that relatively few of my stories have actual antagonists established. This seems like a bad thing.

Now, some I just wouldn't want to state outright because it would spoil a lot of the story. But I can only think of one of those cases where I know the mysterious antagonistic force itself.

This is probably indeed a bad thing. Granted, I don't have all of my story ideas fully developed; that would take a ton of work for a lot of ideas that won't ever really insist on being written. But it seems like I leave out the antagonist disproportionately often. Even when I don't know the "Other Main Characters" well, I'll at least hack out a basic description. The bad guys? Not so much.

There are a few reasons why. One: I'm lazy sometimes. It's hard avoiding that when it comes to story ideas that just sort of showed up and didn't demand to be taken anywhere. Two, and hopefully the more major reason: there isn't always a distinct antagonist. Particularly in my favourite types of stories where all of the characters are at some point enemies, it's hard to specify exactly who should be labeled the antagonist. There are also times when it's more of a manner of survival—then who's the bad guy? Nature in general? Infectious bacteria? Large rocks?

Do I need more distinct driving forces all of the time? Is it more acceptable to wait for the evil masterminds to show themselves than the rest of the cast? How important is a real antagonist, anyway—as a symbol? As a finite force to be dealt with? Do you ever find yourself skimping on the real masterminds during the more up-front struggles of your stories?