Creating Memorable Villains
Four Steps to Creating Unforgettable Fictional Bad Guys
The heroes of fiction are at their best when pitted against strong, resourceful and dedicated forces of darkness. Coax your inner bad guy onto the page!
Imagine Harry Potter without Voldemort, or Clarice Starling without Hannibal Lecter. Impossible, right? In action-themed fiction, heroes and heroines are only as impressive as the forces arrayed against them. Nobody remembers a good guy who single-handedly defeated a slow-witted, bumbling adversary.Let your hero's fortunes (and your own) rise with those of a smart, dangerous, and fully committed antagonist.
Readers and writers alike can understand the goals of a good guy. They appreciate their good qualities, empathize with their flaws, and take their setbacks to heart. The route to creating an effective, multi-dimension villain lies along precisely the same path--by offering readers a chance to relate to the person behind the evil deeds and mayhem. But how does one empathize with a character who lies, cheats, steals -- even kills?
Start with Motivation
Begin with what your villain wants. Bad guys are human; they're driven by the same desires as anyone else. Possible motivators include:
- Wealth
- Political power
- Justice
- Fame
- Love (or lust)
Turn up the Volume
After figuring out what it is the villain wants, consider what you might do to fulfill that desire. Take wealth. Needing a roof overhead and food on the table is what gets most of us to work every day. Working is a reasonable reaction to the reasonable desire for security. But villains are unreasonable! They don't want a salary, they want billions! Forget honest employment--bad guys rob banks, murder wealthy relatives, and rig the stock market.
Alternately, imagine a person who has been wronged in some way and wants justice. A hero in this position might seek proof that they were wronged, then turn their evidence over to the police. A villain? They'll decide who's to blame--whether they are or not! That accomplished, all that's left is figuring out how far to take their revenge.
To crank up the villainy, ask yourself:
- Why does this particular desire drive this character?
- Is there anything that would satisfy them?
- How far would you go to achieve this goal?
- What if you didn't care who you hurt?
- How would you rationalize your actions?
Keep in mind that villains are, to put it simply, broken. No matter how reasonable their goals, they cannot follow the laws of society to achieve them.
Shading in Gray
Heroes are more likeable if they have imperfections, flaws they must overcome. Villains, too, become boring if they lack dimensions, including genuinely good characteristics. Things to consider:
- Can your baddie be witty? Smart? Gorgeous?
- Might they be kind to the less fortunate?
- Are there moral lines they will not cross?
The crafting of villains is a delicate exercise, but it is effort well spent. A fully rounded baddie is unforgettable--their defiance of the rules seduces us, and their defeat satisfies a deep-rooted human need to see order reign within the universe. With that in mind, peer into the dark corners of your own psyche, coaxing your own worst impulses toward the written page. In fiction, it's good to be bad--it might, in fact, be the best decision you ever made!
