How NOT to write a book #8: How NOT to create a villain

What makes a good villain?

As subjective as this question is, I’ll be as objective as I can… but you’ll have to wait until the end for that. You’re gonna have to sit through the sarcasm first. It’s just so much easier (and more fun) to tell you how NOT to make a good villain. Now to get into character...

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Let’s see… “What makes a good villain?” That’s easy! Once you’ve spent a good several hours, days, weeks, or longer on your main characters, side characters, plot, and world-building... I suggest you take five minutes on the villain. Ten minutes tops, for sure. Nobody cares! Look… all you gotta do is take the hero, draw a new face on them, and change the color scheme.

Now I know what you’re thinking… “Yeah, but how do I give them character and motivation?” No problem. Just say they want to take over the world. Make them say "I just love being evil!" ESPECIALLY if the work isn’t a comedy. Make them cackle maniacally because that’s totally what real villains are like! No need for a backstory… but if you must… say they were orphaned and grew to hate everyone or lived the rich life and grew to be greedy, no in-between. If they are crazy, ya GOTTA make them lick blood, lick their lips, or lick the knife, doesn't matter. I mean... how ELSE can you make someone look deranged. No need to research. Make them lick things and laugh. Heck... you can just type that they are evil. Tell, don't show.

Dialogue is easy too. At some point, have they say things like, “and once I have (insert McGuffin here) I’ll finally get what’s mine!” or “We’re not so different, you and I.” You can’t forget to say “I’ll get you next time!” if they survive an encounter. Remember, even if the villain’s goal is to end all of humanity, you don’t need any reason for their goons to keep working for them. Remember… if this is to be animated, you have to give the villain a ‘foreign accent’ and make them as sexually ambiguous as possible. Make sure that it’s obvious that the man isn’t a REAL man or the woman is either REALLY hot or REALLY not.

Follow all those steps and congratulations, you’ve created something for fellow writers to complain about.

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Okay, that was both fun and infuriating. “How bout we take the hero, then make a bad guy version!” Uuugh! How boring. The only time that trope will work well is when it’s “genius versus genius” where one is just a step ahead of the other. Now THAT I can get into.

A lot of people think their villains have to be powerful, scary, or epic. They want their big bad to be as big and bad as they can imagine. I disagree. The villain simply needs to be designed to fit the weaknesses of the protagonist. Whatever the protagonist’s flaws are, THAT is where you make your villain’s edge reside. Scar wasn’t stronger than Mufasa… but he was wily and willing to fight dirty. Batman is calm and collected while The Joker is marvelously insane. Luke had youth, hope, and potential, but Vader had experience and control over his hatred. People love big buff Thor types with the strength and righteous paths but they are boring without the witty, sneaky trickery of a ‘Loki’ to keep things interesting.

For what it’s worth, my biggest advice is to treat the villains no different from your protagonist. Flesh them out. Give them a reason that you can imagine them wanting their goal just like you did with the protagonist. If you aren’t going to show that they think they are right in what they do, show how they make excuses for their actions. In real life, real people sign their names on paper then drones drop bombs. They plan a heist, but they don’t cackle afterward. They make excuses or feel as though their god wills them to make these decisions. They have twisted values or have dehumanized the other race or tribe. There are tons of reasons for a person to do a horrible thing beyond “Because evil is fun.” Even if you never plainly tell the reader, YOU need to know what drives the villain to voice them properly. If you do, it will show, and people might even like your villain as much or more than your hero! Finally... if you're ready for the next level and really want to know what will make an unforgettable villain, give the villain a backstory and motivation that is so messed up, and make the society that they hate so twisted that the reader thinks, "I want them to go to jail and all... but I kinda get where they're coming from." Now THAT is a villain worth being the main character.