Writing Wickedly Good Villains WORDFEST 2
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“When writing villains, authors need to know the whys. Real human beings, villains included, have reasons for what they do. Villains can’t be evil for evil’s sake. They need reasons. They need a motive. Doing so makes your villain more believable.” — Nancy Kress Write it down! • Name up to 3 villains that absolutely terrify you. Definitions • A villain is a character with evil intentions who commits evil actions. • An antagonist is simply a character who opposes the protagonist. The Four Types of Antagonists The Evil Antagonist A true villain, the Evil Antagonist is intent on harming others, whether to further their own desires, to get revenge, or to cause chaos. Nurse Ratched The Opposing Antagonist A normal, everyday character can fulfill the antagonist role, simply by opposing the protagonist. They could be good, bad, or a blend (as any fully-fledged character should be), but through their principles, employment, task, or out of necessity, they oppose the protagonist and work against them. Anne Hamilton The Superior Antagonist A Superior Antagonist is anyone—or anything—that naturally dominates the protagonist. Nature, society, religion, or an invading force all fit the superior category. The Superior wants to harm or suppress the protagonist— whether directly or simply because the protagonist belongs to a certain people group—as a way to attain power, wealth, revenge, or success. Panem The Internal Antagonist Internal antagonists are often less of an entire character and more so an aspect of a personality, as the protagonist’s own conscience, desires, or other subconscious reactions or motivations battle with their conscious will. On occasion, a story’s antagonistic force doesn’t happen to be human, but rather some element of the character’s own self. So how do I write a great villain? Like anything, you must start with a foundation and build upon it. 1. Take Your Antagonist to the Past A compelling character will have external influences and a past that informs their present and the crux of their internal journey. Basically, what happened in childhood (for example) that planted the seed for evil? Trauma? Corruption? Magneto, X-Men series He’s a villain who believes that mutants are superior to humankind and should dominate the world. But if you look into Magneto’s past, you’ll find he was born into a German-Jewish family during the Holocaust and that their treatment by the Nazis led Magneto to believe that humankind and conflict are inseparable. His goal eventually becomes to protect the mutant race from experiencing similar atrocities at all costs. Amy Dunne, Gone Girl After she slits Desi’s throat during coitus, Amy Dunne heads back home with his blood all over her body. She forces Nick to undress and join her as she showers away the blood of the man she has killed. She is effectively washing away the gruesome evidence and wants to make sure her husband watches every stage in the process. In other words, Amy Dunne was a psychopath. We don’t know what happened in her childhood. Maybe there wasn’t anything at all. “The psychopath brought up in a loving, stable family may well go on to become a hugely successful businessman or politician. But the one brought up in a broken home, or a violent, abusive situation, is likely to become dangerously warped. Many serial killers come from such latter backgrounds, as did Adolf Hitler who had a bullying father who would not let him pursue the career as a painter he wanted in life.” —Peter James What would your villain do at all costs? Keeping the past in mind, you need to get into the antagonist’s head. Is it truly and only a past event that prompted the evil path, or was it more mental, such as a psychopath? 2. Determine the Villain’s Trigger In most cases, it takes time for an individual or character to cross the line. It involves escalation. Little by little, a transformation happens, and then there’s a trigger. They are pushed to their limit; they snap. What is the breaking point for your character? A character’s breaking point could be any number of triggers: a major conflict; a destabilizing event, such as infidelity, job loss, divorce, or an illness—anything that throws the character’s world off-balance. Have these conflicts occur in the context of tough economic times or during a catastrophic event, and that breakdown becomes more potent. What are some potential triggers? Bullying Tyler Down, 13 Reasons Why — Tyler Down was bullied his whole life. Thrown against lockers, called a fag, never invited to anything, etc. Eventually, things escalated and his jock bullies would beat him up. No matter what he did to get the school involved or to tell the truth, he would never find justice. [SEASON 2 SPOILERS!] Finally, after weeks of committing to rehab from a mental breakdown, he goes back to school, only to come face-to-face with his bullies again. This time, he is raped by instrumentation. That night, he arms himself with guns and heads to the spring fling to shoot everyone in the gym. His trigger was being raped, but Tyler was bullied for years before he snapped. Betrayal Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty — There are many different versions of Maleficent’s origin story, but we’re going to focus on the 2014 film Maleficent. Maleficent was a powerful, kind fairy who protected other fairies. At a young age, she met a boy named Philip — but not any boy—an actual human boy. Their friendship grew into love and they became inseparable. Eventually, a war was waged on the fairies by the king, and Maleficent had to protect everyone — nearly killing the king. She hadn’t seen Philip in years, until one day he showed up to see her again. Their romance blossomed literally overnight, but Philip had an ulterior motive. If he were to bring Maleficent’s wings to the king, then he would be crowned king. When Maleficent woke up the next morning, she writhed in pain as she realized her wings had been cut off her body. That was her trigger. Obsession Annie Wilkes, Misery — Annie is Paul Sheldon’s number-one fan. Paul writes romance novels, and Annie has read every single one. Imagine her luck when Paul drives his car off a snowy road and she’s there to save him. Both of Paul’s legs are broken, and lucky again — Annie is a nurse. But Annie has no desire to rush Paul to the hospital. Eventually, Annie’s mental instability and obsession with Paul’s books take a creepy turn: she abuses him, makes him burn his only hardcopy of his finished novel, and berates him. You can think of this situation as a, “If I can’t have him, no one can.” Paul must rewrite the novel so that it has an Annie-approved ending. Upon presenting it to her, he lights it on fire and she tries to kill him. Destroying the book was her trigger to kill him, but we may never know what her initial trigger was to murder other people (as seen in her scrapbook). Money Norman Osborn, Spider-Man — This villain added just enough darkness and complexity to keep things interesting. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Norman inherited his wealth from his father. He did, however, build Oscorp into a giant. He cheated in order to gain much of his wealth, framing his competitor for embezzlement before he could complete his super-soldier formula. The brilliant scientist and businessman always had a tendency toward violence, but when karma blew up his super-soldier formula in his face, he developed a secret persona that became pure evil. Love (sort of) Tom Buchanan, The Great Gatsby — Daisy’s husband (Jay Gatsby’s love interest) has it all: good looks, athletic body, money, and a beautiful wife. He is the symbol of the American Dream. However, we find that this dream is a myth—he’s an alcoholic bully who doesn’t deserve his wealth and cheats on Daisy with Myrtle. He’s unable to cope with the failure of his marriage and the threat of Gatsby, whose new wealth is a more genuine version of the American Dream than Buchanan's. Tom tells George (Myrtle’s husband) that Gatsby’s car struck Myrtle. Then George shoots Gatsby. Religion Margaret White, Mom in Carrie — In every adaptation and portrayal of the character, she is the domineering and fanatically religious mother of Carrie White, who has the power of telekinesis, and thinks almost everything, especially related to the female body and sex, is sinful. Whenever Margaret believed that Carrie had sinned, or every time she went to school secretly, she’d throw her in a specially decorated closet to pray for forgiveness. While waiting for Carrie to come home from the prom, Margaret loses all contact with reality, hiding a butcher knife beneath the folds of her dress. Once Carrie arrives home, both are surprised to find out that they each intend to kill the other. Margaret attempts to stab Carrie in her shoulder. Carrie kills her mother by telekinetically slowing down her heart to a stop while Margaret recites the Lord’s Prayer. If a deity says do it, and the villain is a firm believer, they’ll do anything because God or a god/goddess said so. Look how many wars alone started over religion. Racism/Bigotry Hilly Holbrook, The Help — Hilly clearly sees herself as a morally upstanding righteous member of Jackson, Mississippi; an area widely regarded for its civil rights issues in the 1960s.