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Posts tagged ‘creating villains’

Jul 8

How to create a great villain

In Award Winning Screenwriter Jacob Krueger’s short video below, he answers the question “How Do You Create a Perfect Villain?”

Krueger says we have to remember that the antagonist thinks he is the hero of his story. Most characters believe they are the good guys even if they are doing horrible things.

Example: in “Star Wars” all Darth Vader wants is to rule the galaxy with his son–he just has a twisted way of going about it. Each antagonist has a story they are telling themselves that makes them feel like a good person every day. Their desires are as important to them as the protagonist’s desires are important to them.

Krueger also says a great antagonist comes at the world with a point-of-view that is so truthful it forces the main character to deal with something they’re not confronting in themselves. A great antagonist will force the protagonist to face their flaws, overcome them, and be changed in some way.

For more tips in creating a great antagonist watch Krueger’s video below:

Oct 26

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Three tips to writing multi-dimensional villains

At the Surrey International Writers’ Conference this year, I attended a workshop by author Wendy Roberts on how to create a great villain. Judging by her popular Ghost Dusters series, I’d say what she does works. Below are some of Wendy’s tips, mixed in with several of my own.

Books, of course, can have more than one villain (bad guy) but should really have only one main antagonist (the baddest bad guy).

1.     Know your antagonist.  Most of us spend more time developing our protagonist then our antagonist. But we should know our villain as well as, or even better than, our hero. We have to know our antagonist inside and out. To help with this, I ask myself questions. What makes them tick? What in their childhood or past set them on their path? What drives them? Greed? Revenge? Drugs? What do they want out of life? What makes them feel good? What makes them feel bad? Dig deep and find your villain’s motives. But don’t stop there. Read more