And while I have it on good authority my British Accent is sexy (well, the Canadian girls I spoke to that one time seem to think my “Received Pronunciation” is), there is more than one British Accent in Britain (which comprises Scotland, England and Wales, who all have their own local variants). And, of cause, there is more than one way to write a villain.
What makes a villain? And how do you write a good one? I hear you ask.
Well, first of all, your villain needs to be a person. He needs his own goal and a damn good reason for doing whatever it is he’s doing.
Take the Templars in Assassin’s Creed. Well, Rogue, in any case. The Colonial Rite wants to make the world a better place, mainly through improving the living conditions in the Colonies. And Shay, the protagonist, wants to ensure Achilles doesn’t destroy the world by blindly hunting down the Precursor artefacts. And the Assassins would, under Achilles Davenport’s mentorship, destroy the world through their ignorance of the artefacts’ power.
A Villain is, quite simply, just someone who opposes the hero’s goals and viewpoints. A Hero is the guy we join the story with, the one whose story it is we’re reading. This is a grey area, morals, in general, are a grey area. I, on the morality alignment chart, am Tempered Evil. Because I’m indifferent and out for my own personal gain. (A helpful chart I found on an RPG forum describes it as “Save the puppy” (Good), “Leave the puppy to its fate” (Neutral) and “Kill the puppy” (Evil), and “according to principle” (Lawful), “according to need” (Tempered) and “according to impulse” (Chaotic). So, I would “Kill the puppy according to need”.)
Many people would give a Freudian excuse for why the Dark Lord Hamish is out to end the solar system. As in, his parents didn’t love him enough, he got bullied for his name, and now he wants to pay them back in kind. I say, think again.
This is not the end-all reason. Think why. Why is Dark Lord Hamish unloved by his parents? What precise trigger caused him to think that ending the solar system is a good idea?
Also, come to think of it, Clark Kent is a hero because, why? No, your hero’s backstory needs to be better than I love humanity and want to save it.
Your villain is the hero of his own story. Think about that.
This article explains why and how you need to create better villains for your stories! Click To TweetDark Lord Hamish matters because without him getting in the way of Good Steve’s plans, there is no story. Creating a cliché villain does your story no good, and there are many reasons as to why this is the case. I shall name a few:
Creating a decent villain, one who could be a mirror of the hero, ramps up the conflict and tension in your story. Harry Potter could have been Lord Voldemort had a few things had been different. Also, Game of Thrones is great for grey and grey morality with characters who have similar goals but different methods.
Or, if that doesn’t work for you, relatives make for more drama. Clary Fray and Valentine Morgenstern differ on ideas and treatment of Downworlders. Haytham Kenway believes in the Templar cause and as such his partnership with his son, Ratonhnhaké:ton, falls apart.
* If you’re wondering, Ubisoft says it’s pronounced Rah-doon-ha-gay-doon. But this is addressed in-game by Achilles saying he’s not even going to pronounce it and gives him the new name “Connor”. Ratonhnhaké:ton goes by Connor for most of the game. *
I’m sorry, love. You should care.
You should care because your villain is the reason we have a story at all. Your villain has dreams and aspirations beyond the story. You should care because a well-crafted villain is the difference between Twilight and City of Bones.
If anything, this helps you keep on track of who wants what and why, so you can write it into your story. I’ve repeated this a thousand times, I’m sure, but your hero’s main aim is to not beat the bad guy.
You should care about your villains because they are more than just someone to make trouble. Decent villains are the ones we understand, and this scares people because it makes them think how easy it is to become a villain.
As Heath Ledger said in The Dark Night, “Just one bad day.”
I hope you’ve learnt something from this ramble. If anything, here are the highlights:
Now, go forth and think about the implications of cliché villains.