Does anybody else have trouble writing a really nasty, dyed-in-the-wool-evil villain?
I ask because, much as I try to write a very nasty villain, I do find it one of the hardest tasks in all of my stories. Not only because I find it a challenge to invent and write a really odious human character, but also because at the same time I need to show that they are not all bad, no matter how they may have behaved in the narrative.
Yet I never have any problems writing an utterly revolting mythical creature. Only human villains. Has anybody else encountered this block (almost self censoring, now that I come to think of it) and do you have any tips for breaking through it?
Hi all,
Thanks for your replies to this question, they are much appreciated.
Victoria, I like your advice. It got me thinking about the hero of the story. It's a very good tip.
Adrian, I must admit I had not thought to do this for the villain in huge detail. I think I will give it a go and see if it is something that works for me. Thanks.
Kathryn, I think I share your view that complete evil is very rare and that most villains would probably regard themselves as heroes if viewed from another perspective. This is what makes my present villain particularly complicated. He thinks that he is fighting a just war, when in fact it is nothing short of magical terrorism. I think I will try the free-writing technique on him that you describe and see what he has to say for himself.
Deborah, I like your point regarding thinking about my own beliefs of why people act badly. I shall certainly be giving that some more detailed thought.
Fundamentally, I think you have to know why your character acts badly. And to know that, you need to have imagined them thoroughly. So you need to go through their childhood and adolescence, you need to feel the influences acting upon them, you need to imagine the options that were open (or closed) to them, you need to work your way through the choices they made, and the repercussions of those choices.
Think about your own beliefs of why people act badly. Whatever you write has to be based on what you believe or it won’t ring true. What circumstances do you think would shape a person to grow up and behave in a way that seems ‘evil’? Can you imagine a sequence of childhood experiences that would cause someone to have a stunted emotional development, and/or to be carrying a simmering pain that can overflow as violence? What do they get from the violence – what are they expressing in the violence (ie if you imagine that the violence is somehow symbolic of a response to what they experienced as a child)? How do they feel after the violent act? They probably don’t feel satisfied, because it hasn’t resolved the original problem – perhaps it’s even compounded how low they’ve sunk. What experiences would it take for that person to ‘unlearn’ their core beliefs and to be redeemed?
I know this is more questions than answers, and I’m not sure if it’s at all clear! Hope it’s something to think about though.
Megan, if you know the function of your characters and what definers them from each other, then it will enable you to stay in character, and save you having to cut superfluous chunks of text. However, there may be a rare occasion when a dramatic event requires a character, to act out of character.
I like your last sentence. I fell into that trap.