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?
That's something I never have a problem with - my human 'villain'.
I sometimes have a problem trying to write my 'hero' - so to speak, my main protagonist, my good guy/girl. I seem to understand the mind of my villain more so than my hero, especially in the latest piece I'm writing. He just seems to seep from my mind as naturally as breathing.
Sometimes, though, I have a problem making my characters consistent, sometimes they seem to end up split personality and I have to delete whole chunks of work because I reread it and think "He/She would never say/do that. Ever."
Yes, writing a piece from the perspective of the baddy really does help - including the self-justification.
Perhaps the whole thing about creating depth in any character is to be able to see where they are coming from...
That might be useful for the author - but it may be necessary to keep that out of the main story - it could mislead or distract the reader. We might need to know how and why someone is obnoxious - but the reader doesn't always need to know.
Perhaps if we look at detective novels - the discovery of motive is usually salient - but it has to be in the appropriate place.
David
I have a similar problem - probably rooted in my belief that pure, sapient evil is incredibly rare. Most villains would call themselves heroes, or at the most "misunderstood".
In an attempt to get over the "nice-guy baddie" problem, I embraced it and gave myself fifteen minutes of free-writing to let the villain justify himself. It flowed like whine! He droned on about how unfair life was, and how everyone was out to get him and he deserved to be treated better. Then he explained that his nasty plot to betray his new friends was all part of the greater good, and valuable service he was performing for the good of the People, who would reward him once they understood what he had done.
I ended up with a villain who was still thoroughly unlikeable and vicious. In fact, I disliked him more after his self-righteous tirade. However, he no longer felt one-dimensional to me. I could get to know him, just like I do my heroes, and write him as a fully-rounded, thoroughly unpleasant little snot.