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| lit.genius.com |
Ahh, villians! Such royal pains in the keester and yet so vital
to the story. Even our own.
I’m mean, one can’t easily develop muscle without
resistance. So most often character is honed and forged through trials. You can
hardly have conflict in the plot if there isn’t an antagonist of some kind
throwing a wrench in the plan here and there.
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| playorphanage.blogspot.com |
And yet, villians come in all
shapes and forms. Sometimes your villain is as dark and creepy as your worst
nightmares. A murderer, a stalker, someone with a dangerous edge or volatile
temperament. Some have warts and slime and are easy to recognize for the toads
they are.
Other times it’s the devil in disguise. (Ever thought about
the term Handsome Devil?---deception and second guessing are keys.) A meddling
mother or a jealous best friend secretly unraveling things behind the scenes. A
boss, an ex, a bully. Ever been bullied? Boy, I have! And I’ve got to say those
people aren't generally inclined to leave you alone. They insinuate themselves into your story.
They pick at your insecurities, they taunt, cheat, lie, manipulate, slander
mercilessly. Sometimes we can see the devil in that villain without question.
Other times they are right under your nose and you don’t even know it! There
isn’t exactly a mold for what a villain should look like so how can you be sure
your pest pulls the right strings?
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| screencrush.com |
Here a three things to think about for creating an adequately BAD bad guy…
Impact…
Your villain must (MUST) impact the plot in some way. I’ve seen it happen… some flimsy little
antagonist is lurking in the shadows with a threat or some kind, making the
hero or heroine shake in their boots but ultimately, the villain doesn’t move
the story one iota. They are hardly a character. Evil is relentless. Bullys
bully. Make your words count. Sure, throw in a red herring here and there, use
subtly, be clever and intentional, but make an impact with each character that
has significance. Do it by tossing some surprise twists on the page. And be
sure your put your villain there as well. Trust me, those pages will be a
turnin’! It’s not enough to have your villain tucked away, bring him out to
play and let the games begin.
The willies…
Whether your reader knows who the villain is or not, there
should be a check (however small) in their gut when the villain waltzes onto
the page to dismantle a scene. How do you respond as a reader? It’s that little
curl of dread.
Oh, that pesky ex is annoying, sure, but what if they ruin it
all? That stab of fear plunges deep, what if it all falls apart with that one
vindictive strike? Or, what if that girl in the alley turns her back at just
the wrong moment and you know he’s waiting there…
The reader empathizes right
there at that anticipated encounter. The TENSION says it all. When that
antagonist walks in, you FEEL it on the fine hairs at your nape, the shiver
trips over your nerve endings, dread balls up in your stomach. You become the
hero or heroine right then. And all of your long buried bullys and demons resurrect in your mind. You shield yourself against the hurt that comes barreling
out of nowhere. You prepare to fight for the happy ending. Just like you had to
do in real life. (How awesome are stories, right?) The willies evoked in
sympathy put you in your characters shoes and you walk through the battle
because of what the enemy makes you feel.
The imagination is
a powerful thing. Be sure you utilize your senses on the pages so it can take
you places. And so your villain can adequately give your reader the willies.
The fall…
Whether there is vindication or forgiveness, a battle to the
death or turning the other cheek, the conflict has to peak and your villain should
be present in most cases. The climax has to pack a punch and what better way to
do that than to draw out your hero’s greatest fears or doubts. Shake them up!
Step into the villian’s shoes for a moment as a writer and do a little
tormenting yourself. Sadistic? Perhaps. But stories without the right tension
fall flat and lay limp on the shelf. And your villain is the puppeteer pulling
all the right strings.
So go on… get on with your bad self. Your story will be better for it because
let’s face it… villians are real and we face them every day. Suit up and battle
through your own story. The battle isn’t easily won but it’s absolutely worth
it.
Lets dish and do a bit of brainstorming: Tell me about your current villain?
What makes them effective in creating conflict in your story?
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Amy Leigh Simpson is the completely exhausted stay-at-home mama to the two wild-child, tow-headed boys, one pretty little princess baby, and the incredibly blessed wife of her hunky hubby.
She writes Romantic Suspense chalked full of grace that is equally inspiring, nail-biting, and hilarious. And a little saucy! Okay fine, a lot saucy. :) She is a member of ACFW, and now uses her Sports Medicine degree to patch up daily boo-boos. Her greatest ambitions are to create stories that inspire hope, raise up her children to be mighty warriors for Christ, invent an all-dessert diet that works, and make up for years of sleep deprivation.
Look for her debut novel due out this fall with WildBlue Press!
What a great post, Amy. How did you know I'm struggling with my villain in my WIP? Unfortunately, mine needs a lot of work, and I need him to be more sneaky. If you have tips for throwing red herrings into a story, I'd love to hear them. This is my first attempt at an outright villain. :)
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh, Villians!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy current villian in the WIP I'm finishing up is a CFO of a company. He's not a nice guy. I snarl at him regularly as I'm writing, and really would like to punch him.
He gets his due at the end.
It was my favorite part to write. :-)
Sneaky, huh, Jeanne? Do you write from his perspective? If you give me a short description of him and the central conflict I'd be happy to help you in making him Bad! ;) I love brainstorming the villain. So highly motivated and complex!
ReplyDeleteLol! I imagine getting rather violent with my villains too! Somehow that's a rather enjoyable exercise...not sure I wanna know what that says about me ;)
ReplyDeleteOkay, Amy. Here goes. My villain doesn't have a POV. Long story short, he framed another employee at the nonprofit organization to take the fall for his embezzling. Only I don't want it to be obvious until the end that he's the embezzler. My heroine is seeing inconsistencies in the records that eventually point to him. She doesn't like him and she's not sure why. My hero does like and trust him.
ReplyDeleteHe's in his 50's, a college graduate, and is trusted. Does this give you enough?
Fabulous, Jeanne! Okay, I've worked a similar scenario before where I wanted to throw the reader off -in my case the killer-but have him be actively involved in the investigation. Perfect to throw in slightly more obvious red herrings that cast the actual bad guy in a more appealing light... That way you keep your reader off balance. So first, maybe make him integral in encouraging her to find the embezzler. Then perhaps have him feed her doctored files so it might seem like he's helping when in reality he's controlling the information. Maybe she's still not comfortable sround him-still gets a funny vibe- but he couldn't possibly be the culprit if he's so insistent on catching the thief. Classic misdirection. Works wonders. Second, make sure you note her discomfort with this guy but do your best to explain it away. Maybe he reminds her of someone she knew and gravely mistrusted... Then she can rationalize that though she doesn't like him, maybe she's not being fair. This way you weave a web of suspicion and innocence all on one shot. This will keep you from tipping your hand too early. :) hope that gives you some good stuff to chew on! Can't wait to read it someday!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff here, Ames! Your advice for Jeanne is fabulous, too! My villain is of the charming variety - rich, articulate, romantic, but ultimately manipulative and ruthless at getting what he wants. I love how the tension crackles between him and my heroine when he walks onto a scene. He uses her deepest desires and fears to effectively control her life so she's effectively bound to a man she despises. And yet there's a substrata of uneasy attraction too, just to add complexity. Most fun character to write!!
ReplyDeleteWow Amy. This is powerful!
ReplyDeleteThe most important point you made, to me, was the villain can't be lurking. Get him/her out on the page and cause some t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
Yes....not I am compelled to rush to my story and see what arsenic I can spill on the page. (wink)
Holy moly, Karen! That guy sounds creeeeepy! Most excellent villainous traits too! ((Shiver)) are you dabbling with suspense, my dear? ;)
ReplyDeleteI just think they lurk too much, Mare... They make a much bigger splash when you throw them into the mix :) go get your BAD on! Xo
ReplyDelete"Evil is relentless. Bullys bully. Make your words count."
ReplyDeleteoh yes! Such a great reminder. And you write antagonists so well...and villains.
It's more fun that it should be, isn't it? I guess we all have a little bit of bad that needs a playgtound. Safest way is on paper :)
ReplyDelete