Hello, writers. Tonight I want to talk about villains. And since this is a vast subject and my thoughts on it are only a tiny proportion of all there is to think, I hope you will talk about villains too.
When I think villains, three come into my mind immediately: Captain Hook, Voldemort, and Sauron.
Of these three, only one really works as a character: Captain Hook. You can easily rethink the story from Captain Hook’s point of view and have him be the hero. Voldemort and Sauron both fall into the “because he’s evil” trap. They lack motivation. Sauron in particular.
Now Gollum works as a villain. He’s got motivation up the wazoo.
Basically, a real, working villain (IMHO) thinks he’s the hero. If you asked him to explain why he does it, or why he would do it if only the hero didn’t keep getting in his way, his reason would quite possibly be something along the lines of “to save the world/my country/the innocent”—although it’s more likely to be merely “because I was wronged by a thief who stole my precious/an avatar of a Greek god who cut off my hand.”
There are plenty of examples from history and the headlines too—if the gunman happens to survive his rampage, and feels like telling us why he did it (and he always feels like it) the explanation is never “because I’m evil.” Often they seem really surprised at how unappreciated their act was.
So. Motivated villains. Villains who think they are the hero. Villains who could easily tell the story from their point of view and make themselves the hero. Mustache twirling optional.
A few other thoughts about villains:
• Don’t make your villain more likeable than the hero.
• Creepy is good.
• A fascination with something completely unvillainy is good. (For some reason collecting antique china is popular with villains.)
• Personally I love moral ambiguity, but YMMV.
Tonight’s challenge:
Remember the Jewel of Togwogmagog? Sure you do…
A callow youth (male or female) is the Chosen One who must obtain the sacred jewel of Togwogmagog in order to save the kingdom.
(If you’re new here, it’s fine to start the Togwogmagog story from scratch. All you need to know is in the horribly cliched summary sentence above.)
Okay. So the Callow Youth and his/her Stout Companion are approaching the castle where the Villain lurks. They believe the Jewel of Togwogmagog lies within. If they can just get the Jewel from him/her, they can save the realm. But enough about them.
From a window in a high tower, the Villain watches them approach. Give us his/her thoughts.
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