Lately, I’ve been working on a book
with a couple of villains, it’s challenged me to work out how to make them
believable and unearth their motives. At this point, there’s one that doesn’t
change their ways but the other one does when they learn that they are their
own worst enemy. This is the character that has me intrigued. I’m even considering
the idea of giving them their own book.
The most outstanding facet of a
villain’s character is their disconnect from empathy for others. They lack the
ability to validate someone else needs, particularly when it is competing with
their plots and plans. As this is fairly abhorrent but if there is a human side
to them, I find I can be a bit sympathetic.
I can feel a bit sorry when a villain
just doesn’t get that caring about others is actually a way to feel really good
about yourself. Instead villains chase after self-esteem or approval through underhanded
methods that never deliver a real sense of achievement and pride in
themselves. But they don’t know any different so they keep making the same
mistakes.
When a villain has an epiphany and
starts to change, I can feel for them. The bully who learned his behavior from
a bullying father evokes sympathy. Of course, it doesn’t excuse the behavior but if I understand it I can connect with
the villain. But in the case where there seems to be no human motive, I find
nothing to connect me to the character and I cannot feel any sympathy, I’m
hoping like anything they get taken down.
In the movie called No Country For Old Men, there
are villains galore. I can sympathize
with all but one. This killer has absolutely no ability to connect with others.
Nothing gets in the way of his job, innocent people are blown away if they are
in the wrong place at the wrong time. This guy doesn’t get my sympathy at all.
He doesn’t display any humanity and keeps going like a robot or machine.
Perhaps a villain has been born
without the ability to empathize or was so mistreated in childhood that they
lost it or didn’t get to develop it. I want them to grow, I want them to find
it somehow. In a movie called Hit Man, the villain is raised in an orphanage
that raises contract killers. The lead character’s humanity is stripped from
him, not even having a name, just called by a number. But he falls in love. He
knows he’s ill-equipped to have a proper relationship with her but he uses all
his ability to keep her safe. , He turns from a villain into a hero because he
loves her.
In the story, I’m currently working on,
I have to think about why the villains are uncaring and hurtful. Power is one
of the key desires of villains. One of them feels power is his right and uses
it selfishly. The other feels powerless and bands with the other to gain it. I
want them to redeem themselves and discover that they have had it all wrong and
become careful and caring people because this is the kind of villain I love,
but only one of them will, the other is too entrenched in his view of how the
world works.
A villain that doesn’t care about
anyone but themselves and keeps being a full-on villain no matter what the
reason is one I can’t wait to see brought down. It’s not easy to admit you’re wrong and accept
responsibility for your mistakes. I can admire someone who does. Jamie from Game of Thrones started out an
entitled, selfish, killer. Through falling in love with a woman who modeled a virtuous life he came to see his
faults and endeavored to be a better person. A villain who tries to do the
right thing even though they fail will be one I can love.
Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, contemporary romance.
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5 comments:
Dora, thanks for a thoughtful post. I do agree that the need/desire for power over others is one of the key aspects of a villain.
I can't relate to villains who have no reason for the bad things they do, either. They are two-dimensional characters. You are right that motivation is key, and motivation is rooted in backstory.
One way to write villains is to give them the same fatal flaw as the hero. The hero grows and changes, overcomes his/her flaw. The villain doesn't. In the end, that is why he/she is defeated.
Great post, Dora!
I have a friend who loves to write the anti-hero. The one who is flawed by upbringing or other circumstances, but finally learns that s/he has some good qualities and needs to value them, and work on empowering himself to see that good side of himself (or herself).
Interesting dilemma you've posed where one villain learns and becomes better and the other does not. When that is the case, I think it is harder to make that clear.
It is easy to make a villain from horrific circumstances such as physical abuse or neglect. It is harder to make a villain from what some people consider "average" circumstances. A parent they could never please. A former lover who left them. The latter are ones I enjoy reading even more because they are more relatable but continue to make poor choices.
Of course, in romance we often see the "bad boy" saved by the love of a "good girl." When both the hero/heroine have bad and good sides it makes it that much more interesting to me. Playing with the characteristics of the hero/heroine and their own failings being the same as the villains also creates a great juxtaposition of conscious choices and overcoming fear, anger, or ones past.
Good luck as you work this out for your next book.
I'm very late getting to the comments of last month's blog. But I really appreciate everyone's comments and find them super helpful. Thanks so much.
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