Strengthen Your Villain

Darcy Pattison — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:37:37 +0000

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Villains to Remember

Your villain can be strengthened in several ways. Wait. Do you HAVE a villain, don’t you?

Do you need a villain?

One question I often hear is, “Do I really need an antagonist/villain” Usually, these writers have the main character struggling against something like a storm, or an evil empire, or something more abstract. In these cases, no, you don’t have to have a villain; but if you can embody the evil from that abstract opposition in a character, you’ll have a stronger story.

Create a single storm or give the reader a military general to hate (think Darth Vader). Your story will be stronger with a strong antagonist, because it will focus the main character’s efforts. Let’s assume you have a good villain and in the next revision you want to strengthen your villain. In general, you’ll want to look at what you’ve already done and push it to a more intense level. Because villains are a different sort of character, there are some cliches that work when creating them. But be sure to work against these cliches and make your villain fresh and interesting.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE–Two options

1. UGLY Their ugliness outside mirrors their evil inner nature.

dirty–hands, clothes
eyes–pale, blue, cadaverous, sinister, stone cold, blazing, uncanny, narrow, oblique, filminess, sharp, strange, awful, flaming with passion, keen, piercing, dark, bold, brilliant, black
rank breath
voice–sharp, cruel, think, harsh, often breaks into falsetto
deformed in some way–hunchback, missing leg (Long John Silver), scars
fleshy or fat from over-indulgence of fleshly lusts
hands–short stocky fingers, fat/fleshy, large, white, ruthless, sharp nails, hair on palms
facial hair–queer whiskers, cruel mustache
bony
skin–sallow, sunburned almost black
physically strong–strong, but not intelligent
laugh–hyena-like, laughs at odd times

2. BEAUTIFUL Their outside contrasts with inner evil nature

movements–graceful, catlike
intelligent–a worthy foe
sexy
hero-like, often tries to imitate a hero, a king, a warrior of old, etc.
voice–melodious, husky, sexy
hair–thick, beautiful, long
clothes & accessories–splendidly horsed, impeccable taste in clothes,dashing appearance

CHARACTER QUALITIES

These are some character qualities to consider as you define your villain.

All villains must enjoy their villainy.
Cruel.
established by reputation of past crimes/past corpses
puts others in position to fail, then punishes when they do fail
revenge
no mercy
Treacherous–no loyalty. Insinuates into positions of trust, then betrays.
Cunning, sly, conniving
Bully–physical and mental abuse
Childhood–unstable, frustrated, unhappy, reform school
Charisma–mesmerizes the weak (often female)
Ruthless–gets own way regardless of what it takes
Frustrated ambitions
Shrewd business-like sense
Foul language

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

Often foreigners or different ethnic group. (Not politically correct these days, of course, but still often done.)
Often wears black. (Another politically-incorrect notion, but color can be useful in designating groups. Could also use some other visual tag, for example, gang signs, tattoos, etc..)
Tools/House–Often these are sinister. In other words, make the setting echo their villainy.
How is this character larger-than-life? What does s/he do, say, think that would totally shock even themselves?

MOTIVATIONS

Deepen your character’s motivations and emotions by considering these.

Give the villain an inner conflict. What do they most want? What’s the opposite of that? How could the character want both at the same time?
Raise the stakes. Even villains can have the stakes raised! What could happen that would make the villain’s goal matter even more?
Have you plotted the villain?s character arc? Usually, the villain’s character arc ends in tragedy (s/he is defeated!). Do you show-don’t-tell your villain?s emotions at the climax?

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