Everyone loves bad guys.
But how do we make sure our villain isn’t a mustache twirling sadist, who is bad only because he does bad things.
The more readers can understand the bad guy’s motives, the more layered the experience of the story.
If you remember one thing: the villain sees himself as the hero. The villain has reasons for what he or she does. Part of your main character’s journey is learning who her foe is and why she must face him down.
In Starside Saga, there have been several “big bads.” The Hargothe claimed to only seek Til’s glorification, though it was clear that he was powermad. “All things are permitted in the service of Til.”
Dunne Yples went mad because he witnessed Kila burning up a village of people. He was sure she was a prophecied destroyer of the world and had to be killed at all costs.
Yiothizandra is a demayne of Night, trapped in Kila’s world against her will. She has contempt for humans, and wishes only to be free (she’s the real victim here, you see), even if it requires killing everyone alive.
As the saga continues Kila faces the Revulsion, the ultimate force of destruction. It is pure suffering and wishes to bring about the End of All Things, including itself.
Bad guys are powerful. That makes them worth fighting. But they also have understandable reasons, even if we think they are insane. In fact, the more compelling (dare I say convincing) we make the villain’s rationale, the more frightening he is.
The beauty is that every writer contains multitudes. We all have a shadow side where our bad guys dwell and plot mayhem. One of the great pleasures of writing fiction is unleashing that aspect of our nature on the page.
Your bad guys may be murderers, or mistresses, or even opposing ladies in a fundraising competiton for the church. She can be the rich woman who outbids your hero on ebay for a family heirloom, or a guy who smashes mailboxes. It all depends on the scope of your story.
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