Mastering the Art of Crafting a Villain: A Guide for Writers
Who do you think completes a story?
Is it a hero or villain?
…Both of them.
A writer must focus on the villain as much as they do on the protagonist because it will allow your story to become more than just a story.
The world-building of a fiction story requires a writer to deeply consider the role of every character. No character can act just for the sake of it, which only makes a story seem stupid and makes people feel estranged from it.
Remember that best fiction stories are the best because they are more relatable and realistic.
What is a Villain in True Essence
A villain moves the story ahead, and many twists and turns are related to them, which makes the story worthwhile to watch.
Villains harm others to reach their goal quickly and those actions that villains do for their own good make us readers more engaged and interested in the story.
But, remember those times are gone when villains existed only for the destruction of the world or for the sake of killing. Now, they must have a reasonable goal that is exaggerated yet believable.
Have a proper goal or ambition in mind.
The ambition or goal of a villain becomes the reason for his every action and plan that can impact the story. That’s why a goal or ambition that suits the personality, actions, characteristics, and attitude of the villain is a must-have.
It makes the audience better understand and connect with the villain.
But remember, you can’t just give an unreasonable goal to your villain out of nowhere and with no reason. So, where does the goal or ambition of any character, whether villain, hero or even side character come from? It’s the backstory and only an In-depth character has a well-thought-out backstory.
Being Cunning
Remember no one likes an idiot for a villain. The hero can be naïve or an idiot but the villain can’t be because if both are idiots then there is no reason to watch a meaningless story (of course you can use them if you have a story or plot that needs such characters or your story might be focused on the plot).
A cunning villain can take the story to a whole new level by adding depth beyond mere fights, introducing an element of mystery to every action.
It can also surprise viewers as they have to guess and use their brains to figure out what’s coming. This increases people’s anticipation of what’s going to happen next.
Formidable capabilities
Remember, no cunning mind is useful against absolute strength and even the most cunning plan needs the capabilities to execute them. That’s why the villain must be strong enough to execute the plot that can eventually even change the course of the story.
The formidable capabilities refer to not just strength but also the connections and the following of the villain that makes his actions and decisions far-reaching. This way his presence can be known throughout the story with his followers.
But it’s also important to not just make the Villain impossibly strong and then make him lose against the hero time after time. This type of idiotic and nonsense plot is long gone so make the villain just reasonably strong.
And who said the villain must be the strongest from the start and can’t continue growing like the hero?
The character should be in-depth.
The villain’s character must be in-depth so that his personality, attitude, and actions fall in line and make his character seem complete.
If you haven’t given a proper shape to your villain’s character then with the story his actions won’t be in line with his personality and characteristics that you have built since starting.
The easiest way to make any character In-depth is to think of him as a real person and then think about yourself and add everything that makes you a person like an attitude, memories, childhood, parents, likes and dislikes, etc…. these characteristics will define the Villain like nothing else and make him no less of a human than us.
The backstory must be there.
What shapes the personalities of us humans is our childhood and life experiences and that’s what a backstory is for any character. It’s nothing but the childhood memories and experiences of the villain that he faced before the start of the story.
All the characteristics mentioned above can be explained with the help of a backstory. The backstory serves as the justification for any extreme actions or thoughts of your villain. These backstories will inform the readers about why the villain behaves the way he does.
Of course, you don’t have to tell the backstory at once and can use them as tools for enhancing the narrative of your story.
Play with morality
A good way to use your backstory is to play with morality and make your Villain in the shade of grey rather than completely black. This will add another psychological element to your story that’s complex yet fun and exciting to see.
When I say a villain in the shade of grey, it means a villain is either on the journey of revenge or a quest to stand at the top of the world. It’s important to note that villains can also endure personal tragedies, just like heroes do.
The villain’s past tragedy will string a cord in the hearts of viewers and evoke sympathy and understanding of his actions.
This can also be used in the case of the Antihero because there is a fine line between the Villain and the Antihero. And their actions are also similar to an extent, unlike the protagonist who grows up to be something else after the tragedy or such backstory.
A cunning villain can introduce a new dimension to your story, allowing you to truly put your creativity to use and incorporate plot twists that truly astonish the reader and yet keep it believable.
Charisma and Presence
Charisma and Presence are much-needed qualities for a Villain that make it well-liked among viewers.
In this context, charisma does not refer to the villain’s physical attractiveness, but rather to his personality, attitude, and the way he handles situations.
Presence refers to his confidence and his ability to stand out, even among many characters. The villain must possess qualities that make him distinct from others.
It’s important to note that many people, especially girls, are attracted to individuals with confident, badass personalities. Villains often possess the traits to complement this image, unlike heroes who are naive and kind, often labeled as “simp”.
Evolution and Growth
Make your story more interesting by allowing the villain to change and develop as the story unfolds.
This change should not only be about the villain’s physical strength, cleverness, or planning abilities; it should also involve their personality, thoughts, interactions with others, and overall traits.
The villain’s development is important as it creates many possibilities and enriches the story’s potential.
This will make the story more engaging and increase anticipation among the audience, sparking discussions about who is currently more powerful between the protagonist and the villain, what new abilities the villain may gain, and more.
Making it realistic
It’s important that your audience can relate to your story and for that, you have to add realistic elements.
You can make the plots fictional yet relatable and to do that you should know where is the limit to your fictional creativity so that it doesn’t go off the charts.
You don’t have to do anything special just try to think of every character as a real person and then accordingly his every action and the reasoning behind it. Just this can make your story so much more relatable and realistic.
But it’s not as easy as said because for every character to feel real you have to focus on the tiniest details like his reaction to anything, his way of thinking, the reasoning of his thinking, and more.
Having flaws and vulnerabilities
One effective way to make your story relatable is by giving your characters flaws. Everyone has some kind of flaw, and that’s why people connect with such characters.
It’s best to show these flaws in the main characters and important side characters, rather than making every character flawed just to make the story more relatable.
Not for this section, but you can also use these flaws as anchor points for the growth of your characters.
Villains are not just characters that the hero will eventually defeat but are the driving force behind the popularity and success of the story. Heroes may be forgotten, but a well-crafted villain, layered, unique, and unforgettable, will live on in the minds of readers long after the final page.
