Interesting set of questions, and the usual answers to them are why I have written only a couple of villains and a lot of antagonists. (An antagonist is someone who opposes the desire of the hero, or protagonist
1. Most "villains" are not villainous. Very few people set out to "be evil", and nutbars (as you put it so eloquently) are not villainous. They can be antagonists, but true villainy requires much more -- it requires an entire worldview on the part of that person that goes against all the ethical and moral boundaries of the world you are writing about. (I am writing fantasy, so it is necessary to specify which World is in question.)
2. Show the affects of the actions of the villain on people other than the Hero. The easy way is the "oppressed peasantry". The better way, imho, is to draw the people who are affected by the villains actions by accident or by negligence. That the Evil Overlord killed a hundred troops who tried to take him down is not villainy -- it is self-defense. That he does not care that the wife of his chief minion is dying and tells him "get over it" is far more evil (imho). The feelings of violation of a person who was controlled but rescued by the Hero show the evil more than many things might.
3. Villain or antagonist -- They should have a childhood and youth beyond a single traumatic incident -- some sequence of events that twisted their character. There should be a feeling that if *someone* had just taken proper care, just once, the villain would be helping the Hero, not fighting him. (Does not apply to psycophathic serial killers in detective novels.) Oh, yes, and they should NOT, EVER, be named "Foul", "Dark*****", "Dread" or anything of the like unless there is a *really* good reason for it (like "Darkwood" is the family surname). (Partial answer to 4.)
4. I'm mostly going to skip 4 and go to 5. What really frosts me are *stupid* villains.
5. See above. The best villains are surrounded by competent bureaucrats who know that if a bitchen' babe in tight leather shows up at the front door she should be terminated at once, not shown to the boss's sanctum sanctorum. The basic answer is that a villain cannot operate successfully with bad help, but good help is so hard to find.
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timeasmymeasure
Villain? or Antagonist?
Date: 2008-03-29 06:35 am (UTC)1. Most "villains" are not villainous. Very few people set out to "be evil", and nutbars (as you put it so eloquently) are not villainous. They can be antagonists, but true villainy requires much more -- it requires an entire worldview on the part of that person that goes against all the ethical and moral boundaries of the world you are writing about. (I am writing fantasy, so it is necessary to specify which World is in question.)
2. Show the affects of the actions of the villain on people other than the Hero. The easy way is the "oppressed peasantry". The better way, imho, is to draw the people who are affected by the villains actions by accident or by negligence. That the Evil Overlord killed a hundred troops who tried to take him down is not villainy -- it is self-defense. That he does not care that the wife of his chief minion is dying and tells him "get over it" is far more evil (imho). The feelings of violation of a person who was controlled but rescued by the Hero show the evil more than many things might.
3. Villain or antagonist -- They should have a childhood and youth beyond a single traumatic incident -- some sequence of events that twisted their character. There should be a feeling that if *someone* had just taken proper care, just once, the villain would be helping the Hero, not fighting him. (Does not apply to psycophathic serial killers in detective novels.) Oh, yes, and they should NOT, EVER, be named "Foul", "Dark*****", "Dread" or anything of the like unless there is a *really* good reason for it (like "Darkwood" is the family surname). (Partial answer to 4.)
4. I'm mostly going to skip 4 and go to 5. What really frosts me are *stupid* villains.
5. See above. The best villains are surrounded by competent bureaucrats who know that if a bitchen' babe in tight leather shows up at the front door she should be terminated at once, not shown to the boss's sanctum sanctorum. The basic answer is that a villain cannot operate successfully with bad help, but good help is so hard to find.
skipping 6
7. Lord Foul (from Thomas Covenant series)