Make him real and believable and credible—even attractive in many ways. The more that apply, the more successful your novel is likely to be. Because the more worthy his opponent, the more heroic your hero will appear. Before you go, be sure to grab my character arc worksheet. Just tell me where to send it:. What Makes a Great Villain? Share Pin Share 8. Nothing makes your hero more heroic than a worthy opponent. Need help writing your novel? Click here to download my ultimate step guide.
Related Posts. Participating in NaNoWriMo ? Defining this will also ensure your villain appears determined and motivated in every scene of your story, as they have a clear purpose or goal. Your villain may also work more in the shadows or pull strings behind the scenes, moving one step ahead of your hero.
You may integrate their master plan into the larger story by having the hero discover clues of the plan, leading to the ultimate showdown between the hero and the villain. Build up to a showdown between the hero and the villain. A perfect villain requires the ultimate showdown between good and evil. Your story should have a plot outline that builds up to a face off where the villain and the hero battle in some way.
This should be the high point of conflict and tension in the story, where the villain finally unveils their true intentions to the hero. Or, your villain may set a trap that your hero must survive or a test that your hero must solve. Make sure the showdown is full of obstacles and difficulties created by the villain so the stakes are high for both the villain and the hero in your story. The story where the good guys die and the bad guys win always gets interest, so you could totally make the villain win.
Just make sure it fits the mood of your story. If you're writing a fairy tale, the "dragon" should probably be defeated at the end. Not Helpful 7 Helpful My story has 9 villains who are forced to help each other. How do I make there unlikely joining believable when they're all very different? You'll need to find a personal motivation for each to unite toward the common cause.
As long as each villain's motivation is consistent with his or her character and personality, it will be believable. Introducing conflict among the villains on the team may make it even more believable.
Not Helpful 4 Helpful Not Helpful 9 Helpful Evans Hale. Of course! Luke of Percy Jackson and the Olympian series is a teenager, for example.
Just make sure the villain has his or her reasons to turn bad, and give them some fatal flaws. Because they're a teenager, they might be prone to making a lot of mistakes due to inexperience. I am working on a story where my villain is only now emerging, and has no previous record of evil deeds. Will this be a problem?
Your villain doesn't even need to be evil. The only thing that separates them from being just another character is the fact that they oppose the protagonist. What if I want my villain to be an animal, like the Xenomorph from Alien or the Yautja from Predator? That's a bit trickier, since at least in those examples the villain can't communicate with the protagonist on any intelligible level. Because they're impossible to humanize unless you were to tell the story from their perspective, which would be one HECK of a cool read IMO , they become more like an "abstract concept," like the WikiHow mentioned.
If it's too obvious where it came from or what its abilities are, it becomes predictable and stops being scary. Not Helpful 5 Helpful Not Helpful 8 Helpful I want my villain's main motive to be revenge against wrongdoings done to him.
Is this a good motive? A motive like that humanizes your villain, makes him relatable, and gives him more complexity as a character. Not Helpful 6 Helpful Just make them funny instead of threatening and make sure they never win in the end. You can. You could have your villain realize that being evil won't get them anywhere in life and attempt to make amends with the protagonist s.
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 4. About This Article. Co-authored by:.
Co-authors: Updated: September 16, Categories: Creating Characters for Writing. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times. Reader Success Stories Anonymous Sep 13, This article gave me an idea as to how to create a perfect 3-dimensional villian. More reader stories Hide reader stories.
Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Anonymous Sep 13, Anonymous Jul 30, My story actually has a summary, below:. A perfectly anonymous criminal, notorious at the least, Daya Asan runs through the streets of San Francisco without so much a glance back.
She might pull off capers and street races and may not have been exposed in the act, but Asan is more than just a criminal…she has a reason, something that she is willing to fight to death for.
Elias is powerful and Daya is villainous and… oh…what a pair power and villainism makes. Shoot me? I pull the trigger. Let the consequences come, whatever they may be. Thank you for reading the blog and sharing this question. I just absolutely adored his traits and the mysterious evil aura about him, the extent of his power.
I want to create a villain something like that, but neither do I want to lift qualities straight out of him. Hi there, thank you for sharing your challenge. That sounds an interesting type of villain. For example, do they have close allies who share their agenda, or are they merely charismatic and able to intimidate or sway people?
Your email address will not be published. Close Menu Start Login. Start your Novel. Related Posts: What the best fantasy series teach us: 7 lessons 5 mystery elements for intrigue in any genre Main antagonists: How to write real opponents.
Tags character writing , how to create a villain , how to write character , villain description examples. I love that, Tammy. Shades of Pratchett. Now i want to read that ovelord book. My story actually has a summary, below: A perfectly anonymous criminal, notorious at the least, Daya Asan runs through the streets of San Francisco without so much a glance back.
Hi Tp, Thank you for reading the blog and sharing this question.
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