A good villain will set your story apart.
Some villains seem to be cardboard cutouts. Evil-doers, doing evil things, for the sole sake of being evil. On the other hand, some iconic villains are so fantastically good at being bad that the audience loves to hate them.
So let’s make your story stand out and learn what makes some villains so compelling, and why some fall flat.
Continue reading or watch the video below.
1. Your Villain Should Think They’re the Hero
Villains should be evil—they are malicious—they are antagonistic, but above all, I think a good villain is just trying to be the hero of their own story.
Look at the Joker. I think he’s an excellent villain not because he sees legitimate problems in society and tries to fix them. I don’t think he gives a crap about society. But he also isn’t being evil for the sole sake of being evil.
He’s evil, sure—he’s malicious—and he’s entertaining. But he doesn’t see himself as a villain. Rather, he’s an agent of chaos set on proving that everyone is as corruptible as himself.
So when you’re writing your next villain, get in their headspace and let them do evil things without letting them think of themselves as evil.
2. Give Your Villain Some Relatable Traits
Let’s contrast the Joker to one of my favorite examples of a flat villain. I don’t think Voldemort is that great of a villain. He’s really just a guy that’s evil for no clear reason.
In fact, I think it’s far more common that people hate Dolores Umbridge more.
Now, hate for a villain isn’t a clear measuring stick for how good a villain is, but I think it should count for something, right?
I think there are two specific reasons why Umbridge is a better villain than Voldemort.
The biggest reason why Umbridge is a better villain is her relatability.
I’m not saying that everyone relates to her directly, but there are aspects to her that I think we all recognize in people around us.
We all know someone who thinks they are above everyone else. We all know someone who abuses their power, whether that be your boss or your middle school English teacher. It doesn’t matter. It’s something we can all relate to.
So when you’re writing your villains, try to make them relatable in some way, and a good way to do that is to give them traits that are pretty universally hated.
3. Give Your Villain a Purpose
The second reason why Umbridge is a much more effective villain is because she has a purpose.
You know fairly quickly that she’s there as a Ministry shill. You know fairly quickly that she’s going to do unspeakable things to make her boss feel better about his denial that the real villain of the wizarding world has returned.
Purpose in her actions is the first thing that sets her apart.
Whereas when I think about Voldemort, I can’t really come up with a clear explanation for his trying to conquer the world.
So when you’re writing your villains, give them a clear purpose, and it helps if you give them a reason for that purpose.
4. Remember That Every Villain Is an Antagonist, But Not Every Antagonist Is a Villain
When writing villains, it’s important to realize that every villain is an antagonist, but not every antagonist is a villain.
A good villain should want things that are antithetical to what your protagonist wants.
But not only should they want—they should act.
Sometimes I think that writers take a classical supervillain view on villains where they sit in their evil lair waiting for the hero to show up so they can spring their trap.
I think that true villains should pursue their goals, and not necessarily wait to trap the hero. Instead, they bring the trap to the hero.
5. Make Your Villain Drive the Plot Forward
I just finished the first arc of a series called the Riftwar Saga. I highly recommend this series and will be making some videos about it in the future.
The series is over 40 years old, but despite its age, I was extremely impressed with the villains.
In the first two books, there isn’t a true villain, but there is a huge antagonist in an invading outer planetary race. In books two and three, though, there is a clear villain called Murmandamus.
Even the name reeks of villainy.
Murmandamus is a great villain because he drives the whole plot forward. He’s doing things that cause direct action needed from the protagonists of the story.
When you’re writing your villains, give them something to do. Give them goals, ambitions that are antithetical to what your protagonists want, and then make them act on their goals.
This will cause fantastic conflict for your story, and will push your plot forward because it forces your characters to make decisions.
6. Use Small Actions to Convey Evil
I think a more fun aspect to villainy is that villains don’t actually always have to be doing some big evil thing.
They don’t always have to make giant gestures.
Evil is often conveyed better through small actions.
Let’s look at Umbridge again. I think her evil is conveyed in the way she disciplines her students, which I think is a bit of a grander gesture.
But what about the way she dresses? What about the color of her office? What about the fact that she’s a woman and women are generally seen as kind and loving—nurturers?
She’s a purposeful character with traits that are normally antithetical to evil, which makes her that much more despicable.
It’s a subtle thing, but if you can use small traits to convey evil, or despicable behavior, I think you should do that for your villains.
7. Give Your Villain Some Charisma
Now, I don’t think it’s a common mistake, but it’s one that happens often enough that I feel it should be addressed.
Maybe this is a personal preference, but I don’t really like it when a villain doesn’t have any charisma.
I get that villains are typically outsiders—lone wolves seeking their own path—but do they have to be flat and unlikable?
I think villains should have some sort of magnetism about them.
A reader should be able to see why they have followers, or see how they were able to convince people to their side.
If their cadre is small, the how behind it should be understandable.
8. Raise the Stakes for Your Protagonist
Let’s talk about stakes.
A good villain raises the stakes for the protagonist.
Often they target something, or someone, that is important to the protagonist. They make the protagonist feel like it’s personal—sometimes it is, but other times it’s just business for the villain.
It doesn’t really matter why as long as the stakes are raised in some way for the protagonist.
When you write your villains, ask yourself how you can raise the stakes for your protagonist.
9. Give Your Villain a Valid Grievance
Often when villains are doing their thing, their actions can be explained by a valid grievance that they have.
Voldemort was an abandoned orphan—the Joker turned evil due to psychological breakdown and a hard life.
Murmandamus, well, there is a huge twist with him that I’d rather not spoil, but there is a valid grievance there!
A valid grievance could also be something societal that the villain is trying to fix, even if they are going about it wrong.
When writing your villains, make their grievance valid by having a logical chain of events that leads to their being evil.
And if you don’t want to give a backstory for your villain, then at the very least, their actions need to make sense.
10. Challenge Your Protagonist’s Beliefs
This next point isn’t essential for a villain, but it can be a fun way to give them some depth and add a little gumption.
If your villain can directly challenge your protagonist’s personal beliefs, it’s a fun way to antagonize.
I know I’ve used the example a lot already, but once again, I think the Joker is a great example of this.
Batman has a personal code of conduct. He won’t kill anyone, but there are a few times where you as the audience can tell that Batman thinks it’d be easier to just kill him.
To catch the Joker, Batman uses highly immoral means to spy on everyone in the city.
This is how the Joker challenged his belief.
11. Give Your Villain a Moral Code
Talking about Batman and his moral code gives me another fun idea to give your villain depth.
What if you gave your villain a moral code of some kind?
It would be a twisted code—they’re a villain after all—but a moral code nonetheless.
The Joker is an agent of chaos.
Sauron’s code is one of power.
Magneto fights for mutant survival and supremacy.
Thanos is trying to bring balance to the universe and operates with absolute certainty that he’s correct.
Villains with moral codes are entertaining.
Try giving your villain a moral code.
A Villain Is Only as Good as They Are Effective
My final point is this: a villain is only as good as they are effective.
If your villain doesn’t have any successes in the story, then you don’t have a villain, you have a Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
You have someone who is trying to be evil, but is so ineffective that they aren’t scary, and don’t really fulfill the purpose of a villain.
A good villain should make things harder for your protagonist. They should pursue their goals, create conflict, raise the stakes, and force your protagonist to make difficult decisions.
If you can do that, you’ll have a villain who does more than simply stand in the way of your hero.
You’ll have a villain who actually makes your story better.
If you enjoyed this article, check out the video where I go into these ideas in more detail. And if you have a favorite villain, let me know in the comments.
