okay so, dear authors is a series that
I've been doing for a minute. If you are not familiar with it, I have a playlist
up there and down in the description if you want to watch more of these videos.
But essentially this started with me just asking my subscribers, which is a
bunch of readers, asking what do you like, what are you not like in specific topics
of books and then we all come together and we just chat as readers about what
we enjoy and what we don't. Also, I mentioned in my last dear authors video
that I do critique work and that surprisingly generated a lot of interest,
apparently I don't talk about the work I do enough. So hey, I do critique work. If
you're interested, check out my link my website linked in the description. So
this time our topic is villains. I posted a community tab asking my subscribers
what you love and hate in villains, I want to see what people think. Top-rated
comment, or top like to comment: I hate when the villain who has been described
to be clever just starts explaining their evil plan to the hero instead of
just killing them the evil plan should be revealed in a more natural way that
doesn't make the villain look like an idiot.
Villainous monologue, we all hate it. The villainous monologue is probably really
hard to avoid because making things organic as opposed to info dumping it's
just naturally - it's got to be more difficult. But it does likein back to
old cartoons and stuff like that, when you see the villain just monologuing for
a really long time and then the main character thinks internally in their
head "I've got to keep him talking, because then maybe I might could escape"
and so he says "but how did you do it, oh great villain?" and the villain twirls
his mustache and he says "haha let me tell you" It is so cheesy and then of
course as the villain is monologuing some deus ex machina comes in to
distract the villain, help defeat the villain, whatever. Or the main character
just happens to untie their ropes at that time, you know what I'm talking
about. Like I'm being really generic but this is stuff that I still read
sometimes. The villainous monologue, thankfully I don't read it as much but
it is really bad. It's much much better to have it revealed
organically either through some side characters or just through watching
things unfold, seeing the character come across the evil plan, some - it's just -
there's organic ways to do things and there's info-dump, cheesy ways to do
things. And I think we all know which one's
better. I always hate when villains are evil just for the sake of being evil the
best villains are those who have real motivation and you could almost feel
like they make sense we all knew we shouldn't be rooting for Thanos and yet
we know he has a point when he says we can't keep going as we do we know
grinned well is evil murdering toddlers and whatnot but you also can't help
agreeing that forcing Wizards to hide makes people unhappy the best villains
are those which are slightly gray instead of just pure maniacal. I have
read several books recently where the evil guy is just plain evil. He's bad
because he's bad because the author told him to be bad. Or she. Either way, when the
villain doesn't have any layers or any motivation other than "I want to take
over the world!" it's just not interesting. I love an evil villain that has a reason
for why they believe in their cause, for what they're doing. Not because they're
trying to take over, not because they're bad and they like killing people, not
because they have a grudge against the main character - unless it's a layered
grudge - but because they actually believe that what they're doing is best. They
actually think that the world would be better if things went according to their
plans. Or like they have a real reason and when you get the villains reason you
think, huh they've got a point, but you're still wrong, but I get it. And then
suddenly they're compelling, they're layered, they feel like real people
instead of just feeling like a mustache twirling villain. I hate when the villain
is off-screen for most of the book ,I want to really get to know the villain
preferably through their actions and through their interactions with a
protagonist. Also it's OK for a villain to be outright full-on evil not everyone
actually is the hero of their own story and the villain being pure evil doesn't
automatically make your story less mature.
Lots of villains who would be best described as pure evil but are still
complex interesting characters. An interesting take and basically the
opposite of the take that we just had. I can't- I guess if you still make them
complex and layered then I can see where you're coming from, but I honestly
disagree. I think even the most evil people have reason, rationale and
motivation and even if we disagree with it, being evil just for being evil - being
evil just because you like being bad isn't - I just don't think it's good
enough. I think that's interesting though, I haven't actually heard that opinion
very often. I almost exclusively hear people saying evil for the sake of evil
is bad. But I do agree with you on the off-screen comment, we all know the books
where the bad guy is off screen for the entirety of the book until the very end
where there's this big dynamic fight and the hero comes out the hero because of
course he does. It's certainly not a compelling villain story and it doesn't -
it doesn't make the stakes high, because we're not intimidated by this villain,
because who are they? And it doesn't make the villain
interesting. So is it good? No. I'm gonna go off the comments for a minute
and mention something that I really like because I'm not sure if anybody will
mention it since we're talking about villains, it makes it seem like we're
talking about the hero versus the villain kind of dichotomy. But I really
really like books where really there's not necessarily a good - a good guy.
Everybody in the book is some layer of bad, but you find yourself rooting for
and connecting with certain ones. The Lies of Locke Lamora is a great example
of that we're following the bad guys, we're following people that are thieving
and conniving and killing but also, so is everybody else in the world. There's
really no one good to root for so you root for the bad guys. The first law is
another example of that, there's really nobody - there's hardly anybody in these
books that are good people. We're following a bunch of bad people,
but we love them. I hope you love them. I love them. I love villains who are
threatening but who still have redeeming qualities about them.
I don't need every villain to redeem themselves in the end but they shouldn't
be completely evil unless they're a demon, then it's acceptable. What else
makes a great villain is when they genuinely believe that what they're
doing is justified instead of just being evil for
the sake of it. What I hate is villain talk ,when the character just blurts out
cliche language like "come out come out wherever you are"
or "it was I all along" villains should be characters with their own personalities,
traits, strengths, weaknesses and backstories. Yeah it really just comes
down to make your villain a real person. You want your main character to be a
real person, right? You don't want them to just be copy and paste - the main
character that people say "oh but the author just meant for the readers to
insert themselves in the main c -" they didn't. The author just wrote a bad main
character. It's the same thing with villains, when you make them personality - less, that's boring. Nobody likes that. Well, some people - I don't like it. But
yeah, pretty much probably - I'm gonna go ahead and guess that pretty much this
entire video is going to be full of people saying, give villains complex
personalities just as much as every other character in your novel. The best
books are the ones where I walk away thinking I just interacted with real
people and those people stick with me and I feel like I've learned from them
or I've gone through life with them. Because they feel so tangibly real.
Villains are not the exception. Build them up, make them real, give them
character traits personality traits, give them motivation, give them weaknesses as
well as strengths. Don't just make them maniacally laugh until someone shoots
them in the back and then they fall dramatically into the pit, you know what
I mean. Like just the big villain that's mentioned throughout the book, people
cowering at the name, and then when they're finally introduced in this story,
they're dealt with in one chapter. Hate. That also - again going off of the
comments - a villain, the character villain, doesn't actually have to be a villain. We
can just deal with a bunch of different antagonists, people that are opposing our
our main character, but they're not necessarily the big bad evil in the
world. It's just, some people are an antagonist. I absolutely love a twist
villain, especially when it's done well. Example the hero's best friend who has
been on this journey with them, who the hero thinks can trust but they find out
that the best friend was the one working against them all along. Or a member of
the group is the villain. I can't think of too many books or TV
shows that do this really well, but when it's done well and it rips your heart
out or shocks you, just like the heroes. it's awesome. Man, you're right. I didn't
even think about that one. A really obvious example and this, is not a
spoiler because it happens in the very beginning of the book, is The Count of
Monte Cristo. The antagonist of this book is a friend to out the person that we're
following. Coincidentally, the person that we're following is very complex, and
not strictly a hero. But I can they give a couple of examples that would of
course be a spoiler to talk about, but you're right, that really is very
rewarding and satisfying when - especially when you're shocked with the character.
You don't see the villainous chapters, so we're ahead of the character, but we
actually are with the character and then when we find out that we've been stabbed
in the back by our friend... man, that is good stuff. I don't read that very often.
Somebody write that book. It's been written before, somebody write that book.
I need to read more of those. Man, comment of the day. Winner. I like a
villain that stays a villain, not everyone deserves a Redemption arc,
especially because a lot of times the redemption is just, they did one good
thing before they die and that's just no. I agree, I very rarely enjoy a Redemption
arc for a bad guy. Stormlight Archive is an example where it's done really well,
but we see it over time and it's done - it's done well there. However, usually I
agree with you. When a villain gets a Redemption arc, I know that there's a
really good one in Avatar and I'm gonna start watching avatar soon I promise, and
I'm gonna make videos about it I'm excited. Well, if I like it anyway.
I agree, because usually when a villain gets a Redemption arc it's, usually very
abrupt and then really 180 very uncomfortably now they're the best
person ever, and it's not satisfying. Again just fully write things, don't just
do abrupt quick cheesy things. A good Redemption arc, where the character has
to really face some hard truths and make some big changes over time is really
really satisfying. But I agree that if there is a Redemption arc for the
villain, I'm almost always disappointed because it's almost always abrupt and
sudden and easy and just not authentic feeling at all.
I like villains that are - who are actually smart. They need to make
protagonist nervous to face them and keep them on their toes throughout the
book. I should be able to respect their plans and smartness even when they're
evil and I'm not rooting for them. Yes I'm currently reading Harry Potter and I
want to love Voldemort as a bad guy, but his plans are so ridiculous and dumb and
unnecessarily complex. I love the Harry Potter series, but man,
we could have had a better villain. It's nice when we get to the big master plan
of the evil guy and we can't just think "we could have done that months ago if
you just did this instead of all this" uh I love villains who are despicable and
evil but also have a code of honor to which they abide for example they have
no problem manipulating people but they would never attack you from behind. I
don't think I've seen that very often but I like that too, it just adds a
little bit of uniqueness to the person. I love villains that are fallen heros,
that aren't redeemed at the end, and have parallels with the hero. Bonus points
when they are so twisted and evil that their whole situation just seems really
tragic. Yes, someone that used to be like the top, a good guy, someone that we all
used to look up to and then they turn so bad and for really seemingly valid and
understandable reasons and - oh man you're right man that's another thing that I
don't see enough and it's so good and exciting. It's when they're not just they
were born bad because they have a bad gene but they actually used to fight for
good and then they turn bad because of something that happened and then you
have to face off with someone that you actually admire what they've done. Hmm
that's a good one, that's a really good one. I love it when the villain is
presented in a way that makes them truly intimidating to the reader, it's the
sense of unease that you get when the villain walks into the room that I love.
the Lord ruler from Miss borne is an awesome example of this.
I love that too when it were not just constantly told by the characters in the
book this guy's evil we're afraid of his name
this person is awful they killed a whole bunch of people and we're not just told
constantly why this person is so awful but then we don't really see it until
the climax of the book, but when we actually when the villain is actually
built up a presence around them that even intimidates the reader because we
see how truly dark they are maybe we've watched them do horridness things
instead of just being told that they've done horrendous things you're right
when they are built up to the point that the reader is actually uncomfortable
when they walk into the room that is really good stuff. Yes, okay yes if you
don't actually believe the villain can win what's the point
writers need to make the audience worried about it and it needs to be
really really hard for the protagonist to come out on top. Yes it is one of my
biggest pet peeves when a book has no tension, when the good guys are
constantly facing some sort of evil or some sort of danger but I fear nothing
because there's so much plot armor or because nothing has actually been built
up and I just I expect everybody to come out find at the - fine at the end. When a
villain is truly evil enough, that I actually believe that they could win it
all and the book could end with them on top, that is so satisfying. Even if they
don't even - if the villain does get defeated, it's so satisfying to actually
fear for the characters when they're in a position of great terror and when you
give me a villain that actually has that built up around them. That is so
satisfying and this is another reason why I think that it's great to be
comfortable or at least willing to kill off characters because if everybody
always makes it out fine and nobody ever dies, that when - when we get to the big
conflict I am NOT going to fear for our main characters life whatsoever because
I know that the author would never kill them and the c - main character
doesn't need to die, they can make it out but I just want a little bit - I want to
feel tension when I'm supposed to be feeling tension. I think the most
effective villains are the ones that you hate so much because they can hurt the
heroes on a personal scale. You don't really care about the villains that are
trying to destroy the whole world because it's on too big of a scale for
you to be invested in the villains that prod at the hero's worst insecurities or
kill your favorite characters are always the ones You can't stand, and if the hero
wins it makes it all the more satisfying. First shoot then talk, not first talk
then shoot. Please. Yes so this is kind of something that we've already talked
about but it's essentially the villain actually being evil and not just we're
told he's evil but we never see them do anything. The villain that's actually
killing people, the villain that's actually doing horrible things and we're
watching it happen and we're afraid of them because we see that they are
willing to do horrible things to anybody that's in their way, so when our hero
faces off with them we know that the villain is actually a threat and not
just all talk No - all bark no bite. I love stories like
perfume where the whole book is from the villains perspective. sometimes I get
tired of seeing everything from the hero's point of view. I agree with you I
love following the villain or the antagonist as long as it's done well, as
long as the villain is an actual layered dynamic interesting character and not
just I'm bad because I feel like it I'm bad because I'm bad, as long as they're
actually interesting in real - real characters. I love following the villain
even though you know you're not - it's not gonna - it's not gonna be a happy story
necessarily, or it's not gonna be, I don't know, what you get out of out of a heroes
story. It has really nice sometimes to just get into the head of the bad guy, I
don't know I like it too. Okay so I've been scrolling for a while now and this
is a subject that people seem to agree for the most part on. For the most part,
the majority of the comments are people saying essentially the same thing, which
is just give the villain some personality. Don't just make them your
stereotypical, mustache twirling, cliche line saying, no motivation giving villain.
Give your villain as much care in your character work as
you give any other character in your story. There's a lot of really cool sort
of devices that were mentioned in comments about things that - like specific
things that people like, like the villain that is close to the protagonist and
betrays them. I'm a sucker for it too. But it seems like the majority of us are
just saying we like complex villains just because we like complex characters
and they're characters. I really enjoyed this video because villains are
characters that I don't have a ridiculous amount of opinions on, when a
villains done really really well I love it but I guess there's just not that
many villains that stand out to me as amazing villains. I would love to read
more stories with really compelling layered villains, someone write those
books. Anyway, that's pretty much all there is to say about villains today as
far as this community tab. Thank you again everybody, for participating in
the series. I love this series, I love just sitting down and chatting about
what we like and don't like in stories it's so much fun. Be sure to continue
this discussion in the comments. I post videos every Sunday Tuesday Thursday
Saturday
