And welcome to Writing Today. In this episode, we're going to be
talking about a villain writing formula. If you're looking to create
an unforgettable villain, then this is the video for you as we'll be
talking about several actionable steps you can take to writing a villain
that keeps your reader engaged. As always, you can read this blog
post on my website, thepennedsleuth. Com.
There's a link to that in the description below, as well as a link
to the writers workshop. In case you're interested in some premium writing education
from courses to coaching. Of course, if you'd like to see my teaching methods first,
there's a link to a free writing course at the top of the description
on fantasy world building. With all that said,
let's get straight into the video with the very first step
to creating a compelling villain. Step one is to establish
the antagonist's motivation. Motivation is key for every character,
including the villain. You, as the writer, need to have a clear idea of why
the antagonist is doing what they are doing before trying to fit
them into the story. That means coming to grips with their end goalbefore you start plotting
the scenes with the antagonist. Too many writers create a fill
in character, one that plays the part of the bad guy, but their real motivation
isn't established until much later. The problem with this method is the writer
doesn't know their motivation until then, which means that the actions
of the antagonist will force them into a corner, giving them the most
logical and predictable motivation. If you want to write a compelling
antagonist, you need the motivation established early on,
at least for yourself. By having that motivation in hand, you can easily understand what
the antagonist's next step is. In doing so, you can reveal the antagonist's motivation
at any time in the story, and it will have an impact on the
characters, the story, and the reader. I would like to also say that you should take note of what genre you are writing
in as well as your target audience. Some writers like to create a general villain that can work in any genre,
and that's no problem because the simplicity of that villain
is sometimes charming. However, if you take your target audience
and genre and keep them in mind, you'll find that the villains
will be different in makeup. So for example, the villain in a young
adult action adventure will be different from the antagonist
in an adult mystery thriller. That's why this step is so important. You need to establish the motivation, the
purpose of that character in the story. If your antagonist is just there to create
conflict, they'll lack the qualities that make
them unique and memorable in your story. But it all comes down to giving the antagonist the same attention
you would give the protagonist. As they say, everybody's a hero in their
own story, and I'm sure their antagonist in their own mind thinks
they are on the right side. With that in mind, if you treat them as if
they are, you'll give them the details and qualities that make them
so memorable and important. Step two is to develop the villain's
personality and backstory. A backstory is required for almost any
antagonist that's had a laugh before the first chapter of the novel,
one that adds logic to the decisions they make, the logic that the reader
can understand, if not agree with. And when it comes to personality, the personalities can
differ from genre to genre. Once more, it comes down to establishing
what antagonist you want your story to have or what the readers
should expect of the story. Personality is established the same way
you establish the personality of your other characters, their looks,
dialog, and actions. The best times to demonstrate a character's personality
are times of conflict. Your villain might be quarreling with a hingman, conversing with a side
character, or fighting the protagonist. Sometimes the results of these actions are
another way of understanding their personality without even
including them in the scene. For example, whether it is a battlefield or the scene of the crime, what remains
is the result of the antagonist. As a result, the protagonist can learn a lot about the antagonist by examining
what remains, and so can the reader. Every chapter,
every scene is an opportunity to add detail and depth to your story,
so you can start building up your antagonist before you
actually introduce them. As for backstory, by having these added
details in your own mind, you have a better time making
the decisions for the antagonist. It's easy enough to decide what would the antagonist do,
but what would your character do? What would they do in that situation based
on their personality and their backstory? By coming to grips with who they are before the story begins,
you have a better idea of how to write them as you begin your
novel writing process. With that said, that means you don't have to include all of the backstory
you can come up with. You can create a lot of the backstory just for yourself to make it easier
for yourself, but only include key details that you want
the reader to know in order to better understand the antagonist and make
them that much more interesting. And the best time to write all this out is
during the planning phase, not when you finally reach the point the
antagonist is introduced in your novel. The reason being is you don't want
to create contradictions that create some embarrassing moments and you
have to correct them. Or worse still, you might overlook them and the reader will come
across them before you do. Step three is to give the villain
flaws and vulnerabilities. Nobody is perfect,
least of all the antagonist. I've often talked about the fact
that every character is flawed. They have shortfalls and they
are not unbeat or inescapable. Even the scariest antagonists
are defeated in the end. You need to only look at most horror
movies with the physical antagonist. There are times they lose,
there are times they fall. With that in mind, every writer needs to look at the flaws
that best suit their antagonist. These flaws can be minor from the way
they look to the way they speak. They might even be afraid
of something that the reader isn't. The reason this aspect of the antagonist is so important is that too many writers
focus on the villain's strengths and have the protagonist beat
them at what they are good at. And yes, that might be what it
comes down to in most stories. But in great stories,
the antagonist is flawed. The antagonist is often brought down
by their own human failings, their ego, or their cruel
decisions catching up with them. And I believe this comes down
to conflict in its purest form. I believe that every character in a story should be challenged in some crucial
way that results in a change. For example, the protagonist is typically not at their best state in the beginning,
and they have a lot to learn, whether it be changing their values
or just growing stronger as a person. When the protagonist's weaknesses
and flaws are challenged, they are encountering an obstacle
they need to overcome. They need to overcome their own shortfall, or they need to become stronger enough
that it no longer is a factor. As a result, they'll go
through character growth. They'll become a better person, a stronger one, a smarter one,
a faster one, whatever the story entails. When it comes to the antagonist, it is they get challenged,
but then they fail in some way. It could be a physical challenge. They just prove weaker. They may be too confident in their
skills and don't practice enough. Or it could be a value challenge, something that challenges them
in their character, in their personality. Unfortunately, they are not willing
to grow and change or they fail to do so. And it ends up being their
downfall in the end. That is the essence of most stories
encountering a conflict and the better character is the one who encounters
the conflict and overcomes it. And the loser character is the one
that encounters the conflict and consistently fails,
making the same mistake they did before. Step number 4 is to create a dynamic
relationship with the protagonist. One of the major reasons to include
an antagonist, if not the reason, is that there is a dynamic between
the antagonist and the protagonist. I don't mean that they have great banter or something like that,
although it is an idea. I mean, the antagonist is there
to counter the protagonist. It is a lesson for them to learn,
an interesting character that has them question a certain value or their
understanding of some aspect of life. The more basic stories have it as good versus evil, but the more complex stories
challenge something a bit more impactful. Here's an example of two interesting dualities, Sherlock and Moriarty,
Batman and Attacker. Sherlock and Moriarty,
these two are very similar. Both are geniuses, but one uses his brains to bring down the bad guys for the love of
the mystery and even a sense of justice. The other uses their intellect to pull off devious crimes, feeling
joy when a plan works out. It's an interesting contradiction because
their strengths are very similar and their personalities are also
similar to some degree. But when it comes to their moral compass, well, that's where they differ and it
becomes a real challenge between the two. That's what makes them so
much more interesting. And then there is Batman
and Attacker, a popular pair. Batman trying to create order and justice
and Attacker trying to create chaos. Many discussions have been made about the duality of these two,
but it is well known that Attacker challenges Batman's value
of not killing the enemy. It's a dynamic relationship that has really propped these two up in the duality
spotlight, if you want to call it that. It's made them a lot more popular as a result,
not just because they are comic book heroes, but because they propose
an interesting contradiction of values. And it's these more thought provoking conflictsthat also are a lot
more captivating to the reader. Step number five is simply keeping in mind that you want to make
the villain memorable. In all aspects of the character's creation, you should strive
to make the antagonist memorable. Once more, don't think of the antagonist
as a simple role to fill. It's just as important as the protagonist. The antagonist needs to have their moments
of victory, their moments of failure. There can be moments where the antagonist's feats are admired
and respected by the reader. Every character has their qualities,
including the antagonist. And if you keep all these steps in mind,
you should have little difficulty in writing a memorable
and unique antagonist. Remember to show off their flaws
as well as their strengths. Give them moments where they get the upper hand and give them moments
where they are losing. And now, here are some
of my thoughts on the subject. Whenever I'm plotting a story, I don't like to work
with entirely evil antagonists. I'm sure many writers can agree with why. It's because they are a lot more interesting if they have some
good qualities sprinkled in. And there are many reasons as to why a character who does have good
qualities still turns bad. Usually it's a tragic back story, and as
cliché as that sounds, it still works. As an added bonus, and this isn't included
in the formula, but I like to include moments where
the reader can actually root for the antagonist or agree
with the antagonist's view. It creates this wonderful sense of attachment the reader
can have with the antagonist and an understanding of who they are or
why they are doing something and in some aspect,
even agreeing with their character, maybe not entirely,
but certainly to some degree. I'm not talking just about the antagonists
that want to do something great for the world but are going
about it the wrong way. It's not the do the means
justify the ends antagonist. It can work with almost
any antagonist, really. If there are moments where the reader can
say, Okay, maybe this character isn't so bad, then maybe there's potential for a
lot more interesting scenes later on. But those are just some of my thoughts. If you are an experienced writer,
what advice would you give beginner writers in creating a memorable
and unique villain? Let me know in the comments below. If you're interested in some premium writing education,
then I recommend my writer's workshop. There's a link to that in the description
below, as well as a link to a free writing course should you like to see
my teaching methods first. I do hope you enjoyed this episode
of writing today, and if you did, be sure to leave a like and subscribe
if you haven't already. And with that, good day,
good night, and happy.
