We're talking about bad guys because someone's gotta mess crap up in your novel, am I right? I'm always down to talk about villains they're my kind of people.
by Jenna Moreci
Antagonist: someone who antagonizes the protagonist; they oppose the protagonist's goal; they inhibit their plan; they create conflict
Villain: someone who also creates conflict, but there is a little something extra added to the mix; they're evil.
The villain of the story is also the antagonist, but the antagonist isn't necessarily a villain.
1. Make them a worthy rival.
2. Give them a believable motivation.
3. Remember your villain is human, unless they're not human, but the advice still applies. They should be a complicated being. This person may be a total piece of dump, but even dump has layers.
4. If the villains got a surprise reveal, give them henchmen. If you can't reveal your villain for a major chunk of the story, you gotta do the next best thing, and have their associates do the work for them.
5. Validate their crappiness.
YOU ARE READING
writing 4 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜: WRITING ADVICE TO MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER
Ikke FiktionWriting is hard. Being a writer is even harder. But with "Writing 4 Writers," you CAN become a better writer. Every time I sit down to write, I reference this collection of writing advice from a variety of blogs, writers, and YouTubers: Jenna Moreci...
