How to Write a Villain: 7 steps

Let’s talk about villains. Villains or “bad guys” add conflict to your story. More than that, they’re the reason behind many of your hero’s actions. If a villain isn’t well planned and used only as a plot device without personality or soul, they may be flat or uninteresting. There needs to be more of a purpose for the bad guy because, really, they should be just as crucial to the story as your protagonist.

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Listed below are specific character creation ideas. While these are specific to your story’s antagonist, some may be used for other character creation. Keep an open mind, and see what comes of it! If you want to learn more about how to character creation, click here.

1. Villain’s Motivation

If the villain’s purpose in life is to destroy the main character, then why? Odds are, the antagonist is a humanoid creature, meaning they’re going to act very similarly to a human. And being human, they don’t just want one thing. The destruction may be a focal point, but it’s not their only “why.” If you want their purpose to be the desire of the hero’s destruction, then maybe the reason “why” came from something the main character did. Maybe your hero isn’t a pure angel. Maybe they did something that angered the villain. Perhaps they destroyed the antagonist’s reputation, and the only way to get it back is to destroy the protagonist. You get the idea. Create motivation.

2. Villain’s Conflict

So you’ve got your motivation, but what about the conflict? What sort of conflict could possibly fit your villain? Remember, not every villain is the same. They’re human or humanoid and should have dynamic wants/needs, like your hero. Which means conflict can come in many shapes and sizes. Your villain doesn’t necessarily need to hit your hero to create conflict. They just need some kind of drama. Maybe the bad guy pulls pranks; maybe he creates mayhem that introduces problems for your hero. By creating specific, and hopefully, unique conflict, your readers will enjoy it more and remember it.

For instance, The Joker in Batman is much different than Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls, yet they both are villains. They create specific conflict to our protagonist that ends with a blowout, and the audience loves it.

3. Unbeatable Villain

What do I mean by unbeatable? I mean that at no other time has your bad guy been defeated by anyone else. They are a formidable foe, one not taken lightly. This not only creates tension, but it adds weight to your hero. Your hero is now not just going up against an annoying prankster, but THE all-time prankster. This is one of the most important points of your story. If your villain is unbeatable and your protagonist beats them, what does that do for your story? Your hero? What if your hero fails? That still sends a strong message and adds depth to your characters and story.

4. Villain’s Side

To help enhance your villain’s world, and make it more believable, you need to see the side of your villain that others may not see. Get inside the head of this evil-doer because that is the only way you will truly understand their wants, needs, and motivation for doing the things they do. Because despite their evilness and despite most people not wanting to get into their activities, the bad guy does these things because they (most likely) believe they are rational, or at the very least, they’re doing something because it makes sense for them. I love bad guys who toe the line, these are the guys who make nearly rational judgments. In some ways, you can see yourself doing those things if certain life experiences led you down the same path. It creates a conflict within your readers and a deeper understanding of your story.

If you’re having trouble getting inside your bad guy’s mind, then write out a separate section from your story that just is “in the life” for your villain. Even if you don’t share this piece with your readers, it may enhance your understanding of your villain and your story as a whole.

5. Villain’s past

Your villain came from a place that made him the way he or she is, be that from childhood or recent past, there’s a reason for their actions, and it may be where or how they lived. Ask yourself where your bad guy came from. Did they grow up in the slums? A rich side of town? A different country? Use the characteristics of these areas and ask yourself, why would these certain areas create a bad guy? What could happen in these particular places that create anger or savagery?

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6. Questionable Villains

Think back to one particular moment in your life that truly shaped you. This moment may have caused you to avoid certain people or areas. This thing may have even helped you start writing. What about villains? Surely, people aren’t all born evil, right? While my question may spark philosophical discussion, start thinking about your bad guy. Similar to what I mentioned earlier about where they grew up, there may have been a pivotal point in your antagonist’s life that pushed them over the edge to evilness. This may be from something our protagonist did or was part of, or maybe it had nothing to do with the hero, and they just ended up getting in the crossfire. This moment may or may not be in your story, but it’s still enough to impact who our villain is. Write it out separately, put it in a spreadsheet, have it somewhere you can reflect, and go back to enhance continuity.

7. Avoid Stereotypes

Last but not least, stereotypes. Oh, boy, this is a big one. It’s so easy to fall into the cliche of a bad guy, and sometimes it can work for your story, but more often than not, it’ll harm you. Cliches constantly bombard readers, and for this reason, they might get turned off from your story if this cliche is all-provoking. However, don’t be confused with a trope. A cliche is an overused trope. A trope is something readers might expect or enjoy in your story. A cliche is “A dark and stormy night,” but a trope maybe two people meeting and falling in love.

Cliches also show laziness and boring characters. Harsh truth: Why should I read your story if you didn’t even bother to think out your villain? If you don’t care about your bad guy, then what makes the conflict in your story genuine?

There you have it, how to write a villain. Villains are wonderful, they most likely are the reason for many things that your MC does, so a villain should be three-dimensional and well thought out.

Elizabeth Suggs is the owner and founder of Editing Mee. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves to dive deep into books (the weirder, the better!), and she loves to take random long walks to unplanned destinations.