On Writing: Villains

[jeriendhal]

Here's a dirty little secret of mine.

I don't like writing villains. At all.

This came up as I was reading a story my wife has been working on. Along side the budding romance between the two protagonists, we see glimpses of the villain stalking them. He's a rather reprehensible fellow who sold his soul to be able to be the perfect musician, but without any passion in his work. My wife was enjoying writing from his POV, but I was uncomfortable reading his bits, which was basically a long litany of puppy kicking. It took me a while to realize that I just don't enjoy getting into the head of someone completely reprehensible.

That isn't to say I can't do it. Most notably the ending of CotRV is from the former Countess Highglider's POV, as she's processed into the mental institution where she'll be spending the rest of her life. But she isn't thinking about puppy-kicking at this point, she's more concerned about finally being reunited with her son in the facility, which from her perspective means she's won. [1]

But outright unrepentant evil, like her wife abusing son? Like Bloody Margo sending poor little Ali into the ducting to murder children no older than herself, over and over? I don't want to get into the heads of people like that. As I've gotten older I've gotten less and less tolerant about reading about cruel people doing cruel things, which is probably one reason I've never felt any need to read Game of Thrones and similar works.

My antagonists are, as my footnote states, the heroes of their own story.[2] Countess Highglider? Getting justice for her son's cruel imprisonment. Salli's mother? Preventing her daughter from marrying a murderous lunatic. The Groupmind? Saving Humanity from choking on its on wastes. All heroes.

I like reading, and writing, about clever likable people overcoming obstacles. Which is probably one reason I've been a life long fan of Lois McMaster Bujold and similar authors. Reading and writing about their opponents gives me no pleasure.


[1] If you're gonna write from the villain's POV, the best rule to remember is that they're the hero, at least from their own perspective. Witness how the first Kung-Fu Panda had to be re-written to make Tai Lung less sympathetic, adding in his attempted destruction of the village in the valley to justify his imprisonment. From his POV, he was just getting the reward he'd been promised from his life of training, which had been cruelly snatched from him by Master Oogway and his foster father.

[2] Okay, there's Bloody Margo, but you'll note I've only written one brief scene with her directly. Most of her villainy is off-screen, and spoken about with dread by the protagonists.

Comments

[seawasp]

I don't LIKE thinking like a villain, but I do it, and for some I don't accept the "they think they're the hero". Virigar, in particular, and most demonic creatures, KNOW PERFECTLY WELL that they're evil. They are deliberate forces of destruction. The worst evil is the one that can understand good, acknowledge it, and then choose evil. If you can't choose, or can't see the choice, you're less true evil and more pathetic, rationalizing your way down the slippery slope.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Probably one reason I don't do supernatural evil critters, aside from some old In Nomine fanfics, or Ultimate Evil Big Bads. Just can't wrap my head around capital E Evil characters. Even Bloody Margo got a hint of a tragic background, though she mostly liked being a bully for the Lulz.

[seawasp]

Well, Virigar being the Ultimate Evil, he fits that category.

Then there's the Monolith, that considers the idea of good or evil outside of its own judgment irrelevant.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

In my humble opinion, this all means You're Doing It Right.

I hate writing evil, too, and you won't find a villain in any of my books who isn't the hero of his own story, either.

I'll go one step further, too, and if I can get away with the antagonist being something like nature or circumstances or something like that, and still have it be a good story, that's the route I take.

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

Yes.