I Hate Writing Villains

[Otto26]

Villains show they are villains by doing villainous things to my heroines and I don't like that. I am only slightly mollified by the inevitable comeuppance and I absolutely hate slogging throught the villainy to get to that point.

Sorry, just at that point in my writing and whining. Carry on.

 

[litfan10]

Villains show they are villains by doing villainous things to my heroines and I don't like that. I am only slightly mollified by the inevitable comeuppance and I absolutely hate slogging throught the villainy to get to that point.

Sorry, just at that point in my writing and whining. Carry on.

Think of them as heroes massively misunderstood.
Good luck getting through this point.

 

[StillStunned]

I get what you mean. A well-written villain is great to read, or see on the screen, but so difficult to write. Either they take a huge amount more effort than the protagonists, or else they come out flat.

 

[Yarglenurp]

Have you tried writing or at least thinking of a compelling backstory for your villains? Most real-world villainy is done by people who either think of themselves as heroes or people who have "no choice." Your villain can be much the same.

A guy is a conservative misogynist because he was raised in a happy, traditional home until his mother abandoned them to try to make it as an actress in Hollywood. Now, when his wife starts wanting to work, he reacts violently because he's reminded of his own abandonment issues.

A woman cheats on her loving husband because infidelity is all she has seen in her childhood and early relationships, so she's just getting ahead of the curve. Now when she's caught, all she can feel is disdain for a man who is hopelessly naive about the world and is blowing up their lives by not playing his part in a hypocrisy-filled world.

Aside from a few truly crazy sociopaths, most people have a reason for what they do. It might be a crazy, fucked up reason, but it makes sense in their head.

 

[litfan10]

Have you tried writing or ar least thinking kf a compelling backstory for your villains? Most real-world villainy is done by people who either think of themselves as heroes or people who have "no choice." Your villain can be much the same.

A guy is a conservative misogynist because he was raised in a happy, traditional home until his mother abandoned them to try to make it as an actress in Hollywood. Now, when his wife starts wanting to work, he reacts violently because he's reminded of his own abandonment issues.

A woman cheats on her loving husband because infidelity is all she has seen in her childhood and early relationships, so she's just getting ahead of the curve. Now when she's caught, all she can feel is disdain for a man who is hopelessly naive about the world and is blowing up their lives by not playing his part in a hypocrisy-filled world.

Aside from a few truly crazy sociopaths, most people have a reason for what they do. It might ne a crazy, fucked up reason, but it makes sense in their head.

This!
A well constructed villain makes the hero shine all that much more.

 

[Britva415]

Every villain is the hero in their story.

I don’t remember who said that. It’s not original.

 

[AchtungNight]

Personally I enjoy writing bad guys. I get into their heads and let them make mistakes, then earn their comeuppance. The fact that they are always punished is different from real life and is for me what makes things fun. You can't really have the heroes prove themselves without villains, after all.

My original villainous characters on Lit include a London crime boss and his thugs (Inside Out), a mad scientist with a sports gambling problem and his self-absorbed assistant (Catbird Seat), a sociopathic cult leader into gossipmongering and blackmail (Counseling), Hans Gruber's bumbling nephew (Saving Sandra), an irredeemable paparazzo (Hunters & Prey, Counseling), a rapist drug addict (Ruleskirter), and a twisted prostitute stripper intent on ruining her clients for her own profit (Courtney Crowe, Fire Woman). Most are one note characters I have to admit I don't detail that much. I am writing the crime boss's comeuppance tale right now, though, and it will naturally detail his backstory a bit. Hope it makes him more interesting.

Coming to the Internet in due time with sex, murder, arson, and club boss vs crime lord action along with Aussie Jane Bond vs. Jacqueline the Ripper... Kings in Conflict.

For one to survive, the other must fall.

 

[MajorRewrite]

I like a “villain” who is a comical buffoon. They are an opportunity to create a parody of a reprehensible or idiotic element of real life society.

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I LOVE writing villains. And particularly enjoy when they win by corrupting the antiheroes, or destroying the “heroes”. Its good fun. Makes writing interesting.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

A woman cheats on her loving husband because infidelity is all she has seen in her childhood and early relationships, so she's just getting ahead of the curve. Now when she's caught, all she can feel is disdain for a man who is hopelessly naive about the world and is blowing up their lives by not playing his part in a hypocrisy-filled world.

Wow that's great. Can I try to write that? I've never thought I could write a loving wives story, just because I've never been able to understand how that would work, but what you just said makes sense to me.

 

[Yarglenurp]

Wow that's great. Can I try to write that? I've never thought I could write a loving wives story, just because I've never been able to understand how that would work, but what you just said makes sense to me.

Absolutely! I think I've enjoyed some of your writing already, so I'd be interested to see how this one turns out.

 

[KeithD]

Heighten your reading sophistication. Read some stories where the villains don't get their comeuppance--or that they do, but in some way that comes as a surprise and makes you laugh.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Villains show they are villains by doing villainous things to my heroines and I don't like that. I am only slightly mollified by the inevitable comeuppance and I absolutely hate slogging throught the villainy to get to that point.

Sorry, just at that point in my writing and whining. Carry on.

Are you kidding? You're not into sitting at the keyboard and thinking "hrmm, now what spiteful and horrible deceit can this awful person get up to today (rubs hands)" ??

Villains are awesome!

 

[AchtungNight]

You might also try reading about anti-heroes, people who skirt the rules of society to take villains down. They don't always have the best morality codes, but they are always entertaining.

 

[Otto26]

Are you kidding? You're not into sitting at the keyboard and thinking "hrmm, now what spiteful and horrible deceit can this awful person get up to today (rubs hands)" ??

Villains are awesome!

Nope. More like "How far can I push these acts before the story becomes un-fun for me to write?" I'm a milquetoast.

 

[Otto26]

You might also try reading about anti-heroes, people who skirt the rules of society to take villains down. They don't always have the best morality codes, but they are always entertaining.

My male protaganists are pretty much all anti-heroes. Or, at least, reformed villains.

 

[AchtungNight]

Well, if it's not fun for you, maybe change your style? I don't know.

 

[Yarglenurp]

You might also try reading about anti-heroes, people who skirt the rules of society to take villains down. They don't always have the best morality codes, but they are always entertaining.

Anti-heroes are just heroes who go "edgy" because they do some slightly wrong thing that isn't that wrong by the morality of their time. By modern standards, the ancient heroes were all anti-heroes. They killed both good and evil kings, used slaves, and murdered their lovers all the time.

Generally, the only true crime the heroes can commit to become is a villain is to go against god(s)... arguably, though, that's only because god(s) have the power to fuck over the heroes.

 

[nice90sguy]

I really can't believe anyone would prefer writing a hero to a villain. And nearly actor I've seen interviewed on the subject much prefers to play villains.

Nice (90's) guys definietly finish last in my stories. As they should.

bring on the bad girls!

Oh, alright, and bad guys too

 

[Otto26]

I looked back over my stories and laughed when I realized how truly bad I am at writing villainy. I've got villainy rationalized or rehabilitated, villainy summarized, villainy deferred or threatened, and stories where there's no villainy at all. The one story I have where actual villainy is promised I stopped writing before I got there. And now I've got a good story where I absolutely have to write the villainy. And it's completely understandable villainy in an explained context. But boy do I dislike writing it. Worth it for the eventual payoff. I hope.

 

[KeithD]

You might also try reading about anti-heroes, people who skirt the rules of society to take villains down. They don't always have the best morality codes, but they are always entertaining.

Evidence my just-completed Hardesty (#7 in the series) D.C. cop mystery, Only One Draw, where a vice cop is a captive of extreme vices himself but still solves the cases and satisfies.

(Did I mention that Only One Draw, in the difficult Transgender/Crossdressing category, has done quite well here--at least so far, rating in the 4.60s into the 4.80s?)

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I really can't believe anyone would prefer writing a hero to a villain. And nearly actor I've seen interviewed on the subject much prefers to play villains.

Nice (90's) guys definietly finish last in my stories. As they should.

bring on the bad girls!

Oh, alright, and bad guys too

Oh yeah the bad girls, the femme fatales. I can cum just thinking about them…

 

[Mastered_again]

I get what you mean. A well-written villain is great to read, or see on the screen, but so difficult to write. Either they take a huge amount more effort than the protagonists, or else they come out flat.

I'm afraid mine come out as stereotypes

 

[nice90sguy]

I'm afraid mine come out as stereotypes

Do they twirl their mustaches and say, "Nyah hah haaah!" ?

 

[Mastered_again]

bring on the bad girls!

I've done written that.