Hello folks, I am back, despite the fact that I am now sick as a dog! So for today's blog post, I would like to talk about what makes a great villain; according to YOU! So without further ado, here are the top 5 responses I got from all you amazing people on what makes a good villain. #5 - BetrayalThis is a very specific quality of a villain that requires specific circumstances to pull off. I have personally seen this in a few really great villains, but it is a rare quality of a good villain. This quality of betrayal is where the villain essentially hides in plain sight until the moment is right before striking. An excellent example of this would be in a plot along these lines: The hero enters their new world, and is completely bewildered. They meet a person who helps them out and seems trustworthy. They journey together to stop some great evil, building trust along the way. Then, when they arrive at where this great evil is, the companion reveals themselves to have been the great evil the whole time, devastating the hero and completely tearing the hero down. This would be a perfect example of a betrayal quality within a story. #4 - Heroic QualitiesNow this quality is one that intrigued me when I was told about it. The person who mentioned this when I was inquiring from everyone what made a good villain had to actually explain it to me. According to her, this quality of a villain is when the villain has a heroic quality such as courage or self-sacrifice. Having qualities like this opens the villain up for being more realistic and even lovable. In addition, it opens up the opportunity for the villain to have a redemption arc. #3 - BackstoryHaving a good backstory is what I (and apparently all of you) think is a very important part of a great villain. A great villain has a tragically twisted backstory. What I mean by this is they have a sad and relatable backstory. Perhaps the villain lost their family, or had to deal with some kind of detrimental ailment. In any way, shape, or form, the best villains have something tragic that happens to them that turns them down the path to darkness. A great example of this would be Killmonger from Black Panther (I know, nerdy me bringing the MCU into things). His father is killed by his uncle, the old kind of Wakanda. This sets him down the path to where he wants not only revenge for the death of his father, but also wants to liberate those that are oppressed, (more on villains having a good argument later). So your villain needs to have a really sad or twisted backstory to be great. #2 - Confidence/MercilessConfidence is something that shows that your villain is powerful. When your villain is so confident that they will win, and when they remain chillingly calm in combat with the hero, that just exudes power. Great villains have the confidence that no matter what the heroes throw at them, they will emerge victorious. Once again returning to an example from the MCU, lets talk about Loki for a moment. Throughout every movie that Loki is in, he is calm almost the entire time(except when seeing the Hulk haha). This makes him so much more likable, as well as frightening. The second part of this quality is being merciless. When the villain doesn't care about granting mercy to anyone, even when they are willing to admit defeat, this shows you just how far they have gone. When you have a villain with no mercy, you just know how evil they are. #1 - Relatable/Moral or Logical ArgumentNow this is the number one quality of a great villain according to me, and especially according to all of you. A great villain has a decent moral or logical argument, and is also relatable. Starting with having a moral/logical argument, lets once again return to the MCU, this time with Thanos "The Mad Titan." When you look on the surface of what Thanos is trying to accomplish, wiping out half the universe, it just seems purely bad. But as Thanos explains, he is wiping out half the universe so that people can continue to survive and thrive. He believes that by killing half of all life, he is saving the rest of life and improving the quality of life across the universe. Now, he still sounds crazy, but he actually has a decent reason and logic behind his actions. And the second part of this is being relatable. When a villain is totally two dimensional, with no even remotely human qualities, they don't click with the reader. But when you add some humanity in there, such as realistic weaknesses or other human qualities, the villain becomes much more to the reader. When the reader can recognize the villain as a human(or alien, god, extra-dimensional being, whatever), they relate to the reader. To end1. Moral/Logical Argument and Relatable
2.Confidence/Merciless 3.Tragically Twisted Backstory 4.Heroic Qualities 5.Performs a Betrayal I am going to be perfectly honest with you guys, I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with you while planning this blog post. I love hearing your thoughts on things like this, and I think I may start doing it more. I hope this has been helpful to you when you are creating your villains, or just as food for thought. I don't think I'll be able to look at villains quite the same again, and this has certainly been insightful for me. But I want to hear your thoughts in the comments. Are there any qualities of a great villain that you feel I missed or should be mentioned? I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. Until next time, keep on writing!
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Welcome to Wacky Words!Wacky Words is designed to be a frequent series on the fundamentals of writing, as well as tips, tricks, and advice for bettering your writing! So without further ado, lets get into it! What makes a great character?I have found that what makes a great character is realism. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. What kind of story would it be if the character didn't want something, and didn't have to overcome something? Giving characters flaws makes them human, and making them human makes them relatable to the reader. And a relatable character is one that your readers actually want to follow. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. So what should my character outline look like?There are a few things that a character outline should always have. One of the most important things is to make sure you have a thorough physical description of your character. Some authors have been known to accidentally change a characters eye color across different books because they didn't keep track of how they looked. The next thing you should have is a list of what drives them? What motivates your character to do what they do? This allows you to know what makes them do what they do. You should also have a list of your characters strengths or special skills, and weaknesses. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and so should your character. Along with weaknesses, you should have the fears of your characters. What are they afraid of? Monsters? Love? Commitment? And the last thing, one of the most important things is backstory. You as an author need to know the past of your characters, to further know what drives them and what has shaped them into who they are as of the beginning of your story. A good place to start with backstory is with 3 big parts of their backstory that have shaped them into who they are. Final WordsNow you have the basics for creating a good character. Now obviously there is a lot more to making great characters, which I will touch on in later Wacky Words, but this is a good start. For your convinience I will include a link to download a basic Character Outline Template that I have created. I hope this was helpful, and will help you design all kinds of amazing characters. Until next time, Keep on Writing!
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Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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