Please Be Weird {Creating a Fantastic Villain III}

You meet two people during the course of your day. One is talkative, eyes lighting up as they tell you about their passions, observations, and how they know at least fifteen bird calls by heart.
The other, however, keeps the conversation limited to day-to-day stuff. Weather, shopping, watching TV. Dull.

Which one is more unique? Which one is intriguing? Which one would you want to talk with again?
Uh, probably the first one.

The fact that the person knows at least fifteen bird calls is quirky.
And the most interesting people are usually the quirkiest.

I'm here today to talk about your villain.
To read the first two installments of the post series click here:
Back Story Time {Creating a Fantastic Villain I}
GIVE IT TO ME {Creating a Fantastic Villain II}



Let me just say a few things:
Please, please, please don't make your villain another run of the mill villain who spouts off their entire plan before executing it, or cackles maniacally after revealing said plan, or who's just evil for the sake of being evil. (I know we all know--or should know--these rules by now, but they're rules we need to remember.)
I'm not talking from just a writerly point of view, but a reader's as well. Anything in that list is generally a sign of laziness and/or bad character development.

Those are the boring villains. I don't like boring villains.
I'm interested in the quirky villains. I want them to act like real, interesting humans (or...whatever race they happen to be).

You might not think that well rounded, intriguing villains are important, but they can make or break your story...and your other characters. Think Loki from the Thor movies, or the Winter Soldier...they're so well developed and their actions actually matter.
And (guess what?) they have their quirks.

Maybe they're insecure, maybe they adore red squirrels with such a fiery passion that they sedate them every time they see one and take it back to their secret lair (so they end up with a menagerie of just red squirrels and they have, like 500 of them so that's why the hero needs to stop them so the red squirrels don't go extinct), or maybe they absolutely have to have coffee from their favorite coffee shop before doing anything heinous for the day (think Gru from Despicable Me--no, I am not condoning utilizing freeze rays on people just to get coffee).

It's important to give your villain quirks. If your hero has quirks, your villain should have nothing less.
If you, as the writer, have quirks, your characters should have no less.

I'm not going to type out an ol' long list of random quirks for you to pick and choose from--there's tons of resources around the internet for that. If all else fails, observe the people around you (I know, scary!)--that's the best place to get the best quirks. Real life...it's a gold mine.

Quirks are important. Quirks are human. Quirks make people lovable and rounded.

To make your villain relatable and adored by readers, they need quirks.

I mean, mine is obsessed with donuts.
And not just any donuts.
Cake donuts with pink frosting and candy sprinkles.
And my villain is a guy.
They're just really good, okay?

God Bless!
Rachel Lester

Are there any other topics regarding creating villains that you'd like me to cover?
Please comment! And it doesn't just have to be about villains. It can be about life, or your dog, or red squirrels, or your blog.

For a personal update:
Sorry I've been gone for so long! I've hardly written anything in over a month. I know, it's driving me crazy. Although college is approximately a week.5 away, I'm getting back into writing even though this next week.5 is full of packing, shopping, and VBS, I'm
trying my best to become involved again before school starts. Prayers welcomed. Immensely.

GIVE IT TO ME {Creating a Fantastic Villain II}

The first installment of this series can be found at this link: Back Story Time (Creating a Fantastic Villain I}

It's been a while since I wrote that first post, but last night something just flew at me. (Youch...it kind of hit me in the face...okay, not really.) 

It was, can you guess? An idea for another villain post! So, if it isn't obvious, this one is about wanting and desire.

One of my favorite writing quotes: "Make your character want something, even if it's only a glass of water." - - Kurt Vonnegut -

If you take a moment to think about it, everything that we, as humans, do is borne from a wanting. A need. A desire. 

Why do we eat food? We want it, we need it to survive. Why do we buy that thirty dollar pair of shoes? We want them, we desire them because they look sure durn good with that one dress we own...

There's always a reason behind what we do. Even the things done on whims have a reason behind it. We want to prove something, we want to be accepted, we want to be fulfilled... There are so many reasons for our wanting. 

So how does this fit in with creating a villain? Ahem, a Fantastic villain? 

Take a look at your villain. What are his motives? Why does he do what he does? 

If he/she is just kind of there, floating around, just hoping to wreak havoc for the hero, you don't have a well-rounded villain. He could be the most interesting conversationalist, but without a driving force...without a want...he's going to be pretty one-dimensional and begin to bore readers. Nobody wants to be bored...or, (horror of horrors) bore others. That's just embarrassing. 

+ What does your villain want? Fame? Money? Peace? Love? To survive? 

MAKE YOUR VILLAIN WANT SOMETHING. ANYTHING. Even if it's crazy, like he wants to own a donut franchise. At least that's interesting. 

Everybody wants something. 

Make that want the driving force behind your villain's actions.

The villain in my series isn't really...a...villain. Uh...ahem. 

No, his motives are pure, as he sees it, anyway. He wants to spare his best friend the pain of life...or of being captured by the villain corporation. 

So, while he still does evil things, his desire to keep his friend out of VICE's grip is his driving force. He wants to protect his friend. 

I'm reminded of kids who see something they want. What do they say? "GIMME GIMME GIMME."

Now, while you shouldn't make your villain a whining three year old (I mean, that'd be an interesting twist to a story, but...I don't know, man...), your villain should still have that mindset. It's human. 

(I guess if your villain is, like, alien or something, though...that might be kind of different. I can't help you there... :P)

Anyway,

Everybody wants something.

Even your villain. 

What does your villain want?

BACK STORY TIME / Creating a Fantastic Villain I

        Gather around the hearth, dears. Today's story is a Back Story. Or, rather, the importance of it.
We focus a lot on the hero's story. The hero's back story. The hero's life.
But...what about the villain's life? What about the villain's story and past? Do we incorporate that into our story?

• Why does our villain do what he does? Is he just plain evil? Why is he evil? Somebody doesn't just wake up one day and decide they're going to be evil. I mean, some people might, but for the most part...no. That'd just be weird. 
• Tragedy, loss, heartbreak, revenge...what fuels your villain? Good villains have depth. They have a life, they have a story. 
• I like to look at Loki as one of my main villainous inspirations. His back story, his life, his motivations (in the Marvel movies). What drives him to do what he does? Frankly, it all started when Odin breathed Asgardian breath onto a little Frost Giant baby...making him...Asgardian. It's all really cool and kind of confusing and weird, but it's all a main part of the story. Loki grows up in the shadow of Thor's hero greatness. Then he learns he's not even Odin's son. He's a Frost Giant. That's pretty awful.

Now, there's a lot more to Loki's story and I would go further in, but it's not really the topic of this post. That was just a small example.
Sadly...
Okay. Try to stop thinking about the overwhelming sadness of the poor alien.

• Back story is what often drives the will-be villain to being a villain. Somebody who grows up being hurt and hurt and hurt throughout their life might handle it good or bad. Villains obviously handle it badly. Somebody who is brainwashed (why were they brainwashed??), abused/tortured, or lied to--how do they handle that? (Obviously those who are brainwashed don't have much of a choice, if any). Or is there another reason? Does your villain just love to hurt people? Why do they love to hurt people? There has to be a reason. Even when it comes to aliens, methinks. 
• My main villain, whose name shall not be mentioned here, has a tragic back story. None of h(is/er) friends know about the suffering this person went through until they cracked. Abused physically, verbally, etc. Nobody helped and they felt stuck. Hated the world, hated life, hated God. Now (s)he just wants to protect angel of a mother and get revenge. 

There's more to my villain than that, but I'm trying to not make this an extremely long post.
But when we understand a villain's back story (or anybody's for that matter), if often gives us a glimpse into their soul. Their current beliefs, reasoning, motivation, values, (EVERYTHING) is going to in some way be affected by their past.
There are a few things you should ask/keep in mind/answer when creating your villain:

1. What family structure did the villain grow up in? (A lot of back story starts at home)
ie: X grew up in a family of four. His mother was an alcoholic and more often than not, came home swearing and being physically abusive to X and his two siblings. X's oldest sibling picked on X until X broke. X's younger sibling clung to X. X's father was never around, and when he was, he was never mentally there or he was always fighting with X's mom. (And how will these things affect X?)

2. What was a normal day for your villain?
A normal day for X was being scared of being hit, yelled at, or being taken from his home. Though he was constantly being abused, he still loved his family, somehow (yes, this is possible). He would go to school and pretend he had a normal family to go home to. After school, he'd pick up his little brother from school and go to the library. He couldn't bear to be at home. Later, he would get physically abused because he didn't come home from school right away. At night, he would listen to his mom yell drunken phrases and argue with his dad. (How will this affect X?)

3. What is the worst thing that has happened to your villain?
4. What if the worst thing that your villain has done? 
5. What is it that your villain does that's so bad?
6. Why did your villain go off the deep end compared to somebody who's gone through the same thing but conquers what's happened to them and turns it for something good?
6. Why is your villain so bad? 
(Remember, there HAS to be a reason of some sort...even if it's a weird reason like:
B adored funnel cakes. Until that fateful day...October 8...the day the clown at the fair stuffed his face into her freshly powdered funnel cake. Now B hates clowns and funnel cakes--she's out to destroy all the clowns in the world and put all the funnel cake businesses out of...business. (There must be some psychological damage inflicted by the clown here, otherwise it's kind of extreme...unless B was already heading off the deep end...or this has happened multiple times...maybe a hundred or so?).

No pure evilness. If you want a developed, deep villain that people can connect with and understand, there needs to be reasons.
BECAUSE OF REASONS!

• You really have to get into the mind of your villain and find out what makes them tick. That doesn't mean becoming your villain. Please don't do that. That would be crazy and WEIRD. (Unless you're cosplaying your villain for some...reason? o_o still weird...).  
• But, don't forget to leave some things up to your villain. Let them choose! My villain decided he/she is obsessed with pink donuts that have candy sprinkles on them. (That's another post, though.) 

Obviously there's more that goes into creating a villain than this post that delves more into creating a back story. If nothing else remember:

1. How does the back story affect your villain?
2. What are your villain's reasons for doing what they do/being evil?

Let me know in the comments:
+ What do you like to keep in mind when creating a villain's back story? Is there anything really big that I've missed?
+ Do you have any suggestions for another "Creating a Fantastic Villain" post?
+Otherwise, please comment anyway! I love to talk to people! (especially online because I'm horrible at formulating sentences most of the time when talking to people in person. I really should work on that.)

Tallyho!
(photo thanks to stuff on pinterest...and pixlr editing)