Writing Tips, Part 1: Who Is Your Villain?

It's vital that you know what type of villain you have in your story. This will add depth to the story and allow multiple facets to be explored, utilized, and exploited. There are many types of villains. Here are a few of them. They may have technical names, but for this article we will call them by the following:

1. Oh, Poor Me. There are villains we may feel sorry for or even root for. Molded due to their environment, villains can have a constant internal struggle to do the right thing or follow their inherited wickedness. They may spare someone when they have killed everyone else - a child who reminds them of themselves, an underdog like them, or a talented person who they may respect on some level.

2. Total Nut Job. The villains who are just downright psychopaths and have no sense of feeling, dead emotionally, and kill due to their internal or external urges. Oftentimes, mental health can share the same room as genius. Although void of empathy or love, they can display a high level of intelligence and strategic agility.

3. Power hungry. The villains that are driven by power, riches, or love. They may be very smart, but at times their own hunger and selfishness for power can actually cause them to make mistakes and have flaws. (Flaws are great. We will explore that in another post.) What they may lack in intelligence is made up for in their ruthlessness.

4. I'm good, but I break the rules. This is another villain we sometimes root for. They go after the bad guys, but they are messy and don't care about the law. It's very unusual for them to actually kill good guys. But they may still rob banks and beat the crap out of cops, or hack tech companies. Their motto is, "You need to break a few eggs to make an omelette." And "It's for the greater good."

5. Gone rotten. The villain who started out good but was then tainted and consumed with the darkness. This can be a slow burn or an instant event that changes them. Like any emotional snap to the mind, one can heal. So this type of villain may only be a villain for a period of time before they are consumed with shame and guilt and seek redemption.

Whatever villain you choose to create, make them real people with real trauma, mental health, and urges. It's who they are, and it's what makes them tick. Exploring these multifaceted characters will give you an incredible emotional well to draw from, and make your readers not only read, but think long after they have finished your book, and hopefully wanting more.

Thanks for reading my Writing Tips, Part 1: Who is Your Villain? More to come.

Robbie Sheerin is a Scottish-born author currently based in the United States. He has written five books, along with numerous short stories published across a range of print and digital platforms. His books are available on Amazon, and more about his work can be found at www.robbiesheerinwriter.com.