Sean MacDonald

5/1/22
Period 3

How to Create a Villain

To create a villain is to create a foil or obstacle that your protagonist or protagonists must
overcome. What is a villain? A villain in its most simple form is a character who opposes the hero. For
many writers, creating a villain often depends on the type of story they write.
So how do you create a worthy villain?

First you need to determine if your story is focused on the hero or the villain. Either can be
chosen first and the other crafted around that choice. So first make a decision on who your story will be
based on. If you are basing your story on the hero, then you should determine the type of villain that
your hero struggles with. The villain could either be the complete opposite of the hero or a darker
reflection of them. A good example of a villain who is a darker reflection of the hero would be the
Spider-Man villain Venom. Venom has all the same powers as Spider-Man, but unlike Spider-Man who
stops the bad guys then hands them over to the police, Venom kills those he sees as criminals.

If you are basing your story on the villain, you can focus on all of the characteristics of
said villain that will result in an interesting story.

Next, after you have taken those steps, then you need a concept to manifest the villain. Villains can
take the forms of humans, anthropomorphized animals, aliens and other things. Villains can also be
abstract, taking the form of a setting, society, “or even the Protagonist's self.” These types of villains
can be harder to connect with. The movie, The Martian, is an excellent example of an abstract villain in
the form of the Martian environment.

At some point you need a name. This can be done earlier on in the process or as the final step, but it is
often best if you have most of the character defined which might influence the choice of the character’s
name.

Pennywise, the name of the killer clown monster from IT isn’t the kind of name that would send
you running for the hills, which is the whole point. Pennywise's trick is to lure his victims into a
false sense of security and then strike when they least expect it.

Maleficent's name of course is derived from the words malevolent and magnificent.

One of the most important aspects of creating a villain is defining the conflict around which the story will
be based. This conflict will usually drive the story and be a foundation of the plot that you develop
around the characters. This can be a classic good against evil conflict, or a morally gray dispute or a
conflict with nature. This can really be anything that is a conflict.
The final ingredient for any villain that is human or human-like is motivation. And this is probably the
most important part of the villain’s character that can make the villain interesting or lackluster. A good
villain isn’t just, “a bad guy.” Every villain has to have a reason why they do the things they do. It is
important to know that most often, the villains don’t see themselves as the villain, they see themselves
as the hero. Some of the greatest villains are the ones you “hate to love.” The audience should enjoy
rooting against them, but feel bad about it later. The audience should agree with their mission, but
disagree with how they go about said mission.

Conclusion:

There are many steps to creating a great villain. You need to understand how your villain affects the
story and characters. You need their origins and motivations about who they are and why they do the
things they do. To review one last time, start with the hero, the type villain you're making, how they
affect the story, their name, the conflict, and motivations. However, the most important thing to
remember is to have fun.

Sources:
https://nybookeditors.com/2017/01/guide-writing-convincing-villain/