Tag Archives: villain

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE HOPE IS GONE

HOW TO CREATE THE UNEXPECTED HERO

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Looks like we’ll be sticking with the Mariah Carey song, “Hero.” There’s an amazing line that she uses in this song from so long ago: “When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong. Then you’ll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you.”

The unexpected hero is the one who would not under any circumstances ever want to be a hero or a heroine. She would say no to saving the world as emphatically as a fifth grader would say “No” to drugs.

These types of heroes are becoming more common in literature, because readers want to feel greater than ordinary, and let’s admit it, we writers want to feel the same way.

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THERE’S A HERO

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HOW TO CREATE A HERO

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Mixing the list of villains can be a lot of fun, and it also helps to get a clear sight as to where your story is going. I am about 70% done with the third book in a trilogy which means that I’m about 90% done with the actual trilogy itself!

I say that because I intend to start working on the plans that I have for another series almost immediately after these three books are done, and in order for me to get my villains right, I am going to play around with the mix-and-match approach of the different combinations of villains. Continue reading →

EVIL. VILE. LIVE.

SLIPPERY CIRCUMSTANCES

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HOW TO BLEND THE VILLAINS PART 1

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Over the past few days, I have described the five types of villains: the slippery villain (the annoying snake who you hate), the circumstantial villain (the person who is against the main only because of the situation),the evil villain (the 1-D evil incarnate), the conceptual villain (where the idea is the villain), and the valiant villain (the noble villain).

That’s a lot!

Let’s consider something else. What if we want to further define our villain? We can actually blend these villain types to create…THE SUPER VILLAIN! Continue reading →

WHEN EVIL IS VALIANT

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HOW TO CREATE A NOBLE VILLAIN

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A nobleman is a man of dignity and sophistication. He is a man who handles business with a professional approach. He is a man who is determined to succeed. Take this nobleman and give him the traits of a villain, and you have created the Valiant Villain.

A VV is the type of villain who has a strict moral code, and only under the rarest of circumstances does he break it. This is the kind of villain whose motives need to be explored. He deserves to be understood; he demands it even. Continue reading →

A MERE THOUGHT

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HOW TO CREATE A CONCEPTUAL VILLAIN

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The conceptual villain is a difficult antagonist to create. Why? Because the main is always fighting this metaphysical antagonist, but this villain cannot be seen. It is more felt than visualized. Even describing this kind of villain seems limited.

The most obvious conceptual villain is time. Time is often used to push the main forward through the mission. Movies where a bomb has been planted are good examples of the villain of time. Continue reading →

THE EVIL WITHIN

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HOW TO CREATE AN EVIL VILLAIN

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The most well-known villain type is the “evil for evil’s sake” bad guy. This villain has no motives for his evil. He wants to rule the world, and he wants to enslave all its inhabitants.

This type of antag is comical if you take him to his logical end because the question always arises, “What are you going to do if you do enslave the world?” That said, it doesn’t matter what’s next. The important thing is what’s happening right now.

The evil villain is seen most in epic fantasies since everyone knows that evil is bad. Of course we know of the Sith Lord, Darth Sideous from Star Wars. There’s Darken Rahl from The Sword of Truth. The list goes on with these scumbags. Continue reading →

VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE

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HOW TO CREATE A CIRCUMSTANTIAL VILLAIN

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Yesterday we talked about a Slippery Villain. Today we are going to look at the Circumstantial Villain. She’s the one who would not be a villain under most other situations, but it just so happens that the events that have taken place are the right conditions for her villainy to emerge.

This is the type of villain that we each embody in ourselves. Most of us are probably nice people who work hard to treat people as we want to be treated. But, under certain conditions, that niceness would go away, if only for a moment. Continue reading →

SLIPPERY WHEN WET

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HOW TO CREATE A SLIPPERY VILLAIN

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What type of villain are you creating? There are several types, and we are going to take a few days to explore these feats of villainy.

This post will be about the slippery villain. This villain is like a fish that you just can’t keep your hands on. He’s a villain by circumstance, and it only makes you hate him more. Continue reading →