Villains Part 1

 

For my blog, it's back to elements of writing certain kinds of books, often labeled suspense.

Before I go into mine, I have another aspect to share-- what amounts to real deal villains. In romances, there are two main types, maybe three. I mostly use one of them but sometimes I have a character evolve into a third. 

Villains can look like villains, but most do not. Someone who looks like a good guy (yes, most are males but not all) and doesn't show their true nature until they have someone vulnerable. This is the kind to especially watch out for in what we call real life. It is also what leads to good suspense writing.

A year or so ago, I got interested in real life crimes of the cold case sort, where the case is only solved years later.  I learned some about that by watching a YouTube called The Investigation Room, where the host is a retired California detective who now works for what I believe is called the Cold Case Foundation. When I first saw his show, I was looking into the killings of four Moscow Idaho students, which had led me to wonder what happened in such brutal killings. That's where I first heard of the kind of evidence they use to catch killers when there are no witnesses. He had on good guests who explored what sometime leads to such murderers.

Well, one thing led to another and I found other such cases on YouTube from A&E, Cold Case Files, where many of the cases were solved after many years with new techniques that were now available to the legal system. Some of the killers had done multiple killings and others just one. Either way, when the police rededicated themselves to a case, often by bringing in new minds, they could use tools not available in say the 90s or earlier.

When it comes to creating a villain for fiction, I have stayed away from serial killers. I think it's because I don't want to think about people like the recent Long Island killer. It's not only kind of yucky but not particularly interesting for exploring the mindset. 

Books do not need villains. Often the problem is between the characters, which can cause plenty of grief. But, if someone wants suspense in their books, a good villain can do it. I enjoy exploring complex minds-- next blog for more on that.