Villains Part II-- fictional

 To start, I want to say I won't be discussing partisan political issues in this blog *fingers crossed that I can stay with that for my own sanity.* The truth is I believe people tend to live in tribal bubbles and that's probably for sanity. I'd like to do the same, but I read both sides of issues (and yes, both sides are out there). I have opinions, which I might give to a friend over coffee but won't be doing it here as I don't honestly know. It might seem momentarily satisfying to rant, but I don't think it helps me overall, nor do I believe it convinces those in bubbles (on either side). 

Writing about writing is better as I can immerse myself in a different world. Writing about nature is equally good. You won't see me writing here about family either. Those things can change on a dime. So... for those looking for partisan ranting or my daily life, this isn't a blog for them. It will stick to writing, nature, and once in a while what I see as cultural issues which can include my own health when I think sharing might be helpful. Otherwise-- onward and upward as a friend of mine used to say. *s*

 

 One of the difficulties of writing, especially character based stories, is how do we get into the heads of these characters and make what they do seem logical? It's the challenge and there are ways especially where it comes to evil characters.

 Regarding my thinking when creating a fictional villain, I have to start with two questions-- sociopath or psychopath? Is this villain also narcissistic? In other words does anyone matter but that they gain their own aims? This can prove both self damaging but intended to get what one wants at any cost. 

One of my villains began as someone selfish. He evolved eventually into what I'd regard as a psychopath, willing to hurt others at any cost. He had a point of view, which is not the norm for villains, but I wanted him not to come from nowhere but for it to make sense what he was doing. Writing the point of view of 'bad guys' isn't easy but there is a satisfying aspect to it. Remember, what they are doing, to them seems logical. How to make that show up is the challenge for a writer.

I wish I had all my books on writing here in Arizona as right now I can't give the title of the book where I read the following. It was a very successful western author. He said for the hero/heroine to overcome a villain, the villain has to seem powerful also or it's not a big deal. Making a villain seem a real challenge is the job of the author and then the hero to overcome.

Is it a bad guy or a villain is another thing to decide when writing about this clash of good and evil. There are those doing evil works but they don't seem like villains, to me; but rather just bad people. In my books, only true villains get a point of view-- something that not all authors choose. To go from being a bad guy to a villain is fun for an author to write and make it into a character study. 

One of my fictional villains was trying to cover up another crime. I wanted the reader to wonder --who was it as there were two possibilities.

Where I feel I have missed something significant is to have a villain who has mixed feelings. Generally, mine have a goal where being bad is what it takes, and they don't look back to be sure it's where they want to go.

What I basically feel is that writing villains can be fun, but the writer needs to look into why they could do such things. Most of the time with the newspaper articles on what could be called villainous acts, we rarely find the motives. Journalists look for it but the evil doers are not encouraged to reveal how they think, even when found guilty

Motives are a key in romances for the bad guys or the heroes.