From Joker to Lord Voldemort, everyone loves to hate villains. They drive the plot and we feel just as passionate about them as the protagonists of the story.

There have been some exceptionally well written villains, one that send shivers up our spines. They aren’t always cliche in the sense where they have mustaches and have a white cat they stroke as they laugh maniacally.

What Exactly is a Villian?

How exactly do you craft a villain that’s interesting and the readers can come to understand?

It’s important to understand the difference between antagonist and a villain.

An antagonist is a character that directly opposes the protagonist. The antagonist doesn’t necessarily have too have evil intentions. For example in the manga Death Note, L would be considered the antagonist because he opposes Light – the protagonist. L however, isn’t evil.

An antagonist can have the same goal as the main character – they’re not evil at all. They can commit good deeds with bad intentions or bad intentions.

Villains however, are a completely different story altogether.

A villain is a character who directly affects the plot. They have malicious intent and commit heinous crimes. They are aware what they are doing is wrong. Their actions are no way morally just in today’s society.

Villains don’t necessarily think of themselves as villains. It’s only the protagonist of the story who perceives and labels them as one. From the villain’s perspective, they are not one. They believe the crimes they are committing are fine. It’s important you remember that.

A villain doesn’t necessarily have to be one person. It can be a setting or a society. For example in the Hunger Games, the villain would be The Capitol. It isn’t just one person. It’s the entire government.

The Key to Crafting Villains:

Villains are the heroes of their own stories. Those stories, are usually never told. Treat villains the same way you write your protagonists.

Despite villains being awful, they are still somewhat human. They have personalities, likes and dislikes. They have pasts and had to deal with pain at some point in their life. They deserve their own rich and compelling stories.

Give them personalities, a past, their own worldviews and a voice.

Put yourself in their shoes.

Think about why they act the way they acted, and what made them this way.

Make them somewhat understandable. You do not have to justify their actions, but help the readers understand why they are what they are.

This is not to say that you should downplay your villain’s evil in any way. In fact, some of the most cruellest actions they can commit can see terrifying, but only if you make it seem humane.

Our villains can laugh and kill, but what if their actions make us question our own humanity. What if they reveal scary truths about the reality of our lives? That is what makes a villain so wholly and utterly terrifying.

Could that have been me if my life had taken a different turn?

Were they technically right?

Could anyone become like this?

These are the types of questions readers should ask themselves while reading.  

Final Thoughts:

When creating a villain, remember that they’re the hero of their own stories.  If you reduce the villain to a bad guy without taking time to understand from his perspective, then the villain becomes bland and boring.

The best villains are the complicated and messy ones.