Comments on: Building A Better Villain

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 21:21:13 +0000

Great info! And what do you know, I'm on the right track building my bad guy. Thanks for the tips!

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 05:56:55 +0000

Wonderful information!

denise

By: Christina Anne Hawthorne

Christina Anne Hawthorne — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 19:44:05 +0000

Okay, this was a fantastic post I wish I'd been able to read yesterday. Thank you. I write historical fantasy, but drafted a story with a serial killer not all that long ago (yes, one of MY many projects). Case of the Deadly Stroll. This post will help me to hone that novel when I return to it. It revolves around a serial killer who may, or may not, be killing to distract from other activity. They're also leaving personal messages for the first female crime scene photographer, Talma Loyal. Only she understands them and they reference a secret she can't afford to share. Ahh … you make me want to return to it right now.

By: Kris Maze

Kris Maze — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 03:02:28 +0000

Great post to backwards engineer a worthy villian, Bob! I'll use these suggestions in my next dark and twisty tale for sure. 🙂

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 01:12:17 +0000

I've always liked Kristen Lamb's method of plotting by the antagonist. It seems like, if you can get it right, it makes the book move much faster. Stephen J Cannell (creator of the Rockford Files) used to say that whenever he got stuck on plot, he'd ask himself, "What are the Heavies doing?"

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 22:02:26 +0000

In reply to Ellen Buikema. Love that technique, Ellen!

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 21:56:46 +0000

In reply to V.M.Sang. I really like characters like that. They have depth. If you look into it, everyone thought John Wayne Gacy was a just a nice likeable guy, until.....

By: V.M.Sang

V.M.Sang — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 20:24:41 +0000

What a great post. This is one for keeping. My villain is a charismatic and, on the surface, a likeable character, but he has revenge on his mind.
Thank you for posting this.

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 19:10:52 +0000

In reply to JL Nich Author SFF. Wow. That's an intriguing concept. Do you remember the title or author? It sounds kind of like an evil twist on Walter Mitty!

By: JL Nich Author SFF

JL Nich Author SFF — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 17:57:01 +0000

I remember one book, well written with the villians thoughts were shown in small segments and he thought he was always thinking in terms of 'grandness of designing his killings' and 'how bold' and 'how risky', where in life he was so ordinary and never did anything grand or risky and his killings turned out to be accidental deaths, where he just happened to be near, but he confesses to them all. I loved at the end where he is confronted by another prisoner and in his head he is like "I've planned this perfectly, meeting with one of the top criminals in the joint. Now is our time to rule." But the head kingpin prisoner just chokes him to death. It was such a great POV to play against the hero and for the reader.