okay so, dear authors is a series that I've been doing for a minute. If you are
not familiar with it, I have a playlist up there and down in the description if
you want to watch more of these videos. But essentially this started with me
just asking my subscribers, which is a bunch of readers, asking what do you like,
what are you not like in specific topics of books and then we all come together
and we just chat as readers about what we enjoy and what we don't. Also, I
mentioned in my last dear authors video that I do critique work and that
surprisingly generated a lot of interest, apparently I don't talk about the work I
do enough. So hey, I do critique work. If you're interested, check out my link my
website linked in the description. So this time our topic is villains. I posted
a community tab asking my subscribers what you love and hate in villains, I
want to see what people think. Top-rated comment, or top like to comment: I hate
when the villain who has been described to be clever just starts explaining
their evil plan to the hero instead of just killing them the evil plan should
be revealed in a more natural way that doesn't make the villain look like an
idiot. Villainous monologue, we all hate it. The
villainous monologue is probably really hard to avoid because making things
organic as opposed to info dumping it's just naturally - it's got to be more
difficult. But it does likein back to old cartoons and stuff like that, when
you see the villain just monologuing for a really long time and then the main
character thinks internally in their head "I've got to keep him talking,
because then maybe I might could escape" and so he says "but how did you do it,
oh great villain?" and the villain twirls his mustache and he says "haha let me
tell you" It is so cheesy and then of course as the villain is monologuing
some deus ex machina comes in to distract the villain, help defeat the
villain, whatever. Or the main character just happens to untie their ropes at
that time, you know what I'm talking about. Like I'm being really generic but
this is stuff that I still read sometimes. The villainous monologue,
thankfully I don't read it as much but it is really bad. It's
much much better to have it revealed organically either through some side
characters or just through watching things unfold, seeing the character come
across the evil plan, some - it's just - there's organic ways to do things and
there's info-dump, cheesy ways to do things.
And I think we all know which one's better. I always hate when villains are
evil just for the sake of being evil the best villains are those who have real
motivation and you could almost feel like they make sense we all knew we
shouldn't be rooting for Thanos and yet we know he has a point when he says we
can't keep going as we do we know grinned well is evil murdering toddlers
and whatnot but you also can't help agreeing that forcing Wizards to hide
makes people unhappy the best villains are those which are slightly gray
instead of just pure maniacal. I have read several books recently where the
evil guy is just plain evil. He's bad because he's bad because the author told
him to be bad. Or she. Either way, when the villain doesn't have any layers or any
motivation other than "I want to take over the world!" it's just not interesting.
I love an evil villain that has a reason for why they believe in their cause, for
what they're doing. Not because they're trying to take over, not because they're
bad and they like killing people, not because they have a grudge against the
main character - unless it's a layered grudge - but because they actually believe
that what they're doing is best. They actually think that the world would be
better if things went according to their plans. Or like they have a real reason
and when you get the villains reason you think, huh they've got a point, but you're
still wrong, but I get it. And then suddenly they're compelling, they're
layered, they feel like real people instead of just feeling like a mustache
twirling villain. I hate when the villain is off-screen for most of the book ,I
want to really get to know the villain preferably through their actions and
through their interactions with a protagonist. Also it's OK for a villain
to be outright full-on evil not everyone actually is the hero of their own story
and the villain being pure evil doesn't automatically make your story less
mature. Lots of villains who would be best
described as pure evil but are still complex interesting characters. An
interesting take and basically the opposite of the take that we just had. I
can't- I guess if you still make them complex and layered then I can see where
you're coming from, but I honestly disagree. I think even the most evil
people have reason, rationale and motivation and even if we disagree with
it, being evil just for being evil - being evil just because you like being bad
isn't - I just don't think it's good enough. I think that's interesting though,
I haven't actually heard that opinion very often. I almost exclusively hear
people saying evil for the sake of evil is bad. But I do agree with you on the
off-screen comment, we all know the books where the bad guy is off screen for the
entirety of the book until the very end where there's this big dynamic fight and
the hero comes out the hero because of course he does. It's certainly not a
compelling villain story and it doesn't - it doesn't make the stakes high, because
we're not intimidated by this villain, because who are they?
And it doesn't make the villain interesting. So is it good? No. I'm gonna
go off the comments for a minute and mention something that I really like
because I'm not sure if anybody will mention it since we're talking about
villains, it makes it seem like we're talking about the hero versus the
villain kind of dichotomy. But I really really like books where really there's
not necessarily a good - a good guy. Everybody in the book is some layer of
bad, but you find yourself rooting for and connecting with certain ones. The
Lies of Locke Lamora is a great example of that we're following the bad guys,
we're following people that are thieving and conniving and killing but also, so is
everybody else in the world. There's really no one good to root for so you
root for the bad guys. The first law is another example of that, there's really
nobody - there's hardly anybody in these books that are good people.
We're following a bunch of bad people, but we love them. I hope you love them. I
love them. I love villains who are threatening but who still have redeeming
qualities about them. I don't need every villain to redeem
themselves in the end but they shouldn't be completely evil unless they're a
demon, then it's acceptable. What else makes a great villain is when they
genuinely believe that what they're doing is
justified instead of just being evil for the sake of it. What I hate is villain
talk ,when the character just blurts out cliche language like "come out come out
wherever you are" or "it was I all along" villains should be
characters with their own personalities, traits, strengths, weaknesses and
backstories. Yeah it really just comes down to make your villain a real person.
You want your main character to be a real person, right? You don't want them to
just be copy and paste - the main character that people say "oh but the
author just meant for the readers to insert themselves in the main c -" they
didn't. The author just wrote a bad main character. It's the same thing with
villains, when you make them personality - less, that's boring. Nobody likes that.
Well, some people - I don't like it. But yeah, pretty much probably - I'm gonna go
ahead and guess that pretty much this entire video is going to be full of
people saying, give villains complex personalities just as much as every
other character in your novel. The best books are the ones where I walk away
thinking I just interacted with real people and those people stick with me
and I feel like I've learned from them or I've gone through life with them.
Because they feel so tangibly real. Villains are not the exception. Build
them up, make them real, give them character traits personality traits, give
them motivation, give them weaknesses as well as strengths. Don't just make them
maniacally laugh until someone shoots them in the back and then they fall
dramatically into the pit, you know what I mean. Like just the big villain that's
mentioned throughout the book, people cowering at the name, and then when
they're finally introduced in this story, they're dealt with in one chapter. Hate.
That also - again going off of the comments - a villain, the character villain,
doesn't actually have to be a villain. We can just deal with a bunch of different
antagonists, people that are opposing our our main character, but they're not
necessarily the big bad evil in the world. It's just, some people are an
antagonist. I absolutely love a twist villain, especially when it's done well.
Example the hero's best friend who has been on this journey with them, who the
hero thinks can trust but they find out that the best friend was the one working
against them all along. Or a member of the group is the villain. I can't think
of too many books or TV shows that do this really well, but when
it's done well and it rips your heart out or shocks you, just like the heroes.
it's awesome. Man, you're right. I didn't even think about that one. A really
obvious example and this, is not a spoiler because it happens in the very
beginning of the book, is The Count of Monte Cristo. The antagonist of this book
is a friend to out the person that we're following. Coincidentally, the person that
we're following is very complex, and not strictly a hero. But I can they give
a couple of examples that would of course be a spoiler to talk about, but
you're right, that really is very rewarding and satisfying when - especially
when you're shocked with the character. You don't see the villainous chapters, so
we're ahead of the character, but we actually are with the character and then
when we find out that we've been stabbed in the back by our friend... man, that is
good stuff. I don't read that very often. Somebody write that book. It's been
written before, somebody write that book. I need to read more of those. Man,
comment of the day. Winner. I like a villain that stays a villain, not
everyone deserves a Redemption arc, especially because a lot of times the
redemption is just, they did one good thing before they die and that's just no.
I agree, I very rarely enjoy a Redemption arc for a bad guy. Stormlight Archive is
an example where it's done really well, but we see it over time and it's done -
it's done well there. However, usually I agree with you. When a villain gets a
Redemption arc, I know that there's a really good one in Avatar and I'm gonna
start watching avatar soon I promise, and I'm gonna make videos about it I'm
excited. Well, if I like it anyway. I agree, because usually when a villain
gets a Redemption arc it's, usually very abrupt and then really 180 very
uncomfortably now they're the best person ever, and it's not satisfying.
Again just fully write things, don't just do abrupt quick cheesy things. A good
Redemption arc, where the character has to really face some hard truths and make
some big changes over time is really really satisfying. But I agree that if
there is a Redemption arc for the villain, I'm almost always disappointed
because it's almost always abrupt and sudden and easy and just not authentic
feeling at all. I like villains that are - who are
actually smart. They need to make protagonist nervous to face them and
keep them on their toes throughout the book. I should be able to respect their
plans and smartness even when they're evil and I'm not rooting for them. Yes
I'm currently reading Harry Potter and I want to love Voldemort as a bad guy, but
his plans are so ridiculous and dumb and unnecessarily complex.
I love the Harry Potter series, but man, we could have had a better villain. It's
nice when we get to the big master plan of the evil guy and we can't just think
"we could have done that months ago if you just did this instead of all this" uh
I love villains who are despicable and evil but also have a code of honor to
which they abide for example they have no problem manipulating people but they
would never attack you from behind. I don't think I've seen that very often
but I like that too, it just adds a little bit of uniqueness to the person. I
love villains that are fallen heros, that aren't redeemed at the end, and have
parallels with the hero. Bonus points when they are so twisted and evil that
their whole situation just seems really tragic. Yes, someone that used to be like
the top, a good guy, someone that we all used to look up to and then they turn so
bad and for really seemingly valid and understandable reasons and - oh man you're
right man that's another thing that I don't see enough and it's so good and
exciting. It's when they're not just they were born bad because they have a bad
gene but they actually used to fight for good and then they turn bad because of
something that happened and then you have to face off with someone that you
actually admire what they've done. Hmm that's a good one, that's a really good
one. I love it when the villain is presented in a way that makes them truly
intimidating to the reader, it's the sense of unease that you get when the
villain walks into the room that I love. the Lord ruler from Miss borne is an
awesome example of this. I love that too when it were not just
constantly told by the characters in the book
this guy's evil we're afraid of his name this person is awful they killed a whole
bunch of people and we're not just told constantly why this person is so awful
but then we don't really see it until the climax of the book, but when we
actually when the villain is actually built up a presence around them that
even intimidates the reader because we see how truly dark they are maybe we've
watched them do horridness things instead of just being told that they've
done horrendous things you're right when they are built up to the point that
the reader is actually uncomfortable when they walk into the room that is
really good stuff. Yes, okay yes if you don't actually believe the villain can
win what's the point writers need to make the audience
worried about it and it needs to be really really hard for the protagonist
to come out on top. Yes it is one of my biggest pet peeves when a book has no
tension, when the good guys are constantly facing some sort of evil or
some sort of danger but I fear nothing because there's so much plot armor or
because nothing has actually been built up and I just I expect everybody to come
out find at the - fine at the end. When a villain is truly evil enough, that I
actually believe that they could win it all and the book could end with them on
top, that is so satisfying. Even if they don't even - if the villain does get
defeated, it's so satisfying to actually fear for the characters when they're in
a position of great terror and when you give me a villain that actually has that
built up around them. That is so satisfying and this is another reason
why I think that it's great to be comfortable or at least willing to kill
off characters because if everybody always makes it out fine and nobody ever
dies, that when - when we get to the big conflict I am NOT going to fear for our
main characters life whatsoever because I know that the author would never kill
them and the c - main character doesn't need to die, they can make it out
but I just want a little bit - I want to feel tension when I'm supposed to be
feeling tension. I think the most effective villains are the ones that you
hate so much because they can hurt the heroes on a personal scale. You don't
really care about the villains that are trying to destroy the whole world
because it's on too big of a scale for you to be invested in the villains that
prod at the hero's worst insecurities or kill your favorite characters are always
the ones You can't stand, and if the hero wins it makes it all the more satisfying.
First shoot then talk, not first talk then shoot. Please. Yes so this is kind of
something that we've already talked about but it's essentially the villain
actually being evil and not just we're told he's evil but we never see them do
anything. The villain that's actually killing people, the villain that's
actually doing horrible things and we're watching it happen and we're afraid of
them because we see that they are willing to do horrible things to anybody
that's in their way, so when our hero faces off with them we know that the
villain is actually a threat and not just all talk No -
all bark no bite. I love stories like perfume where the whole book is from the
villains perspective. sometimes I get tired of seeing everything from the
hero's point of view. I agree with you I love following the villain or the
antagonist as long as it's done well, as long as the villain is an actual layered
dynamic interesting character and not just I'm bad because I feel like it I'm
bad because I'm bad, as long as they're actually interesting in real - real
characters. I love following the villain even though you know you're not - it's not
gonna - it's not gonna be a happy story necessarily, or it's not gonna be, I don't
know, what you get out of out of a heroes story. It has really nice sometimes to
just get into the head of the bad guy, I don't know I like it too. Okay so I've
been scrolling for a while now and this is a subject that people seem to agree
for the most part on. For the most part, the majority of the comments are people
saying essentially the same thing, which is just give the villain some
personality. Don't just make them your stereotypical, mustache twirling, cliche
line saying, no motivation giving villain. Give your villain as much care in your
character work as you give any other character in your
story. There's a lot of really cool sort of devices that were mentioned in
comments about things that - like specific things that people like, like the villain
that is close to the protagonist and betrays them. I'm a sucker for it too. But
it seems like the majority of us are just saying we like complex villains
just because we like complex characters and they're characters. I really enjoyed
this video because villains are characters that I don't have a
ridiculous amount of opinions on, when a villains done really really well I love
it but I guess there's just not that many villains that stand out to me as
amazing villains. I would love to read more stories with really compelling
layered villains, someone write those books. Anyway, that's pretty much all
there is to say about villains today as far as this community tab. Thank you
again everybody, for participating in the series. I love this series, I love
just sitting down and chatting about what we like and don't like in stories
it's so much fun. Be sure to continue this discussion in the comments. I post
videos every Sunday Tuesday Thursday Saturday