Hellooo, everybody!
It's officially the Halloween season, which means the costumes are out.
You know, I gotta bring back the pizza! And we're tackling all things spooky,
monstrous, and wicked. Today we're focused on the theme of evil. Specifically, evil dialogue.
Some of you have requested a deeper dive into dialogue. And today I am doing just
that. Specifically, I will be tackling how to craft your villain or antagonist’s voice.
I am super happy to cover this topic, because personally I love writing for my villains. I
think it's so much fun, and I don't care what that says about me. A lot of people agree,
writing baddies is the best. The problem is, it's really easy to fall into cliches. So I am breaking
down my ten best tips for writing evil dialogue for your baddies. That way they come across
as original and authentic, characters that your readers will love to hate. Personally,
numbers seven and ten are my favorite, I love them so much.
Comment below and let me know which ones are your favorites.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
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Wednesdays. They're awesome, they're amazing, I'm in it, and sometimes I'm a pizza. It doesn't get
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a day's work. And if you wanna read some really twisted, fucked up baddies, be sure to check out
my number one best selling dark fantasy romance series featuring The Savior's Champion and
The Savior’s Sister. They are available wide. Which means they are available at all major retailers.
You can get ‘em in ebook, audiobook, hardback, or paperback. They're linked below. Pick up a
copy today. Or else! Now let's get into my ten best tips for writing villainous dialogue. This
is the sort of shit you wanna pay attention to, if you want your bad guys to really pack a punch. I'm
about to give you a pizza my mind. Number One (1): Your villain is a person. Unless they're an alien,
or a monster, or a demon. You know what I mean. A lot of writers create their villains thinking:
they are the villain, they're an evil mastermind, a creature of darkness. They forget that in
most circumstances, they're also human beings. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to make
them likable or sympathetic. Though some people would argue that that is a must, I think that's
bullshit. But you do need to look at your villain as a multi-dimensional creation. Someone with
layers and depth, with goals, strengths and insecurities. This step on its own could be
its own video. In fact, I have made several videos about this. The point is understanding the depth
of your villain is going to translate directly into their dialogue. It's gonna make you more
aware of lines of dialogue that maybe seem like a cool thing for a villain to say, but don't really
match your particular villain's character. And if that's the case, wonderful, delete it. You want to
develop this level of awareness. It'll make it much easier for you to craft your antagonist’s
dialogue. Number Two (2): Don't emulate your favorites. I cannot stress this enough. We
all have our favorites. And many writers get into this gig specifically to emulate their favorites.
This is not the time to do it. Emulating your favorite villains is the quickest way to create
one dimensional, hackneyed characters. And this is nowhere more obvious than when it comes to evil
dialog. We see the same tired catchphrases, threats, and jabs over and over again,
because people keep trying to duplicate what's already been done. It's fine to take inspiration
from another source, but make it your own. Focus on creating your own character, with their own
unique albeit duplicitous goals. Your favorites are your favorite for a reason. They were special
and distinctive, they charted new ground. Everyone is already copying them, so instead of doing that,
write dialogue that is worth copying. Which brings us to, Number Three (3): Beware
of cliches. “Bow before me foolish mortal! “And now, I take over the world!” “Come out,
come out, wherever you are.” Does any of this sound familiar? This comes back to emulating
your favorites. A lot of the same villain jargon gets recycled which in turn leads to a bunch of
very tired bad guys. Tired as in boring, not tired as in they are physically tired, because they are
not real and do not experience actual emotions. We've already heard these lines ad nauseum,
so you might as well come up with something new. The key is to first create that multi dimensional
character we've already talked about, and then tap into them and their mindset. You know this
character better than anyone else, you should be able to craft their dialogue in a realistic way,
and if you've done your due diligence in fleshing them out, their dialogue should be anything but
cliche. Cliches are what people fall back on when they don't have creativity on their side.
With villains in particular, you need to be hyper aware of whether or not you're tiptoeing into
this territory, because it could completely ruin their sinister effect. Number Four (4): Maniacal
laughter is reserved for the maniacal. Friendly reminder that just because they're a villain,
doesn't mean they're crazy. This is a note that comes from my years of critiquing, back in the
day. I said back in the day, for all the people still soliciting me for critiques. I don't do that
shit anymore. A lot of writers want to include a maniacal laughter moment, and that makes sense…if
the character’s maniacal. And I mean, to be honest, I know actual people who experience mania,
and I've never heard them laugh like that. This is not something you should include on a whim,
just because the character is a villain. It also sends a really uncomfortable message: in order
to be evil, one must be a maniac. So before you write your villain standing in the middle of a
lightning storm, shouting “Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaa.” Ask yourself, does this make any sense at all?
Not every bad guy is The Joker. You don't need a cackle to get your point across.
Number Five (5): Character matters. When fleshing out your villain, there are a few key points to
concentrate on. Personality, history, and values. There are plenty of other traits to consider,
but these three are super, mega, ultra important, so start here. Let's start with personality. We've
got angsty reclusive villains, we have outgoing villains, they're the life of the party. Are
they avoiding people and thus conversation, or are they up in everyone's business? Next,
there's history. Does your villain have mommy issues? If so, maybe dialogue revolving around
mothers might put them on edge, or throw them into a tirade. Is your villain wealthy and educated,
if so their dialogue is going to reflect that, their insults may sound more thoughtful and
eloquent than the average villain? Lastly, what does your villain value? What gives them strength
and pride? If you know these things, you will also know what traits they find demeaning and unworthy.
In The Savior's Champion, Brontes values wealth and power, which makes it really easy for him to
look down on Tobias who is powerless and poor. These are the sorts of things you wanna keep in
mind when crafting their dialogue. It helps add individuality to their words, so they don't just
come across as another batty cliche. Number Six (6): Voice matters. I hope that's obvious. Not
all villains are created equal. Are they the quiet brooding type? Are they the arrogant loquacious
type? Are they charming and likable? A lot of newbies have their villains spouting all evil,
all the time, and not only is that unrealistic, it's kinda generic. Again, this doesn't mean you
have to make your villains sympathetic, but you need to choose your moments wisely. Sometimes
your villain may say something nice, or neutral. Sometimes they might not talk at all. This is
especially important if you have another baddie in your book. In The Savior's Champion I had three
minor antagonists Drake, Antaeus, and Kaleo. They were in close proximity to one another throughout
the entire book, which means their dialogue had to be very distinct from one another. Antaeus
was a crude meathead, he valued strength and glory, he had no respect for anyone around him,
and when he opened his mouth it was usually to say something offensive or stupid. Drake,
on the other hand, rarely spoke at all. He intimidated people with his presence. I think
he might have only had maybe three lines in the book. And Kaleo was a showboater,
he was constantly looking for attention, he cracked jokes, he told stories. These are three
equally heinous people, with completely different backgrounds, completely different personalities,
and thus completely different voices. Number Seven (7): Motivation matters. This is so
incredibly important when writing your villain's dialogue. Yes, they are the bad guy. Yes, they are
thwarting your protagonist's plan. But what is their motivation? Sometimes their motivation is
the protagonist, they hate them so much, and just wanna defeat them. But a lot of times it's not.
Maybe their motivation is personal gain, maybe they want to colonize, or claim the crown,
or get the girl. Maybe they're wrapped up in their plans and goals. Maybe they think they're
the good guy in this situation. All of this is going to directly translate into their dialogue.
Too often people focus on making the bad guy big and bad, especially to the protagonist.
But is the protagonist that much of a focal point in their life? And if they think they're the good
guy, maybe their dialogue isn't big and bad at all. Maybe they're trying to convince the
protagonist to change their ways. Or maybe the protagonist is just a mere irritation in the
middle of their scheme. These are the things you need to consider, because it's going to change
how they speak to your MC. Remember their job isn't just to be bad. It's also to be believable,
and that requires staying in character. Number Eight (8): Less is more. People often feel
compelled to give their villains endless streams of verbose villainy. I once read a villain
monologue that went on for over four pages. That's not necessary. I understand the desire.
It's fun to write for villains and it's hard to stop when you're pumping out all that evil. I
encourage you to stop anyway. The thing is, the more vitriol you pump out into a single scene,
the quicker it loses its effect. It's like overeating. It was delicious at first, but
now you got diarrhoea. Don't turn your dialogue into diarrhoea. Plus, let's face it, pages of
evil dialogue can't be good. At some point you've probably stopped creating cutting original lines
and started to fall back on cliches. Instead of having your baddie spout off for hours, choose
the most vital lines. The ones that really matter, or the ones that are most creative and effective,
and stick with those. I wouldn't recommend an evil rant lasting for longer than a paragraph or two.
Number Nine (9): Except when more is more. The bad guy is evil, now is not the time to sugarcoat.
I've seen people writing villain’s dialogue like, “I’ll crush you into mincemeat.” Really?
I mean if this is a children's book that works, but otherwise, good God. “But Jennaaa, you just
said less is more.” Yeah in terms of length, not quality. If it's realistic for your bad guy to say
“I'll fucking kill you.” Then write “I’ll fucking kill you.” Don't worry about whether or not your
grandma will throw a fit, because she's not gonna read the book anyway. I hate to break it to you.
Don't be afraid to go for low blows, to curse or demean, or say something vile. Unless we're
talking about slurs regarding oppressed groups we don't belong to, because that would be stupid.
I'm not saying you have to make your villain an absolute trash mouth. But my point is,
don't dance around evil because of fear or modesty. If the person needs to be a douche,
let ‘em be a douche. I support you. And Number Ten (10): Cut deep when it counts. We've already
covered this a few times, but in case you forgot, not everything your villain says needs to be a
sick burn. However, there will probably be a time or two when your villain dishes out a dig
that burns straight through your protagonist's soul. And if you want to achieve this, you need
to think about two things. What does your villain look down upon? And more importantly, what would
cut to the core of your hero? You need to find some kind of overlap between these two factors.
Knowing what your villain looks down upon or despises is necessary for believability, when
people insult other people they typically go for what they personally feel is trash or unworthy.
And you need to know what hurt your hero, because otherwise the insult’s not gonna have
that much of an impact on them, and in turn, it won't have that much of an impact on the readers.
Find a way to connect these two facets, and you will concoct the sickest burn ever. You'll be
able to create your own juicy line of dialogue that readers will be quoting for years to come.
Just be sure to let ‘em know you got it from me. You're welcome. So that's all I got for you today.
You guys know that I love talking about dialogue in all forms. So if you've got another type of
dialogue that you'd like me to cover, comment it below, and you might see it in an upcoming video.
Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be
alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. If you like your book filled with villains, and
thus lots of villainous dialogue, check out The Savior's Champion and the Savior’s Sister. They're
out right now at all major retailers. You can get them in ebook, audiobook, hardback and paperback.
Do it right now, I said so. It's linked below. Yeah! And be sure to follow me on social media.
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​(Female Voice) Hey everyone! I'm Emma Tigan, narrator for The Savior’s Sister written by Jenna
Moreci. If you enjoy her channel and want to hear more writing advice and updates about her books,
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