So you want to write a really good villain into your story. Let me tell you, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Good bad guys (or girls) are hard to get right. Remember, not every story needs a villain. Opposing sides need not be Good and Evil, but might just have different viewpoints. One really excellent series I’ll mention is the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. Thinking hard, I can’t really recall a solid villain anywhere in the books, just opposing viewpoints being discussed with sharp implements, and lots of really great satire and a really sideways hero.

Remember, there are lots of types of villains. The type that used to drive me crazy, and still does, is the typical James Bond villain. Other than being innately evil, there was very little motivation there. I mean it’s fun to be evil, but where’s the net gain? Not very real…

One type of villain that is very real is the misguided fellow who thinks he or she is doing right, and that the end justifies any means… The name Hitler comes to mind when I think of that type of villain.

Then there’s the type of villain that makes your blood run cold. The Silence of the Lambs type of villain: utterly insane, but diabolical, relentless and frightfully intelligent. I’m thinking of Hannibal Lecter, not the clumsy guy who was making a new dress out of human skin. That is a useful plot tool, but not really a villain. Yes, I know people like that exist, but it is really so much more interesting to crawl around inside a Hannibal Lecter, then a simple psychopathic slasher.

The possibilities are endless…

What am I getting at? Hmmm… well, I think I’m getting at how to achieve these different types of villains. This is often difficult, since you and I are normal, well balanced, upstanding… law abiding…. Uh… yeah…

That’s my point!

We’ve all got a dark side, an inner maniac, a voice that tells us to ram our car into that imbecile exiting the “IN” lane at the donut shop. And not just that guy, but the one who plots his boss’ death in great detail, even down to how to dispose of the pieces with the document shredder… Now, tell the truth, you’ve done that. There’s no harm in admitting it. This is what separates us (the sane ones) from the real villains; we don’t act on those impulses! But that doesn’t mean we can’t use our inner villains to create really great ones for our fiction.

So, indulge yourself. Get in touch with your inner villain. Light some black candles, pour a glass of dark red wine, play some really dark music (goth works for me), and let the blood flow onto the page.

And if you scare yourself into a sleepless night… you know you’re doing it right!