Writing a compelling villain is often more challenging than writing a memorable protagonist, yet author Dan Brown says, “Villains are what define your hero”, and he even argues that you should develop your villain first.
Here are a few tips on how to write a compelling villain your readers will love to hate.
Power
Villains have to have some sort of power to be a truly formidable foe for your protagonist. This power can come in a variety of forms, including physical strength, social or political influence, wealth, wisdom, or magic. But whatever form of power you choose to gift the villain in your novel, make sure it is uniquely fitting to make them the best person to stand in opposition to your protagonist.
(Broken) Moral Compass
A villain is often thought to have a broken moral compass, but morals are not always binary. Consider the common thread of having to sacrifice something in order to save something else. Who gets to decide which is more deserving of being saved? Sometimes the answer may feel clear, but perspective plays a huge role in how we view things, and your antagonist has their own perspective of the world.
So while a villain is often merciless in their pursuit of their goal, their moral compass should be clear, even if it may seem broken to your reader. Give your villain a reason to believe they are in the right—after all, they consider themselves the protagonist of their own story.
Agency
Whether protagonist or antagonist, readers want characters who demonstrate agency—a proactive character who makes conscious choices and takes charge of their actions. Don’t just make things happen to your villain, but make them happen because of their decisions and the actions they take in pursuit of their goals and ambitions. And remember, every choice has consequences, whether good or bad, which will lead to another decision needing to be made.
Motivation
The villain’s purpose in a story is to create tension, conflict, and emotional stakes for your protagonist. But while your protagonist and antagonist will both make decisions that contradict each other, they shouldn’t revolve solely around each other.
The best villains don’t exist simply to serve as obstacles for your protagonist—they’re complex characters with a backstory and goals of their own. Developing depth, nuance, and motivation for your villain will allow your reader to understand the reasoning for their actions, even if they can’t quite sympathize or agree with them.
Your villain should see themselves as the protagonist of their own story, so ask the same questions of them that you would of your protagonist to discover their motivation. What do they want? What is holding them back from achieving that goal? And perhaps more importantly, ask them why they believe they are right, because your villain shouldn’t be evil just for the sake of being evil.
Empathy
Provide enough empathy for your villain that your reader questions what they would do in your villain’s shoes. You can do this by developing a backstory for your villain, which will explain (though not excuse) their actions through humanizing them via exposed vulnerabilities and relatability.
What tragedy did your villain fight to survive? What have they lost along the way? What did they learn from this experience (albeit in a twisted manner)? Taken to the extreme, love, loss, fear, ambition, and justice can all become destructive qualities, and these are the very things that can set your villain on their dark path. So explore what drove your villain to this point.
Dark Mirror
Your antagonist’s main job is to oppose your protagonist, and to oppose means “to place opposite” or “to confront with hard or searching questions or objections” (The Unabridged Dictionary by Merriam-Webster). A truly compelling villain would be the dark mirror of your protagonist, forcing them to face their own darkness even as they strive for the light.
Because your villain is the protagonist of their own story, they should have similar qualities (although misdirected) to those of your protagonist. Essentially, your antagonist is the manifestation of your protagonist’s internal conflict—this is who your protagonist could have become had they made different choices along the way. Your villain represents the opposite of your protagonist’s core values and challenges your protagonist in a way that forces them toward growth. This is often achieved through your villain targeting your protagonist’s biggest weakness, forcing them to develop their greatest strength in the process.
Optional: Redemption Arc
Whether to give your villain a redemption arc is completely up to you, but if you choose to do so, you must include an internal transformation for it to be believable. Have them show genuine remorse, be proactive with making amends, and accept responsibility and the accompanying consequences for their actions. Keep in mind that no one changes overnight (except Ebenezer Scrooge), so make sure this is a gradual change shown through your villain’s actions and emotions in order to be believable.
Redeeming Quality
However, redemption arc or not, your antagonist will still require at least one redeeming quality. Just as your protagonist’s flaws humanize them, so does a redeeming quality for your antagonist.
Don’t allow your villain to fall flat by being bad all the time (especially without motivation). Layer their personality to add depth and nuance by making them funny, inspirational, or talented on top of being an evil mastermind, and give them at least one redeeming quality through a hidden soft spot. Think unflinching loyalty to their friends or caring for a beloved pet. Perhaps they have a vulnerability that stems from a tragic backstory, which motivates them to do what they do. Or maybe they have a noble goal even if their means to achieve it is questionable.
Humanizing your villain (even if they are a literal monster) will develop a fully rounded, complex, and nuanced character your reader can understand, despite how they feel about them and their choices.
Impact
Your villain’s impact needs to be strong regardless of how much page time you give them. Make every scene with your antagonist advance the plot, increase tension and raise the stakes, reveal character in both your villain and protagonist, and leave lasting consequences. In the end, they should make your protagonist’s journey more meaningful, your story and themes more complex, and cause your readers to become more invested in the outcome.
Additional Resources
- Strong Female Characters by Marcy Kennedy
- GMC: Goal Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon
- Check out this list of 200 Heroic and Villainous Character Traits for some ideas on redeeming qualities for your villain
- Read my other Tips for Writers articles related to this topic
- Use my free downloadable Character Bible Toolkit to get to know your villain!
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