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| Obvious Villain |
In keeping with the fun I had writing my post on action cliches, Brakes Only Fail On Hills, I decided to share my list of things that try to keep in mind when writing my own villains...
- Don't give him a deformity, scar, or creepy behavior.
How do we know that Dr. Evil is evil before he even speaks? He is bald, has a scar, does that weird pinkie thing, and dresses like a futuristic mortician. Misdirection by appearance and behavior is a great device when writing suspense, but make sure it is actually pointing to someone who is NOT the villain.
- Minions are a dead giveaway.
Whether its a creepy friend that does their bidding or a doormat for an assistant, keep the talk of diabolical plans while excitedly rubbing their hands together to a minimum. Particular to suspense...you can't unveil or hint too heavily at the villain or it will spoil the surprise and lose the reader.
- They are caught in a blatant lie.
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| Photo by Tiago Fernandes. |
The heroine sees the villain arguing with a man and later when the man is revealed to be a bad guy, the villain denies it.
This is a great way to add conflict between the OTHER main characters. Misunderstanding clouds the issue and often throws suspicion where it can do some good to further the story.
- Make him gain advantage too soon in the story.
We've all seen Rocky, right? He gets beat down at first, but then a sudden burst of energy/inspiration/verbal backside kicking by his bestie sends him back to win the day.The problem with letting your villain gain the advantage too quickly is that its the equivalent of putting a blinking red arrow over his head. Keep the story off balance and the reader wondering.
- Your hero is too important to lose.
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| Really just wanted a reason to post a pic of Jake. |
This, I think, is one of the quickest ways to ruin the story. If one of your characters is a wayward prince, the President, the only survivor of his species....the odds are whoever is picking on him is gonna lose and is therefore...the villain.
What are some instances in a mystery, be it book or movie that have given away the villain too soon? How might we as writers keep the reader guessing?
Until next time...Go Write?
10 comments:
Nobody likes him, and he has no redeeming features whatsoever :-)
Excellent thoughts! I'm going to apply this to my villains to see if they hold up!
Oh, interesting. In mysteries, Elizabeth told me a trick that I like: have ALL suspects tell one truth and one lie--that way you keep the reader guessing. I hadn't thought about suspense with an unknown villain, though. I like your thoughts.
Ha! This was hilarious. :)
Great, very funny tips, Raquel! I especially loved how you described Dr. Evil as a futuristic mortician.
aw, but minions are awesome! ;)
Great tips on ways to keep the reader guessing.
I'm still looking at Jake :)
Love your tips here. I don't write mysteries, but sometimes its good to keep your bad-boy "mysterious" as long as possible.
.......dhole
Jake is tasty, for sure, but that movie had at least a few cringeworthy moments. Loved this post Raquel!
You ever read Clancy? He knows your rules, no doubt.
I don't recall which book it was, but it was a John Clark/Kelly book. Clancy had the bad-guys abduct someone, and they put these two bad-ass hombres in a hotel room to guard her.
So of course you expect that beat-down, with the hero walking in, getting beat the hell, and then, during that final burst of energy, he somehow manages to overcome insurmountable odds and win.
Nope. Not Clancy.
The bad-guys were watching the girl, one on the couch, and the other in the kitchen getting ice cream. (I could be off here, been a while.)
John Clark walks into the hotel room and wastes the guy on the couch, silencer. The other one pokes his head through the kitchen doorway and Clark wastes him, too.
Pop-pop drop-drop, two dead baddies, no drama.
That scene always stuck with me as a fine example of why you don't get too dramatic with action scenes, or with villains/heroes in general.
I never have liked the beat-down-win. We watched Real Steel this weekend, and while it was entertaining, it introduced all your cliches, although it did have a decent anti-hero in the MC.
- Eric
Sarah - Ooh, thats a good one!
Jess - So glad you liked the post. :)
Hart - I am writing that one down in my notebook. Great idea.
David - Thanks so much!
Jolina - LOL! I know right...he's super creepy.
Lynda - Minions can be cute. That's so true.
Donna - You are so right. Bad boys and mystery are a great mix.
Trisha - Oh the movie was TERRIBLE! I liked the video game much better, but Jake was in it and I like the whole sword thing so...
Eric - Love, love Clancy. He sure knows how to write gripping stories with amazingly complex characters. He is a true master. Real Steel, huh? I prefer my Hugh Jackson with Adamantium, but I'm a comic book geek. Always a pleasure to have you stop by! :)
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