I want to talk about how to write complex villains and morally gray characters. A 🧵:
1. Every character is the hero of their own story. Well-written villains tend to believe their actions are justified, and don’t see themselves as “bad.” In fact, they often
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1. Every character is the hero of their own story. Well-written villains tend to believe their actions are justified, and don’t see themselves as “bad.” In fact, they often
#WritingCommunity 1/6
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2. Your villain has memories, painful life experiences, and emotions. Flesh these out. Give your villain realistic wants and fears so they don’t exist solely to make the MC’s life difficult.
3. Give your villain “good” qualities. Maybe they’re clever and
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4. Don’t think of the villain as “the bad guy.” When the
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5. My perennial reading recommendation for anyone interested in writing complex villains and morally gray characters is V.E. Schwab’s Vicious. It brilliantly illustrates all of this—especially the lack of authorial judgment I mentioned in point 4, which
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This isn’t an exhaustive list, but rather a distillation of the advice my mentor gave me when I was revising my villain POV book. 🖤
If you have other villain-writing tips and book recs, I would love to hear them!
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