Is there such a thing as a good bad guy?

Well, yeah. Kinda. Since I write mysteries, I look at the villain a little differently. In my fictional world, the villains usually do some seriously nasty things—murder, kidnapping, theft, whatever.

I was told once, and I don't remember exactly where, that the antagonist is the hero of his or her own story.

My villains think they're doing the right thing. They usually aren't, but they think they are. Sometimes it's a case of doing the wrong things for the right reasons. At least in their minds.

That's what makes a good villain. Very few people in the non-fiction world are pure good or pure evil. A variety of factors make us who we are: our environment growing up, our friends, our families, even our eduction. None of us live in a bubble. Everything effects us, even if we don't realize it at the time.

One of the things about fiction is that we—as authors—can manipulate the lives of our characters in ways we can't do with the real people of the world.

So what makes a good villain? Being multi-demtional. Knowing that they think they're doing something right. Them having a reason for it (even if the reason isn't logical to the rest of the world).

What I want to know, though, is this: who is your favorite villain and why?

Blessings!

Nichole

Favorite villain? Hard to pick just one....

As we close out the month of January—and our discussion on villains—we wondered who the "best" fictional villain was. Even after a month of mulling it over, I don't have an answer.

I like Professor Moriarty of Sherlock Holmes fame. He is a worthy opponent for the great detective. But I'm not sure he's my "favorite."

Who do you like? Who do you love to hate?

Blessings!

Nichole

Meet Cerridwen, the hero of the novel

Cerridwen Lynn Baker is the protagonist of my novel Ghost Mountain and the sequel I'm currently working on. In fact, she will be the protagonist of an entire series. My villains, however, are a one-time character. They show up in one book, never to be seen again.

For me, therefore, Cerridwen is much more difficult to write. She must learn and grow from book to book. She has to have a consistent voice. She must be likable, otherwise who would read the books?

Cerridwen, who prefers to be called "Cerri," is like a friend to me, and that's a good thing. As the author, I need to know what Cerri likes and dislikes. Her favorite foods. Things she absolutely hates. Because my novels are written in first person, I really need to know everything there is to know about Cerri!

I can be a little more secretive about the villains in my work. I don't need to know quite as much about them. I don't need to know, for example, the name of his or her best friend in the third grade.

So what do I know about Cerri? Here is a list of 10 really important things about her (in no particular order).

1. She hates her name.
2. She's married with three kids.
3. Cerri loves her family and puts them above everything else in the world.
4. She is a freelance journalist and photographer.
5. Cerri's dad was in the military, so she grew up moving often.
6. She really just wants to be "normal" and doesn't want anything to do with the wise woman ways of her mother.
7. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's pretty good at reading Tarot cards.
8. Cerri sees much of the world as "black or white," "good or evil," and wants to make the world a better place.
9. She has a short temper and can get frustrated easily.
10. She truly judges people on their actions, and not their appearance.

There you have it. Some of the important things about my main character. Enjoy her!

Blessings!

Nichole

Nice villians?

Truth be told, heroes aren't all they're cracked up to be. Have you ever stepped back and really looked at the whole hero scene? It's true they save people in dire situations. Noble, yes. Some have powers, some don't, but they are usually cookie cutter perfect. How boring is that? Where is the growth of character that makes them appealing?

Now villians are another story. Whether they are the actual antagonist or just colorfully bad secondary characters, villians bring a whole new aspect to the playing field. Unlike a hero, they are wonderfully flawed and sometimes unapologetically evil.  My favorite bad guy out of all the books, shows, movies, etc. is Sesshomaru (For those of you who don't watch anime, he is the older brother of half-demon Inuyasha in the anime Inuyasha)

Sesshomaru is a full demon and is his father's eldest heir. Violent, cunning and powerful he certainly gives his half brother no end of trouble, constantly trying to kill Inuyasha and his love interest time-traveling Kagome.  But he's not all bad.  After stumbling across a wounded little girl who had taken care of him when he was hurt, Sesshomaru decides to use the sword his father bequethed him to bring her back to life (the only thing the sword is good for). Ren becomes his only friend, following him on his travels and slowly changing him for the better.  He would kill for her and die for her, though normally self serving and evil. Point is this.  He feels justified in his actions and truly believes what he does is right. It all depends on which side of the coin you stand on.  What villians do you sympathize with? Why? What makes them special and how do you recreate that in your writing?
Be blessed,
Beth

Every good girl wants some bad

To put it mildly, heroes bore me to tears. I'm not quite sure when I changed allegiance to the bad guys but I've always preferred flawed heroes... the bad guy, in other words, whose motivations are at odds with many, who is obsessed with his goals, often isolating him from the rest of the world.

Dracula was the first, and yes, Gary Oldman's rendition is pretty darn spiffy but the first version of Dracula that saw me begin my love/hate relationship with antagonists was the Christopher Lee version. Damn, I used to get nightmares, and then some. That was the first time I remembered feeling sad that the bad guys lost. Just what was it that freaked me out? Well, nothing could stop him. There was this air of the forbidden about him. He wasn't sexy but women couldn't resist him. Or at least I didn't find him sexy. Perhaps as a child growing up he represented the fear of the unknown in men. Vampires don't freak me out like they used to.

My next antagonist I agonised over was Catwoman—the Tim Burton version starring Michelle Pfeiffer. She's daring and vengeful, and her doomed love of Bruce Wayne sees her at war with her impulse to be Catwoman, or relinquish her power to the man she loves. I like her because she stays true to herself. Batman would never have allowed Catwoman to roam and she had to make that choice—freedom or love. Maybe it's because none of us are able to have everything we want, that she appeals to me. Catwoman chooses the ideal that gives her the most power, though she sacrifices some joy in order to obtain it.

Anakin Skywalker will always be the true hero of the Star Wars saga, in my mind. As the menacing Darth Vader he's nearly every SF buff's favourite villain and the root of many of my childhood nightmares. But, beneath that gleaming black carapace there's a man, who suffered for his love and, although misled, believed he was doing the right thing at the time. Anakin is the ultimate in anti-hero and I love him for his tragedy. I'm not sure which episode the prophecy was mentioned stating that Anakin would "bring balance to the Force"... but in truth, he was the one who brought balance to the Force in the end when he tossed Emperor Palpatine to his death. It's just that the route he took to get there was a bit... erm... convoluted. Luke Skywalker is just a puling little wimp in comparison.

A special word for the very suave Hannibal Lecter, so ably portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins. If ever there were a serial murderer I'd allow myself to be dined upon by, it would be Hannibal. Charming and cultured, he is the perfect gentleman and would probably provide some of the most witty conversation you could wish for yet... beneath that veneer of sophistication lies a ruthless killer, who suffers no remorse for ending a life. To me he is like a dangerous jungle cat, to be respected and feared, even, but to be appreciated for the way he has refined his art.

Last but not least, is my favourite real-life bad boy: Aleister Crowley. Known as the "wickedest man in the world" he really had no limits to his depravity, the depths of which are beyond the scope of this blog post. Yet, he was also resposible for being on the most influential minds responsible for kick-starting modern Western mysticism. Highly intelligent yet irreverent, he was also a classic case of "do what I say, but don't do what I do." He is often one of the most misunderstood villains, cropping up very often in works of fiction or film as the perfect antagonist. Gentleman, seducer, poet, author, mountaineer, junkie... He was a man of many facets.

There are loads of other villains out there but these are but the handful who remain my firm favourites. I would love to know who your favourite villain is and why.