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Stop using villains who are evil just because they're evil
I've beta read a lot of stories on here this last year, like 40 plus. Too many have bad guys with zero reason. They just burn orphanages and kick puppies because the plot needs it. That's not scary, it's boring. Real bad people think they're the hero of their own tale. They have goals, fears, even love. I knew a guy in St. Louis who ran a crew, not a killer or anything, but he saw himself as a provider. He'd never call himself a villain. So when you write yours, give them a logic that's broken but real. Ask what they'd say to defend their worst act. Has anyone else found a prompt that makes you build the bad guy first? I need new angles.
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mary_west3d ago
...and that's the part most folks skip. The thing nobody talks about is giving the villain a code. Not just a goal, but a set of rules they follow, even if those rules are twisted. I read a story once where the bad guy refused to hurt kids but would burn down a whole town to get at one man. That made me uneasy in a way a plain monster never could. If you build their code first, the logic comes with it. Ask what line they will not cross, and then figure out why they drew it there. That answer usually tells you more about their evil than any backstory about a dead dog or a rich father. You get a bad guy who's scary because he's almost reasonable, just bent at one weird angle.
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