WICKED WEDNESDAY
I love a good villain. And Barbara has a good point for us on Wicked Wednesday...there has to be something good in all that evil to make it interesting. Please read on and join the conversation.
The first thing that popped into my
mind when I thought of a topic for Wicked Wednesday was—book villains.
Creating wicked villains was one of
the hardest things to do when I started writing fiction. Since I write
medieval, the bad guys were supposed to be pretty rough, like life then.
Trouble was—and still is—I have a problem creating villains who are wicked
enough to deserve the label. I don’t like to hurt any of my characters, even the
bad guys (and I use that term to include gals too). So seeing they get their
punishment comes hard for me.
It’s such fun creating these
characters, I hate to do away with them. I keep wanting to reform them. It’s been said that every villain is the
hero of his own story. So when trying to build the layers of that person,
giving him reasons for behaving the way he does, I develop sympathy for him (or
her).
In an attempt to remedy that
tendency, the second time I tried to develop a villain, the character turned
out to be something of a stereotype. From the moment he stepped onto the page,
you could tag him as ‘The Villain’. Well, that wasn’t good. So I had to work on
changing up the characterization in that book.
But it took me four books to finally
dispose of the one main villain threaded through them all. By the time his end
came around, however, I was ready to do him in.
Not all villains have worked out
that way. In my first book, I became so attached to the man who was
I’ve come to accept this weakness
and know to watch out for it so I never again have to change a plot because
I’ve become too attached to a villain.
QUESTION: Does anyone else have
trouble creating wicked characters? How
do you do it? Is there a wicked villain you grew attached to?
Follow my villains—good and bad—in: SILVERHAWK,
THE
HEART OF THE PHOENIX, THE
LADY OF THE FOREST. And in the upcoming FOR THIS KNIGHT ONLY.
About Barb:
Former journalist and college professor, Barb
has retired to become an editor and lady-who-likes-to-write-in-comfy-jammies. She starts every day with tea, but firmly
believe a home office isn’t complete without a coffee pot and a scented candle.
And snacks.
Visit Barb: www.barbarabettis.blogspot.com
