@@CelestiaGJ Magnifico from Wish was a great character, who should have been the main character, with Ashia being the antagonist instead, symbolising and being a parody of the entitled gen z youth of today
@@DrawlingsStoriesAndMore I wish Disney would make a grimdark fantasy movie, with an anti hero princess as the main character, who goes on a negative character arc. Imagine Tangled mixed with Dark Souls.
13:01 "Most bad people don't wear black trench coats and laugh _maniacally_ in the shadows," Abbie guffaws in a darkened room. "Sometimes the villain is the person you think is your friend," she reveals as she looks away, unable to maintain eye contact. 🤔I think Abbie is embracing her villainess arc. 😁
@@AbbieEmmonsSounds about right, I’ve given myself a title: The Remorseful Author…mainly because the phrase “What have I done” is used a lot when writing my characters backstories and the story itself…
"In my life, I worked only for peace. Nothing less, nothing more. Now I see that only power rules the world. I will achieve that power. No cost is too great, no sacrifice too sacred. All will bow to me, or be destroyed." -Arcanophage
@@vegpedro7632 Most horror movies are terrible, low-grade shock entertainment. They're not great stories in the slightest. People watch horror movies for gore. The few great horror stories like The Shining are complex and show how human beings can stray from virtue and into villainy. Dracula is another one. Jonathan Harker is in a rivalry with Count Dracula for the heart of his Mina, and he has to stop himself from becoming like Dracula to do it. Silence of the Lambs is another. Hannibal Lecter is a brilliant man who fell into a similar darkness to Buffalo Bill, and Clarice secretly fears becoming corrupted by people like Lecter.
One of the best literary examples of hiding the villain in plain sight has got to be The Winners by Fredrik Backman. It's a book with multiple POVs, and the villain's POV is written just like the other characters, you root for him just like you do for the other characters and you only learnt that he's the villain late into the story when he commits a terrible deed. It completely shakes you up, you have no idea where to place your loyalties and you empathize with the villain till the end even though he does things that make you want to throw the book out of the window and stomp on it multiple times. One of the best written villains I have ever seen
So on point, Abbie. Writing a villain truly IS easier said than done. It was only once I tried to write a believable villain, that I actually realized this is hard!😂
“All of this! Everything! It was all for us! This is our only chance to make it back home- to save our people! I dreamed of us having to finally feel safe. It was all for us.”
My villain doesn’t appear very often, but everyone is aware of this person’s existence. But it’s also a sort of imposter type of plot. Nobody knows who is pulling the strings but they are aware it’s happening. My villain is pure evil and seeks power and control of all people. I’m fairly early in the book but it feels intense writing those scenes
My favorite used to be Darth Vader, until the prequels, hearing Anakin's back story gave me a different perspective. Now, I would have to say that Loki in the MCU is because he's conflicted and has a redemption arc, but it transfers to Thanos after Loki's redemption because Thanos is SO dangerous and not because he's powerful, but because he thinks he's right. When a Villain has that conviction in their belief, there is no reasoning with them making them 10x more dangerous... at least to me.
Yes, that's so true!! When a villain justifies their actions (and even convinces themselves that they are doing the best thing for humanity) that's what makes a truly wicked and dangerous character 👀
I like to write my characters this way- the hero's and the villain's goals are opposite, but they also need each other to discover themselves, somehow. Or, to use Abbie's ideas, the hero's destiny and misbelief are somehow connected to the ones of the villain- each one will discover their true desire as a result of their interaction. In other words, the a-ha moment will have double meaning- one meaning for the hero, another one for the villain.
Yes I do believe what you said is true but sometimes I wonder why do we love some villian that are soo unapologetically evil and just themselves ....without any internal conflict, the guy is just evil to put it simply ""yeah Imma destroy the world now"" . They do have often times a the most charismatic aura and drip. I don't know if y'all are getting what I mean. And internal conflict if not done correctly feels forced. Audience catch if internal conflict is there just for the sake of being there
@dreamychocolateone my main character goes to war against his father because his father kidnaps the love of his life, and during the course of the war the main character goes darker and darker in search of his love, ending in a duel between father and son, with the son killing the father and taking over the kingdom. But killing his father will destroy the main character and set up a second book
I admit every since I subscribed I have learned a lot. And discouraged in equal measure. I think I wrote a mistake with with each book attempt when I see more steps or structures etc. Not sure If I can manage all this.
@@PastorErickMiller Don’t worry about making mistakes. I felt the same way when I first found miss Abbie’s channel. I honestly thought that my book was going to be a complete wreck, but then I started showing parts of it to my friends and they all told me that the book will be epic and they can’t wait to read the entire thing. My advice would be if you are super worried about it try showing the book to your friends and see what they think, and don’t worry about making mistakes in the first draft. You can always go back and fix them later.
An interesting fact: The villain often does not see himself/herself as diabolical. I love that " Give the Villian a goal." Thank you once again for the amazing videos 🙏🙏
My villain was never a human to begin with, so she doesn't view things from a human point of view. She views things from a spider's point of view because she is basically a spider in human form, but she can assume the form of a spider the size of a car. She possesses human intelligence, but is unburdened by such emotions as mercy, pity, compassion, or remorse. She sees them as weaknesses. She is a predator whose only concern is the survival of her kind. Her favored prey is humans, & she & her kind could potentially replace humankind at the top of the food chain, & as the dominant species on the planet, which is why they must be eradicated to the last individual. She is not evil, she is simply following her nature, the nature of a spider, to hunt & feed on prey, to mate & reproduce, & to survive. In fact, everything she does is for the survival of her kind. She doesn't see herself as evil, she is just doing whatever is needed to ensure the survival of her kind.
I'm trying to work this stuff out right now! The hero has trust in authorities, belives that they're in a higher position because of their morality and knowledge. He follows them blindly. The antag IS an authority figure. She knows how corrupt the government is and specifically a company she works for and believes the only way to fix it is to wreck it from the ground. She is hidden in plain sight since the hero looks up to her, sees her daily until the reveal. I'm trying to figure out if i should redeem her or if she'd be too stubborn to let go of her resentment.
One of my favorite villains is Keyser Soze in the Unusual Suspects. The whole film one thinks the villain is a myth and then the team of anti heroes start dying one by one and the protagonist tries to evade the antagonist but everyone dies except the last teammate who’s in police protection….. only to find out in the last moments of the film that the weakest teammate is actually the antagonist. It was brilliant.
My most sincere thanks for content creators like yourself who share your knowledge and experiences. This video in particular was especially helpful with my current novel. (I was struggling with where to take my villain's backstory - but we're on track now.) Thank you!
Wonderful video. What do you think about the very understated villain? For example, The Operative in the movie Serenity. He really only hints at his beliefs a couple of times and knows that he doesn't belong in the "better world" that he thinks he's creating. He even admits "I'm a monster. What I do is evil... but it must be done. " I'm not sure what it is, but something about him makes him one of my favorite villains.
I have a similar character. He does what must be done as a way of preserving the greater good. He's charming and charismatic, a good friend throughout the series. Which makes it heartbreaking when what must be done comes into conflict with the MC.
I think there's a lot to be said for understated villains! Oftentimes they feel more true to life. Even if you don't have opportunities in your story to reveal a lot about the villain's beliefs/background, you can still reveal bits and pieces, like with the dialogue snippet you just shared from Serenity. Dialogue (and the character justifying their actions) is a great way to reveal internal conflict!
Top villains: • Daniel Plainview from _There Will Be Blood_ • Alex from _A Clockwork Orange_ • Gny. Sgt. Hartman from _Full Metal Jacket_ • The entire cast of _ 12 Angry Men_ , minus Henry Fonda's character Every one of these baddies I would take out for a beer...even after knowing all the horrible things that they have done or the really messed up prejudices that they've got. They are the best representation of the Jungian Shadow Self that I have seen on film.
I am writing my novel. The thing I like the most about writing the villain is the feeling of freedom. I kind of forget to please the reader. As an amateur writer I just love to find ways to apply pressure on my hero to reveal their inner beauty. Whether it's by making the villain a chicken and running away at a critical moment, or being ruthless, by controlling the majority of the narrative/fight untill people want payback or simply just listening to a what not to do Abby video and ask myself, is there one rule I could not resist breaking? Is there something so much fun to write that its worth breaking a rule?
I had a villain I couldn't write for a story long ago. I knew what he was, a Shadowknight that gets his magical powers from an evil living Shadow Sword, who in turn gets its power from the energy released when it kills something/someone. I know he's on a quest to ruin the protagonists' plans, but he's 1 dimensional; I can't write him. Who is this guy? Then I decide, since the movie Prometheus, to attack his motives. What does he want in life? He wants to murder that freaking sword. He can not stand one single minute of that thing whispering in his ear, berating, belittling, threating, taunting him. He would do anything to kill that sword in the most horrific way imaginable, but only in a way that lets him keep his power. Now I know who this guy is. Now I can write him. I appreciate so much the greater insight into approaching villains; your insight is always appreciated. I only did part of it and that alone was so much better. And yeah, I thought about having him go through a redemption arc. Starting with the realization that Paladins have some pretty cool powers.
Hi, Abbie. I am Julia, the blind girl who sometimes writes to you. I wanted to send you a message here, hoping you might read it and reply to me. I am grateful to have met you, even though I live in Italy and we won't, probably, never meet (do you know how nice it would be to do it in person?), to have had you as a teacher for years on TH-cam (since 2022), to have had you as an even more official teacher for almost a year with your Live Trainings, to be able to continue these lessons with you. You do free videos every week, you are very generous, when I had problems you helped me, I think you are very sweet and very humble and I wish I had even half of your positivity. I think you are very good. Even though I don't follow the three-act story structure, you are also the one who made me understand the importance of outline but at the same time creativity, the freedom to write what I want. In fact, you are in favor of fanfiction, and you once wrote to me that I have to write in the medium I most prefer, and that is this. And that practice makes a writer a better one and it is true. My beta reader says I improved with Show, Don't Tell this year, that the reader is more immersed in the story and in the characters. It's been a while since I've followed your Livestreams, but I will. When I hear you say, even in the lectures you do monthly on Patreon that I listen on delay, that there are writers from India, Pakistan, Poland, etc., I say to myself: “She is a humble person who started from fanfiction and has done so much. She's written a lot, but she also does a lot for us. She does so, so much for us! For me.” I swear to you that if I compare what I learned in three years in an Italian writing class, which was very useful to me anyway, but from which I unsubscribed, and what I learn from you, the two are not even comparable. Abbie, you have helped me a lot more than you know. You explain everything so well, with story examples. You are the best writing teacher anyone could have. You've moved me so much with your books, I've felt so immersed, so represented in various characters, including Tessa, that I'm itching to read more. Please, publish a novel soon! You have become, after Danielle Steel, my second favorite writer, and I'm so happy to have your three books that sometimes I find myself reading bits and pieces and imagining you standing next to me and reading them to me, and I'm crying with joy. You seem like a sweet and sensitive person, so, so sweet, empathetic, and you love pets like I do. You have a dog and Rockett, I have three cats, and I'm glad we also share the passion for writing. I love you, Abbie! With all my heart, Giulia
One of my favorite villains, from Disney at least, is Scar in The Lion King. He is such a well executed bad guy, that has crystal clear motivations and is just entertaining to watch, arguably more interesting than either Simba or Mufusa (partially because of the queer coding that was common with Disney at the time). In my novel my antagonist is similar to Scar, and has a similar relationship dynamic with my main character, a young princess who is born with a curse. I am going hard into the creepy uncle archetype with the antagonist.
I think a richly written villain is controversial in their actions and empathizing with them sparks debate. imo if you're looking for a masterclass in writing villains, an easy place to start is Star Wars' Darth Vader. Such a fun franchise to get into! And, honestly, the films are popular for a reason. Anyone who loves storytelling, I'd suggest checking out the Star Wars IP. Let's talk about Darth Vader aka Anakin Skywalker. He started off the hero in Clone Wars era and to this day remains one of the most iconic villains of all time. Even if you've never seen Star Wars and have no knowledge of the films, you likely recognize Vader's dark helmet. The classic Imperial March theme song is easier to remember than the Star Wars theme itself. Bro literally killed children, yet people care about this guy. Why? Here's why. The original movie series revolves around his fall from grace and his last chance of redemption. Star Wars is a story of hope, which Anakin embodies. In the end, the love for his son triumphs over loyalty to his dark master and he chooses to do the right thing. He chooses to be Anakin instead of Vader. If Anakin can be redeemed, then anyone can be. I think that's the power of a well-written villain. They, like the hero, embody the theme of your story. They're actively in your protagonist's way of their goals and act as a foil to them. They are what the hero could become if they make all the wrong choices/ don't learn the lesson of the story. Which means your villain has a great deal of power in stressing the urgency in that "truth you want to scream from the rooftops" as Abbie calls it. They are the "so what? why should I care?" that the audience asks. If you don't learn the lesson, this horrible dude could be you- that sort of vibe. By redeeming someone like Vader, we grew to care for Anakin, understood why his friends mourned him, and understood why Yoda helped Luke realize he needed to give his father a chance to choose better versus destroy him outright. This made his final choice to do the right thing so impactful. It helps people who might feel they're not worth saving that "hey, if people can care about this guy saving the galaxy after causing so much suffering, then maybe there's a chance for me to have a happy ending too, maybe it's not too late for me to change". It might be fiction, but good fiction can impact reality. This is the power of good storytelling. You can easily track Vader and anyone's character arcs and build their character profile using Abbie's templates. Doing analysis like this can really help when you're developing your own villains. Understand how others did it so you can "steal" their techniques in your own work :))
6:22 That's pretty similar to what Transformers One did. When the protagonists discover the truth, one learns from it and the other falls into darkness.
Compare this to The Closer Look's In Defense of Pure Evil Villains video. He likes pure evil forces of nature like Sauron, and motive less psychopaths like the Joker. It seems mostly to be a genre difference. Abbie is more into historical romance, Closer Look comic book and fantasy. But I think regardless of your genre you need to consider the story as a whole. A complex, sympathetic human villain can be great. But the pure evil Joker works because he's Batman's opposite - the Joker is the ultimate test of the Batman's moral code. If Batman would ever kill it would be to kill the Joker. Conversely Abbie's discussion of George Warleggan from Poldark is good and for that story, a complex human villain works. Deciding what kind of story you're writing and what fits best is important.
You must be reading my mind, because I’m trying to figure out how to write my villain as a three dimensional person and not a cardboard character. It was a pleasant surprise to find this video in my feed. Thanks.
I think I have a pretty good villain for the novel I’m working on. For context, it’s a Cold War Spy Thriller. The villain is an East German computer expert who is hired by the USSR to hack into the American space shuttle so they can take over a satellite network that’s designed to intercept ICBMs in mid flight. He’s supposed to be an insufferable genius and the background I have so far is that he was conceived unwilling at the end of WWII when a Russian soldier had his way with his mother and he’s deeply embarrassed by this fact. Wondering if anyone has any good pointers because I haven’t had time to develop him
Oh my word yes. For me he is a love hate kind of character. It is funny to watch him mess with people but so annoying when the team is on a time crunch. 😂
Ah, one of my favorite topics of writing. For me, the villain is always were I start, not the protag, and when outlining character arcs, I work backwards. Who is the villain, what is their endgame, and how do they get there/is defeated? Then I build the hero's arc around the villain I created. I've read this general sentiment in the comments: "Make your villain a dark reflection of your hero." This is sound advice, albeit pretty basic, but it kinda falls apart if you're writing an ensemble cast narrative with lots of POV's and moving parts. Sometimes you'll have multiple protags and antags, so don't always try you make this advice work just for the sake of it. Cersei Lannister was one-of-a-kind petty and narcissistic. She had no real opposite or equal. Anton Chigurh from 'No Country for Old Men' was absolutely terrifying and the protags most certainly weren't the light side to his dark. Heath Ledger's Joker, even though he desperately tried to coin himself as Batman's counterpart, was simply a crazy dude who loved to instigate chaos. The best villains I've come across aren't dark reflections of heroes, but whose goals are so depraved that somebody is forced to act against them because there's no other choice. Another bit of my own personal advice for cosmic horror, if you are attempting to write some sort of eldritch monstrosity that is essentially the villain of your story, don't try to explain their motivations. It's more creepy and horrific when they are incomprehensible and unknowable. 'The Colour Out of Space' or 'Annihilation' doesn't work if the thing terraforming our planet is given a voice. Something came here riding a meteor and now the area around where it impacted is becoming alien. That doesn't need an explanation or motivation. Although I love Stephen King, he often gets that wrong with his cosmic villains by explaining too much. Let the reader stew in the dread of NOT knowing. A villain beyond human comprehension should remain beyond comprehension.
My favorite villain is Bowser, because he has three sides to him that can basically be summed up as "cocky meat head," "big teddy bear" and "godzilla."
For me it's easier write an antegonist than a protagonist. Here is some tips for people who feel difficulties to write a villain character. That could help you: First of all, always think that, in the world, it seems that to be bad is better rewarded than being good (at least in a short time). If a character is corrupted, he will want to explore more by his own and make things like he/she wants. And the second one is that, negative emotions are stronger (revenge, sadness, fear,...etc) than positive (compassion, complacency and others). It's easily to conect harder with a character who is passing through something bad, dark or sad, and the motive of that character to be a villain is "the easy path" for them to calm down that emotions. I don't know if you know what i mean or if i'm expressing myself clear. English is not my mother language ^^' Have fun everybody!! Anyways, thank you @Abbie Emmons, for the tips to *The Dreamers* :D
@xxaleksi I have a very similar thing going on in my book series. Where the villain isn’t ver active until later in the first book. Then he becomes hyper active in the next two books.
Everything Magneto feared, his fears being what caused the rift between him and Xavier, came true in Logan. Turns out, he wasn't a villain at all. He was a hero trying to save mutants from the evil humans that Xavier was protecting. That sort of story twist gets my juices flowing when you realize the "hero" is the one on the wrong side of history, but he can't know it until history is written and all of his mistakes are known. Does Xavier do some good, yes. But he fails to do the ultimate good. Does Magneto do some awful stuff, absolutely, but it was because Xavier kept blocking him from better choices. Had they teamed up from the beginning under Magneto's vision of how to proceed mutants may have gained the freedom they were after, but we'll never know. That was a great piece of writing. The moment that bit was revealed it changed everything you thought you knew and made you have to go back and watch all of the earlier films to see what you missed. It made you face palm every time you found clues right there the whole time. Welcome to Marvel Comics. They do complex stories where heroes can be antagonists, and the bad guys are trying to save the world.
Watching this, and then shortly after watching the Powerpuff Girls "Twas the Fight before Christmas," and if there's a character that fits this mold perfectly, it's Princess Morbucks. She DEFINITELY is someone who strongly believes that she's a good person, but everyone around her KNOWS she's the biggest, brattiest, most selfish, self-centered person in existence. She's EVERYTHING you HATE about a villain. You WANT to see her fall flat on her face when it comes to foiling her plans, especially this one where she's determined to switch the Naughty and Nice list so she's the ONLY person to get a present, which, for her, is to be a Powerpuff Girl
"She saw it now. Kneeling deep in the bloodied snow, she looked up to the heavens, seeing nothing but the abyss. It was her journey that had led her there. Her whole life's purpose, reduced to ashes and dust, dead as all her victims. The mother of her nation, the pride of all, reduced to a madwoman with a bloodied white gown and a maniacal grin on her face. In hindsight, it was all too obvious. After all, power was like a glass of wine. It flowed thickly and seductively, but after the end of its thrall, nothing remained, except for the hollowness that was always there, constant as the ruins of empires, for if there was one thing that empires did, it was fall, and fall hard."
Hi Abbie! Love your video! Do you happen to analyze villains from video games as well? My favorite is Solas (from the Dragon Age series). I'm excited to find he ticked all the boxes you mentioned here. Starting out as one of the hero's companions/romance options, he is later revealed to be one of the biggest threats secretly orchestrating events to set his plans in motion. He has noble intentions initially but his 'the end justifies the means' thinking made him the villain, sacrificing his morals along the way. He genuinely respects/loves the hero but believes the only way to save his people is the one way that causes the fall of others. People either wants to redeem/marry him or kill him 😂
There's a very simple reason why villains are more proactive than heroes: they're not constrained by morality, so they have more freedom of choice. The good guy may be frozen into inaction because none of the obvious solutions are morally acceptable, whereas the villain has no such limitations. It's the same reason that villains and even morally grey protagonists are more interesting than heroes. Straight-up good guys tend to be predictable because they always choose to do the right thing (and likewise two-dimensional bad guys always do the evil thing) - a character becomes far more interesting when we can't predict their next action because their morals are more...flexible.
My favourite villain of all time is Sephiroth from FF7. He's actually very sympathetic and I can't honestly say I wouldn't have done similar things if I'd been in his position.
Something I wish I could do is answer these questions in the comments as I go along just to get a conversation started but I'm too scared that I'll overshare and ruin it all for myself STILL though, this video is very informative, your videos greatly inspire me
Although I can give an answer to the last one: I want to make a villain who truly feels smart, someone who's always one step ahead but don't act condescendingly about it, a villain who has resigned themselves to their goal solely to the point where their desperation for their goal has eaten away at the person they used to be, leaving behind a shell that you could swear is them, but not quite anymore. I want to make a villain that, should their circumstances have been different, they could have brought good change to the world without having to rely on such drastic measures, someone truly capable and gifted
Some of the best written villains that I have seen depicted in various narrative mediums are: Otto Octavius and Harry Osborne from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies, Gnag the nameless from the Wingfeather Saga, "The Silver Prince" from Ember Falls (book two of the Green Ember series), and Nemo from The Extraordinary Adventures of Jules Verne (animated TV show). Nemo is a slightly Moriarty style villain, controlling I operations from a distance in a number of episodes - including the first one - where only at the end do we get the revelation that it was this mysterious Nemo who had set the lesser antagonists in motion. His backstory is gradually explained over the course of the series, and once or twice he almost relents after our heroes speak to his heart. What really twists the knife about him being so villainous is that he is charismatic, handsome (I won't deny it), and a genius. When the final piece of his history falls into place, everything he has done makes sense to some extent, and the utter destruction of what he was to turn him into what he is now almost makes you cry. The rest of the show is obviously geared toward a young audience, but there are a few additional aspects of the story that make it worth it. I highly recommend it.
I don't think every villain needs an internal conflict. You can have someone that sees the world as corrupt and figures they might as well get their piece of the action. Some people are incapable of empathizing with others. They see something they want and they go for it. It doesn't matter to them what will happen to others. The Joker is one of the most iconic villains around and, in most incarnations, he's more of a force of chaos and destruction rather than a conflicted soul. His flaw is that he needs to do everything in a grandiose way. If he were smart and did things quietly, he'd be far more effective though a lot less memorable. In some stories, it's great to have a villain who could have been a hero if circumstances were slightly different or a dark reflection of the hero, but sometimes the villain can just be someone who enjoys inflicting pain and suffering.
My favorite villain at this moment would have to be dark Vader, mainly because the persona he brings is pure menacing and very strong in his belief in the force.
Where was this video 2 years ago when I first started writing my story? I highly recommend 13 Steps to Evil by Sacha Black. That's what got me going with my villains. The villains who was right there in your face got a back story and instead of growing and becoming better than his circumstances he grew to hate everything. He hated having everything he ever loved taken away from him. He was the bastard son of a noble who's only legitimate children were girls. Since he was a bastard his father couldn't give him an inheritance. His father gave him a strong military training thinking he would be of use to him. His father was a narcissist who thought he was too weak and needed to be tougher. His father's dogs killed his pet cat when he was a small boy. He fell in live with a girl and when he out the idea to his father to arrange a marriage his father arranged to have her father marry someone else. He hated his father so much that he killed him as soon as he was strong enough. Then he killed his only love's father and her husband thinking that they could finally be together and she hated him for it. It sent him on a bath spiraling out of control. He hired himself out as a mercenary because he liked the feeling of power he got from it. He could've been great only his hatred and desire for revenge whenever he feels wronged stopped him. Si when he sees the heroine he remembers the girl he loved and finds it difficult to want to kill her. She looks very similar to the love of his youth, petite and fair. When he has he in his clutches he has a moment where he remembers what he felt like when he was in love and for a moment he thinks he's seeing his love. Until he looks into her eyes and realizes that his love had green eyes and the heroine's are blue. Something snaps in him and he hates her for looking like his childhood love. As for the other true villain he is a thief. Wa born a their raised among thieves and knows no other life. His ambition is to be the greatest thief that ever lived. I'm still working on his back story and ironing him out. But he hired the other villain to teach him and a small group of thieves to fight and become efficient in stealing from.merxhant caravans. It was going to be their first step into his journey of greatness but then the hero put a damper in those plans. So in that way he is similar to the hero. He seeks greatness and dreams of knighthood but their goals are diffent. The story is becoming deeper and more complex as I work on these characters. It's almost to a point where I feel if I published it, I would be happy with it. There may always be thing s that I feel that I could work on and improve upon but in general I like I'm almost to a point where I could be happy with publishing it.
Hi, Abbie🙂 I have a question: Do these tips you mention in this video work on a surprise villain? Because I'm writing a fantasy novel, where the villain is mostly hidden, and creates obstacles for the protagonist through his minions. But he meets the protagonist sometimes and pretends to be her helper so she doesn't suspect it at the beginning that he's the villain. He was also the best friend of the protagonist's grandfather but they became enemies and that's why he's after the protagonist.
@emokekolumban2287 It should work. I am doing a similar thing in my fantasy book. The main villain is my main character’s uncle. And it’s not revealed until later in the book that he is a villain. I’m pretty sure it goes along with what she was saying about make them look like a friend of the protagonist until all of a sudden they aren’t.
@CelestiaGJ In that case, I'm not worried anymore that my surprise villain will be boring or won't work well in the story. The only thing I'm a bit worried now is that it might be cliché that the villain's goal is revenge. 🤔
@@emokekolumban2287 I totally get that. If you are super worried about it then try adding a little more to the motives than just revenge. For example in my book the original motivation for the antagonist was simply to kill all werewolves because he hates them. However I was super worried about it being cliche. So I spiced it up a bit. Now the motives is that he is possessed by a demon type thing that wants to control all the different dimensions, and the werewolves are one of the only people that might be able to stop him. Protagonist is a half werewolf by the way 😋
It's Gaston from beauty and the beast, oh yeah Abbie. I entered a writing competition I was wondering to write about my main story or the spin off beastings in the same world?
A case where I might not be convinced by this is Shigaraki Tomura in My Hero Academia. I actually so invested in his development from season 1 because it shows how he transform from a brawny sick man who just evaded USJ and failed, to a super villain with both power and tactic. Yes that development was so good I was expecting them to go along with that but no, we get another generic oh they were the pitiful tearjerking victim and suddenly his development just halt (and alongside started Deku's character regression, I hate him). I mean it could have work if they introduce him with a sad backstory already but no why do they have to go with this bad twist? I don't think Dragon Ball can be an example of character development but I found 2 shining example: Cell is the one if you choose the "develop in his villainess way", while Baby is the one if you choose the "he is the tragic victim that is beyond repair"
My Villian doesn't appear until the end of the story, he is mentioned by those who knew him. He is pure evil, though he does run a Youth Recreation Center. But he is evil and has no remorse for killing the Protagonist's Fiance in the beginning. He said he killed her because he was still hungry after making a kill and she happened to come by. He is a Werewolf. But he lived in fear of the Protagonists because he knew they would get him one day. .
I believe we start out selfish & self-absorbed, so I think we do start out as evil, though good-enough families can mitigate some of that, if not all of that.
What if your villain has all the same skills and many of the personality traits of your hero and your hero starts out with a negative character arc and becomes more and more like the villain, while hating the villain and trying to destroy them? Eventually the hero becomes more antihero and the villain seems more and more justified in their plot. And then a second hero comes and starts the first hero’s redemptive arc and the villain falls more into their madness because suddenly the heroes are gaining more ground in their fight.
Michael Connelly and other crime fic authors use the misdirect very well. Especially in books like The Poet by Michael Connelly. In my current WIP I have my protagonists (3) go after a robbery crew for a crime only to learn it was someone else
Blade from Survivors by Erin Hunter. She is such a good villain until book 5 when she loses her mind and goes completely mad. Also Breeze from Survivors is written really well but I hate her so much!
But in my opinion so villians are better without hearts. Its scarier to be unsure of why they are a monster or such a force Humanising them takes away from their effectivness I think of darth vader from the original film. A unknown force to be reckon with They they showed his back story in the prequals I think this devasted and weakened his character But also i guess execution plays a big part too
What do i do if my villain is a problem that needs to get sorted out rather than a person? How do I make a backstory for my problem and a reason for it, but also make sure it's known that the problem is no one person's fault that it exists?
So the villain should be developed as the main character of his own story. The hero's story is also developed as the antagonist for the villain, so they work together to tell the real story in your final draft. I'll need to keep this in mind when I edit my current NaNoWriMo project. I don't usually use villains, so I had trouble. The antagonist is the mayor of a town at the edge of a high mountain valley. A dark sorceress has taken over the valley as a shelter for a race endowed with an affinity with magic, who have been oppressed and called demons for a thousand years. She's closed down the caravan route through the valley. The mayor wants to save the town, which is withering away without the caravan trade, so when a traveling swordsman pass through, he hires the swordsman to "deal with" the sorceress. The swordsman, unwilling to assassinate the sorceress in her own castle, surrounded by her army of monsters and demons (not a plan which would guarantee long life), instead negotiates to have the pass reopened peacefully. This causes conflict with the mayor, who wants a faster solution, and doesn't want to negotiate with the sorceress. He opposes measures that would have opened the route earlier because he doesn't want to deal with the woman who consorts with demons. Now I have to identify the trauma that caused him to be willing to postpone his original goal rather than deal with the sorceress.
There are quite a few villains that I like and that I would love to see get redeemed!!! And I truly believe that they are very redeemable!!!! And some villains aren't even that bad but yet the people who wrote the book they're in or made the show or movie they are in have no interest in doing this. And some of these characters I'm thinking of are Disney characters and I think we all know by now that they have no interest in creativity!!!! All they want is MONEY!!!!!!!💰🤑
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 90 วันนี้ | คู่เอก "ก้องไกล vs แอนตาร์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VugIvOstzRI/mqdefault.jpg)
Send this video to Disney because god knows they need it.
I’ll say. They most definitely do.
@@CelestiaGJ Magnifico from Wish was a great character, who should have been the main character, with Ashia being the antagonist instead, symbolising and being a parody of the entitled gen z youth of today
@@unicorntomboy9736 I totally agree
Disney does need a lot of help with their movies these days!!!!
@@DrawlingsStoriesAndMore I wish Disney would make a grimdark fantasy movie, with an anti hero princess as the main character, who goes on a negative character arc.
Imagine Tangled mixed with Dark Souls.
13:01 "Most bad people don't wear black trench coats and laugh _maniacally_ in the shadows," Abbie guffaws in a darkened room. "Sometimes the villain is the person you think is your friend," she reveals as she looks away, unable to maintain eye contact.
🤔I think Abbie is embracing her villainess arc. 😁
😂 love this
🤣🤣🤣🤣 villain origin story: you became a writer
@@AbbieEmmonsSounds about right, I’ve given myself a title: The Remorseful Author…mainly because the phrase “What have I done” is used a lot when writing my characters backstories and the story itself…
I loved it 😂😂😂😂😂@@AbbieEmmons
"In my life, I worked only for peace. Nothing less, nothing more. Now I see that only power rules the world. I will achieve that power. No cost is too great, no sacrifice too sacred. All will bow to me, or be destroyed."
-Arcanophage
The villain should be a reflection of what the hero could become. The villain should be a cautionary tale.
@@StratumPress what if the main character is no different from the villain
I dont see this happening in horror stories
@@unicorntomboy9736 Then you're desperately trying to confuse people to be edgy.
@@vegpedro7632 Most horror movies are terrible, low-grade shock entertainment. They're not great stories in the slightest. People watch horror movies for gore. The few great horror stories like The Shining are complex and show how human beings can stray from virtue and into villainy. Dracula is another one. Jonathan Harker is in a rivalry with Count Dracula for the heart of his Mina, and he has to stop himself from becoming like Dracula to do it. Silence of the Lambs is another. Hannibal Lecter is a brilliant man who fell into a similar darkness to Buffalo Bill, and Clarice secretly fears becoming corrupted by people like Lecter.
@@StratumPress My book has the MC go through a negative character arc, so they become as bad and evil as the villain
One of the best literary examples of hiding the villain in plain sight has got to be The Winners by Fredrik Backman. It's a book with multiple POVs, and the villain's POV is written just like the other characters, you root for him just like you do for the other characters and you only learnt that he's the villain late into the story when he commits a terrible deed. It completely shakes you up, you have no idea where to place your loyalties and you empathize with the villain till the end even though he does things that make you want to throw the book out of the window and stomp on it multiple times. One of the best written villains I have ever seen
So on point, Abbie. Writing a villain truly IS easier said than done. It was only once I tried to write a believable villain, that I actually realized this is hard!😂
I love Frank Underwood from House of Carda
@unicorntomboy9736 I like President (Coriolanus) Snow from The Hunger Games. That dude is highly 'flicted! 😂
It's definitely harder than it looks! I'm glad you found this video inspirational 😉
Who else loves Abbie👇👇👇
ME 😊
Meee
🥹💗 Thank you!! I love you all too!
@abbieemmons I really really like u a lot ur advice is so helpful and it really helped me with a lot of my writing 😊❤
So true! Even villains/antagonists have internal conflict, just like the MC/protagonist…
I hate writing villians because they are so difficult, so thank you Abbie!
Ask yourself what you're afraid of your protagonist becoming if they made all of the worst choices and that's your villain.
I hope this video helps! 😌
“All of this! Everything! It was all for us! This is our only chance to make it back home- to save our people! I dreamed of us having to finally feel safe. It was all for us.”
My villain doesn’t appear very often, but everyone is aware of this person’s existence. But it’s also a sort of imposter type of plot. Nobody knows who is pulling the strings but they are aware it’s happening. My villain is pure evil and seeks power and control of all people. I’m fairly early in the book but it feels intense writing those scenes
Ohhh, I’m really interested in this topic! Thank you ❤
I was JUST watching your other Villain video yesterday!😮❤ Keep up the great work!
My favorite used to be Darth Vader, until the prequels, hearing Anakin's back story gave me a different perspective. Now, I would have to say that Loki in the MCU is because he's conflicted and has a redemption arc, but it transfers to Thanos after Loki's redemption because Thanos is SO dangerous and not because he's powerful, but because he thinks he's right. When a Villain has that conviction in their belief, there is no reasoning with them making them 10x more dangerous... at least to me.
Yes, that's so true!! When a villain justifies their actions (and even convinces themselves that they are doing the best thing for humanity) that's what makes a truly wicked and dangerous character 👀
I like to write my characters this way- the hero's and the villain's goals are opposite, but they also need each other to discover themselves, somehow.
Or, to use Abbie's ideas, the hero's destiny and misbelief are somehow connected to the ones of the villain- each one will discover their true desire as a result of their interaction.
In other words, the a-ha moment will have double meaning- one meaning for the hero, another one for the villain.
Yes I do believe what you said is true but sometimes I wonder why do we love some villian that are soo unapologetically evil and just themselves ....without any internal conflict, the guy is just evil to put it simply ""yeah Imma destroy the world now"" . They do have often times a the most charismatic aura and drip. I don't know if y'all are getting what I mean.
And internal conflict if not done correctly feels forced. Audience catch if internal conflict is there just for the sake of being there
yeah only when they're hot
I need my villain in my book to be DEEPLY HATED so this perfect!!😆😆😆
@dreamychocolateone my main character goes to war against his father because his father kidnaps the love of his life, and during the course of the war the main character goes darker and darker in search of his love, ending in a duel between father and son, with the son killing the father and taking over the kingdom. But killing his father will destroy the main character and set up a second book
@ Ooh! Omg that is a book! I’d love to read it 😆😆😆
I admit every since I subscribed I have learned a lot. And discouraged in equal measure. I think I wrote a mistake with with each book attempt when I see more steps or structures etc. Not sure If I can manage all this.
@@PastorErickMiller Don’t worry about making mistakes. I felt the same way when I first found miss Abbie’s channel. I honestly thought that my book was going to be a complete wreck, but then I started showing parts of it to my friends and they all told me that the book will be epic and they can’t wait to read the entire thing. My advice would be if you are super worried about it try showing the book to your friends and see what they think, and don’t worry about making mistakes in the first draft. You can always go back and fix them later.
Correct 💯 timing of this video.
Thank you so much Abbie.
I read your written books 2 to 5 times to get grip in your writing style ❤❤
An interesting fact: The villain often does not see himself/herself as diabolical. I love that " Give the Villian a goal." Thank you once again for the amazing videos 🙏🙏
I LOVE this kind of videos! Abby, you're the best!❤
My villain was never a human to begin with, so she doesn't view things from a human point of view. She views things from a spider's point of view because she is basically a spider in human form, but she can assume the form of a spider the size of a car. She possesses human intelligence, but is unburdened by such emotions as mercy, pity, compassion, or remorse. She sees them as weaknesses. She is a predator whose only concern is the survival of her kind. Her favored prey is humans, & she & her kind could potentially replace humankind at the top of the food chain, & as the dominant species on the planet, which is why they must be eradicated to the last individual. She is not evil, she is simply following her nature, the nature of a spider, to hunt & feed on prey, to mate & reproduce, & to survive. In fact, everything she does is for the survival of her kind. She doesn't see herself as evil, she is just doing whatever is needed to ensure the survival of her kind.
I honestly like it when they're sarcastic towards the heroes' cause.
"All we want is world peace...or a piece of the world."
-Chrono Trigger
I'm trying to work this stuff out right now! The hero has trust in authorities, belives that they're in a higher position because of their morality and knowledge. He follows them blindly. The antag IS an authority figure. She knows how corrupt the government is and specifically a company she works for and believes the only way to fix it is to wreck it from the ground. She is hidden in plain sight since the hero looks up to her, sees her daily until the reveal. I'm trying to figure out if i should redeem her or if she'd be too stubborn to let go of her resentment.
So like Bourne before he became Bourne?
@sharkinator7819 What franchise are you referencing?
@@SprinkledCactus the Bourne series. They made 5 movies with Matt Damon starting with the Bourne Identity
One of my favorite villains is Keyser Soze in the Unusual Suspects. The whole film one thinks the villain is a myth and then the team of anti heroes start dying one by one and the protagonist tries to evade the antagonist but everyone dies except the last teammate who’s in police protection….. only to find out in the last moments of the film that the weakest teammate is actually the antagonist. It was brilliant.
My most sincere thanks for content creators like yourself who share your knowledge and experiences. This video in particular was especially helpful with my current novel. (I was struggling with where to take my villain's backstory - but we're on track now.) Thank you!
Wonderful video. What do you think about the very understated villain? For example, The Operative in the movie Serenity. He really only hints at his beliefs a couple of times and knows that he doesn't belong in the "better world" that he thinks he's creating. He even admits "I'm a monster. What I do is evil... but it must be done. "
I'm not sure what it is, but something about him makes him one of my favorite villains.
I have a similar character. He does what must be done as a way of preserving the greater good. He's charming and charismatic, a good friend throughout the series. Which makes it heartbreaking when what must be done comes into conflict with the MC.
I think there's a lot to be said for understated villains! Oftentimes they feel more true to life. Even if you don't have opportunities in your story to reveal a lot about the villain's beliefs/background, you can still reveal bits and pieces, like with the dialogue snippet you just shared from Serenity. Dialogue (and the character justifying their actions) is a great way to reveal internal conflict!
Finally this is the one I needed!!
Loki is my favorite villain! Abbie, have you seen the Loki series? I would love for you to do a science of story study video on that.
Top villains:
• Daniel Plainview from _There Will Be Blood_
• Alex from _A Clockwork Orange_
• Gny. Sgt. Hartman from _Full Metal Jacket_
• The entire cast of _ 12 Angry Men_ , minus Henry Fonda's character
Every one of these baddies I would take out for a beer...even after knowing all the horrible things that they have done or the really messed up prejudices that they've got. They are the best representation of the Jungian Shadow Self that I have seen on film.
Just a life-saving video! Idk why but one thing I know is that Abbie ALWAYS uploads MUCH NEEDED videos in the RIGHT TIME. Love you ❤
I am writing my novel. The thing I like the most about writing the villain is the feeling of freedom. I kind of forget to please the reader. As an amateur writer I just love to find ways to apply pressure on my hero to reveal their inner beauty. Whether it's by making the villain a chicken and running away at a critical moment, or being ruthless, by controlling the majority of the narrative/fight untill people want payback or simply just listening to a what not to do Abby video and ask myself, is there one rule I could not resist breaking? Is there something so much fun to write that its worth breaking a rule?
I had a villain I couldn't write for a story long ago. I knew what he was, a Shadowknight that gets his magical powers from an evil living Shadow Sword, who in turn gets its power from the energy released when it kills something/someone. I know he's on a quest to ruin the protagonists' plans, but he's 1 dimensional; I can't write him. Who is this guy? Then I decide, since the movie Prometheus, to attack his motives. What does he want in life? He wants to murder that freaking sword. He can not stand one single minute of that thing whispering in his ear, berating, belittling, threating, taunting him. He would do anything to kill that sword in the most horrific way imaginable, but only in a way that lets him keep his power.
Now I know who this guy is. Now I can write him.
I appreciate so much the greater insight into approaching villains; your insight is always appreciated. I only did part of it and that alone was so much better.
And yeah, I thought about having him go through a redemption arc. Starting with the realization that Paladins have some pretty cool powers.
Oh my! I've been plotting a villian story and this video has helped me to think deeper and make my villian spark. Thank you Abbie😊
I have come to appreciate a lot of villains out there. Darth Vader, Sauron, Loki, Silco, and Bhaal. The darker the night the brighter the light.
Hi, Abbie. I am Julia, the blind girl who sometimes writes to you. I wanted to send you a message here, hoping you might read it and reply to me.
I am grateful to have met you, even though I live in Italy and we won't, probably, never meet (do you know how nice it would be to do it in person?), to have had you as a teacher for years on TH-cam (since 2022), to have had you as an even more official teacher for almost a year with your Live Trainings, to be able to continue these lessons with you. You do free videos every week, you are very generous, when I had problems you helped me, I think you are very sweet and very humble and I wish I had even half of your positivity.
I think you are very good. Even though I don't follow the three-act story structure, you are also the one who made me understand the importance of outline but at the same time creativity, the freedom to write what I want. In fact, you are in favor of fanfiction, and you once wrote to me that I have to write in the medium I most prefer, and that is this. And that practice makes a writer a better one and it is true. My beta reader says I improved with Show, Don't Tell this year, that the reader is more immersed in the story and in the characters.
It's been a while since I've followed your Livestreams, but I will.
When I hear you say, even in the lectures you do monthly on Patreon that I listen on delay, that there are writers from India, Pakistan, Poland, etc., I say to myself:
“She is a humble person who started from fanfiction and has done so much. She's written a lot, but she also does a lot for us. She does so, so much for us! For me.”
I swear to you that if I compare what I learned in three years in an Italian writing class, which was very useful to me anyway, but from which I unsubscribed, and what I learn from you, the two are not even comparable.
Abbie, you have helped me a lot more than you know. You explain everything so well, with story examples.
You are the best writing teacher anyone could have.
You've moved me so much with your books, I've felt so immersed, so represented in various characters, including Tessa, that I'm itching to read more. Please, publish a novel soon!
You have become, after Danielle Steel, my second favorite writer, and I'm so happy to have your three books that sometimes I find myself reading bits and pieces and imagining you standing next to me and reading them to me, and I'm crying with joy.
You seem like a sweet and sensitive person, so, so sweet, empathetic, and you love pets like I do. You have a dog and Rockett, I have three cats, and I'm glad we also share the passion for writing.
I love you, Abbie!
With all my heart,
Giulia
aw thats wholesome :D
One of my favorite villains, from Disney at least, is Scar in The Lion King. He is such a well executed bad guy, that has crystal clear motivations and is just entertaining to watch, arguably more interesting than either Simba or Mufusa (partially because of the queer coding that was common with Disney at the time).
In my novel my antagonist is similar to Scar, and has a similar relationship dynamic with my main character, a young princess who is born with a curse. I am going hard into the creepy uncle archetype with the antagonist.
This is a great breakdown! Thanks, Abbie!
This came out with perfect timing. I've been brainstorming, trying to figure out the main villain in my book.
I think a richly written villain is controversial in their actions and empathizing with them sparks debate.
imo if you're looking for a masterclass in writing villains, an easy place to start is Star Wars' Darth Vader. Such a fun franchise to get into! And, honestly, the films are popular for a reason. Anyone who loves storytelling, I'd suggest checking out the Star Wars IP.
Let's talk about Darth Vader aka Anakin Skywalker. He started off the hero in Clone Wars era and to this day remains one of the most iconic villains of all time. Even if you've never seen Star Wars and have no knowledge of the films, you likely recognize Vader's dark helmet. The classic Imperial March theme song is easier to remember than the Star Wars theme itself. Bro literally killed children, yet people care about this guy. Why?
Here's why. The original movie series revolves around his fall from grace and his last chance of redemption. Star Wars is a story of hope, which Anakin embodies. In the end, the love for his son triumphs over loyalty to his dark master and he chooses to do the right thing. He chooses to be Anakin instead of Vader. If Anakin can be redeemed, then anyone can be.
I think that's the power of a well-written villain. They, like the hero, embody the theme of your story. They're actively in your protagonist's way of their goals and act as a foil to them. They are what the hero could become if they make all the wrong choices/ don't learn the lesson of the story. Which means your villain has a great deal of power in stressing the urgency in that "truth you want to scream from the rooftops" as Abbie calls it. They are the "so what? why should I care?" that the audience asks. If you don't learn the lesson, this horrible dude could be you- that sort of vibe. By redeeming someone like Vader, we grew to care for Anakin, understood why his friends mourned him, and understood why Yoda helped Luke realize he needed to give his father a chance to choose better versus destroy him outright. This made his final choice to do the right thing so impactful. It helps people who might feel they're not worth saving that "hey, if people can care about this guy saving the galaxy after causing so much suffering, then maybe there's a chance for me to have a happy ending too, maybe it's not too late for me to change".
It might be fiction, but good fiction can impact reality. This is the power of good storytelling.
You can easily track Vader and anyone's character arcs and build their character profile using Abbie's templates. Doing analysis like this can really help when you're developing your own villains. Understand how others did it so you can "steal" their techniques in your own work :))
I binged The Penguin last night and it’s so good. Oz’s ambition is revealed in the first five minutes and he wants to be loved
6:22 That's pretty similar to what Transformers One did. When the protagonists discover the truth, one learns from it and the other falls into darkness.
Abbie one video on Best Friends to Lovers romance trope as well please! Thanks! 💗😇
Compare this to The Closer Look's In Defense of Pure Evil Villains video. He likes pure evil forces of nature like Sauron, and motive less psychopaths like the Joker.
It seems mostly to be a genre difference. Abbie is more into historical romance, Closer Look comic book and fantasy. But I think regardless of your genre you need to consider the story as a whole.
A complex, sympathetic human villain can be great. But the pure evil Joker works because he's Batman's opposite - the Joker is the ultimate test of the Batman's moral code. If Batman would ever kill it would be to kill the Joker.
Conversely Abbie's discussion of George Warleggan from Poldark is good and for that story, a complex human villain works. Deciding what kind of story you're writing and what fits best is important.
You must be reading my mind, because I’m trying to figure out how to write my villain as a three dimensional person and not a cardboard character. It was a pleasant surprise to find this video in my feed.
Thanks.
I love your videos, Abbie - I love your cute upbeat way of inspiring instruction - keep up the great work.
I always go back and rewatch your videos.
I took some inspiration from Stalin to create the villain of my story. Whuch fits because he’s meant to be a dictator.
I like taking inspiration from the German history to create villians, so it's cool.
@@AisyahHeartly ayo thats hitler
Wow This really helped, thank you!!
I think I have a pretty good villain for the novel I’m working on. For context, it’s a Cold War Spy Thriller. The villain is an East German computer expert who is hired by the USSR to hack into the American space shuttle so they can take over a satellite network that’s designed to intercept ICBMs in mid flight. He’s supposed to be an insufferable genius and the background I have so far is that he was conceived unwilling at the end of WWII when a Russian soldier had his way with his mother and he’s deeply embarrassed by this fact. Wondering if anyone has any good pointers because I haven’t had time to develop him
First one here let's go!!!!
What if you want a villain who spans volumes, not just one single novel?
Have the villain win, and the protagonist/s lose in book one, and the reverse in book two
Or have other obstacles/villains in each book, with the overarching threat of the main villain. Like Sauron or Voldemort.
I enjoy the Q character from the next generation. He showed up right when you didn't want him to 😅 thanks again Abbie.
Oh my word yes. For me he is a love hate kind of character. It is funny to watch him mess with people but so annoying when the team is on a time crunch. 😂
Ah, one of my favorite topics of writing. For me, the villain is always were I start, not the protag, and when outlining character arcs, I work backwards. Who is the villain, what is their endgame, and how do they get there/is defeated? Then I build the hero's arc around the villain I created.
I've read this general sentiment in the comments: "Make your villain a dark reflection of your hero." This is sound advice, albeit pretty basic, but it kinda falls apart if you're writing an ensemble cast narrative with lots of POV's and moving parts. Sometimes you'll have multiple protags and antags, so don't always try you make this advice work just for the sake of it.
Cersei Lannister was one-of-a-kind petty and narcissistic. She had no real opposite or equal. Anton Chigurh from 'No Country for Old Men' was absolutely terrifying and the protags most certainly weren't the light side to his dark. Heath Ledger's Joker, even though he desperately tried to coin himself as Batman's counterpart, was simply a crazy dude who loved to instigate chaos. The best villains I've come across aren't dark reflections of heroes, but whose goals are so depraved that somebody is forced to act against them because there's no other choice.
Another bit of my own personal advice for cosmic horror, if you are attempting to write some sort of eldritch monstrosity that is essentially the villain of your story, don't try to explain their motivations. It's more creepy and horrific when they are incomprehensible and unknowable.
'The Colour Out of Space' or 'Annihilation' doesn't work if the thing terraforming our planet is given a voice. Something came here riding a meteor and now the area around where it impacted is becoming alien. That doesn't need an explanation or motivation. Although I love Stephen King, he often gets that wrong with his cosmic villains by explaining too much. Let the reader stew in the dread of NOT knowing. A villain beyond human comprehension should remain beyond comprehension.
Thank you very much Abbie for all your writing videos. They have been very helpful in my journey as a writer
God bless you.
My favorite villain is Bowser, because he has three sides to him that can basically be summed up as "cocky meat head," "big teddy bear" and "godzilla."
This I must know!
❤❤❤
This video showed me I need a plotline for my Villain. Prior to today, he was just a nebulous person in the distance.
Thank you for the wonderful videos, super helpful! Any chance you can identify the song track/artist on your outro? I'm really digging that vibe. 😊
For me it's easier write an antegonist than a protagonist.
Here is some tips for people who feel difficulties to write a villain character. That could help you:
First of all, always think that, in the world, it seems that to be bad is better rewarded than being good (at least in a short time). If a character is corrupted, he will want to explore more by his own and make things like he/she wants.
And the second one is that, negative emotions are stronger (revenge, sadness, fear,...etc) than positive (compassion, complacency and others). It's easily to conect harder with a character who is passing through something bad, dark or sad, and the motive of that character to be a villain is "the easy path" for them to calm down that emotions.
I don't know if you know what i mean or if i'm expressing myself clear. English is not my mother language ^^'
Have fun everybody!!
Anyways, thank you @Abbie Emmons, for the tips to *The Dreamers* :D
Such good advice! I need to clarify my villains' precise goals and fears.
Favorite villain? Gul Dukat, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
my villain(s) are not much into play in book 1 but more in the background for until later books for reasons
@xxaleksi I have a very similar thing going on in my book series. Where the villain isn’t ver active until later in the first book. Then he becomes hyper active in the next two books.
This helped me so much! I am trying to make a lovable but hated villain main character.
Everything Magneto feared, his fears being what caused the rift between him and Xavier, came true in Logan. Turns out, he wasn't a villain at all. He was a hero trying to save mutants from the evil humans that Xavier was protecting. That sort of story twist gets my juices flowing when you realize the "hero" is the one on the wrong side of history, but he can't know it until history is written and all of his mistakes are known. Does Xavier do some good, yes. But he fails to do the ultimate good. Does Magneto do some awful stuff, absolutely, but it was because Xavier kept blocking him from better choices. Had they teamed up from the beginning under Magneto's vision of how to proceed mutants may have gained the freedom they were after, but we'll never know.
That was a great piece of writing. The moment that bit was revealed it changed everything you thought you knew and made you have to go back and watch all of the earlier films to see what you missed. It made you face palm every time you found clues right there the whole time.
Welcome to Marvel Comics. They do complex stories where heroes can be antagonists, and the bad guys are trying to save the world.
Watching this, and then shortly after watching the Powerpuff Girls "Twas the Fight before Christmas," and if there's a character that fits this mold perfectly, it's Princess Morbucks. She DEFINITELY is someone who strongly believes that she's a good person, but everyone around her KNOWS she's the biggest, brattiest, most selfish, self-centered person in existence. She's EVERYTHING you HATE about a villain. You WANT to see her fall flat on her face when it comes to foiling her plans, especially this one where she's determined to switch the Naughty and Nice list so she's the ONLY person to get a present, which, for her, is to be a Powerpuff Girl
I already have my villain name listed
"She saw it now. Kneeling deep in the bloodied snow, she looked up to the heavens, seeing nothing but the abyss. It was her journey that had led her there. Her whole life's purpose, reduced to ashes and dust, dead as all her victims. The mother of her nation, the pride of all, reduced to a madwoman with a bloodied white gown and a maniacal grin on her face. In hindsight, it was all too obvious. After all, power was like a glass of wine. It flowed thickly and seductively, but after the end of its thrall, nothing remained, except for the hollowness that was always there, constant as the ruins of empires, for if there was one thing that empires did, it was fall, and fall hard."
Hi Abbie! Love your video! Do you happen to analyze villains from video games as well? My favorite is Solas (from the Dragon Age series). I'm excited to find he ticked all the boxes you mentioned here. Starting out as one of the hero's companions/romance options, he is later revealed to be one of the biggest threats secretly orchestrating events to set his plans in motion. He has noble intentions initially but his 'the end justifies the means' thinking made him the villain, sacrificing his morals along the way. He genuinely respects/loves the hero but believes the only way to save his people is the one way that causes the fall of others. People either wants to redeem/marry him or kill him 😂
There's a very simple reason why villains are more proactive than heroes: they're not constrained by morality, so they have more freedom of choice. The good guy may be frozen into inaction because none of the obvious solutions are morally acceptable, whereas the villain has no such limitations.
It's the same reason that villains and even morally grey protagonists are more interesting than heroes. Straight-up good guys tend to be predictable because they always choose to do the right thing (and likewise two-dimensional bad guys always do the evil thing) - a character becomes far more interesting when we can't predict their next action because their morals are more...flexible.
My favourite villain of all time is Sephiroth from FF7. He's actually very sympathetic and I can't honestly say I wouldn't have done similar things if I'd been in his position.
Thank you angel🙏🏼
Something I wish I could do is answer these questions in the comments as I go along just to get a conversation started but I'm too scared that I'll overshare and ruin it all for myself
STILL though, this video is very informative, your videos greatly inspire me
Although I can give an answer to the last one:
I want to make a villain who truly feels smart, someone who's always one step ahead but don't act condescendingly about it, a villain who has resigned themselves to their goal solely to the point where their desperation for their goal has eaten away at the person they used to be, leaving behind a shell that you could swear is them, but not quite anymore. I want to make a villain that, should their circumstances have been different, they could have brought good change to the world without having to rely on such drastic measures, someone truly capable and gifted
With your help, I have created an anti-hero that I love. He’s my favorite character 😊.
Some of the best written villains that I have seen depicted in various narrative mediums are: Otto Octavius and Harry Osborne from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies, Gnag the nameless from the Wingfeather Saga, "The Silver Prince" from Ember Falls (book two of the Green Ember series), and Nemo from The Extraordinary Adventures of Jules Verne (animated TV show).
Nemo is a slightly Moriarty style villain, controlling I operations from a distance in a number of episodes - including the first one - where only at the end do we get the revelation that it was this mysterious Nemo who had set the lesser antagonists in motion. His backstory is gradually explained over the course of the series, and once or twice he almost relents after our heroes speak to his heart.
What really twists the knife about him being so villainous is that he is charismatic, handsome (I won't deny it), and a genius. When the final piece of his history falls into place, everything he has done makes sense to some extent, and the utter destruction of what he was to turn him into what he is now almost makes you cry.
The rest of the show is obviously geared toward a young audience, but there are a few additional aspects of the story that make it worth it. I highly recommend it.
I don't think every villain needs an internal conflict. You can have someone that sees the world as corrupt and figures they might as well get their piece of the action. Some people are incapable of empathizing with others. They see something they want and they go for it. It doesn't matter to them what will happen to others. The Joker is one of the most iconic villains around and, in most incarnations, he's more of a force of chaos and destruction rather than a conflicted soul. His flaw is that he needs to do everything in a grandiose way. If he were smart and did things quietly, he'd be far more effective though a lot less memorable. In some stories, it's great to have a villain who could have been a hero if circumstances were slightly different or a dark reflection of the hero, but sometimes the villain can just be someone who enjoys inflicting pain and suffering.
Ooh! What if the antagonist/villain is nature?
im currently writing a novel with a similar context xd i think its interesting
My favorite villain at this moment would have to be dark Vader, mainly because the persona he brings is pure menacing and very strong in his belief in the force.
Ima just storm dreamwork’s headquarters, steal their next idea for a villain, make it my own, and get copyright for it
Where was this video 2 years ago when I first started writing my story? I highly recommend 13 Steps to Evil by Sacha Black. That's what got me going with my villains. The villains who was right there in your face got a back story and instead of growing and becoming better than his circumstances he grew to hate everything. He hated having everything he ever loved taken away from him. He was the bastard son of a noble who's only legitimate children were girls. Since he was a bastard his father couldn't give him an inheritance. His father gave him a strong military training thinking he would be of use to him. His father was a narcissist who thought he was too weak and needed to be tougher. His father's dogs killed his pet cat when he was a small boy. He fell in live with a girl and when he out the idea to his father to arrange a marriage his father arranged to have her father marry someone else. He hated his father so much that he killed him as soon as he was strong enough. Then he killed his only love's father and her husband thinking that they could finally be together and she hated him for it. It sent him on a bath spiraling out of control. He hired himself out as a mercenary because he liked the feeling of power he got from it. He could've been great only his hatred and desire for revenge whenever he feels wronged stopped him. Si when he sees the heroine he remembers the girl he loved and finds it difficult to want to kill her. She looks very similar to the love of his youth, petite and fair. When he has he in his clutches he has a moment where he remembers what he felt like when he was in love and for a moment he thinks he's seeing his love. Until he looks into her eyes and realizes that his love had green eyes and the heroine's are blue. Something snaps in him and he hates her for looking like his childhood love. As for the other true villain he is a thief. Wa born a their raised among thieves and knows no other life. His ambition is to be the greatest thief that ever lived. I'm still working on his back story and ironing him out. But he hired the other villain to teach him and a small group of thieves to fight and become efficient in stealing from.merxhant caravans. It was going to be their first step into his journey of greatness but then the hero put a damper in those plans. So in that way he is similar to the hero. He seeks greatness and dreams of knighthood but their goals are diffent. The story is becoming deeper and more complex as I work on these characters. It's almost to a point where I feel if I published it, I would be happy with it. There may always be thing s that I feel that I could work on and improve upon but in general I like I'm almost to a point where I could be happy with publishing it.
Hi, Abbie🙂 I have a question: Do these tips you mention in this video work on a surprise villain? Because I'm writing a fantasy novel, where the villain is mostly hidden, and creates obstacles for the protagonist through his minions. But he meets the protagonist sometimes and pretends to be her helper so she doesn't suspect it at the beginning that he's the villain. He was also the best friend of the protagonist's grandfather but they became enemies and that's why he's after the protagonist.
@emokekolumban2287 It should work. I am doing a similar thing in my fantasy book. The main villain is my main character’s uncle. And it’s not revealed until later in the book that he is a villain. I’m pretty sure it goes along with what she was saying about make them look like a friend of the protagonist until all of a sudden they aren’t.
@CelestiaGJ In that case, I'm not worried anymore that my surprise villain will be boring or won't work well in the story. The only thing I'm a bit worried now is that it might be cliché that the villain's goal is revenge. 🤔
@@emokekolumban2287 I totally get that. If you are super worried about it then try adding a little more to the motives than just revenge. For example in my book the original motivation for the antagonist was simply to kill all werewolves because he hates them. However I was super worried about it being cliche. So I spiced it up a bit. Now the motives is that he is possessed by a demon type thing that wants to control all the different dimensions, and the werewolves are one of the only people that might be able to stop him.
Protagonist is a half werewolf by the way 😋
@@CelestiaGJ Your story sounds interesting indeed. Thank you for the advice and best of luck and success with your book. 😊👍
@@emokekolumban2287 Of course. Best of luck to you as well👍
Elphaba from the musical Wicked (i hope that counts) and Malifacent from the live action movie
*Favorite villains:*
Emperor Palpatine ( _Star Wars_ )
Juggernaut (MCU)
Darth Vader ( _Star Wars_ )
Darkseid (DCU)
Thanos (MCU)
It's Gaston from beauty and the beast, oh yeah Abbie. I entered a writing competition I was wondering to write about my main story or the spin off beastings in the same world?
Azula from ATLA is my favourite villain and my favourite Avatar Character
A case where I might not be convinced by this is Shigaraki Tomura in My Hero Academia. I actually so invested in his development from season 1 because it shows how he transform from a brawny sick man who just evaded USJ and failed, to a super villain with both power and tactic. Yes that development was so good I was expecting them to go along with that but no, we get another generic oh they were the pitiful tearjerking victim and suddenly his development just halt (and alongside started Deku's character regression, I hate him). I mean it could have work if they introduce him with a sad backstory already but no why do they have to go with this bad twist?
I don't think Dragon Ball can be an example of character development but I found 2 shining example: Cell is the one if you choose the "develop in his villainess way", while Baby is the one if you choose the "he is the tragic victim that is beyond repair"
My Villian doesn't appear until the end of the story, he is mentioned by those who knew him. He is pure evil, though he does run a Youth Recreation Center. But he is evil and has no remorse for killing the Protagonist's Fiance in the beginning. He said he killed her because he was still hungry after making a kill and she happened to come by. He is a Werewolf. But he lived in fear of the Protagonists because he knew they would get him one day. .
I believe we start out selfish & self-absorbed, so I think we do start out as evil, though good-enough families can mitigate some of that, if not all of that.
The Beldam from Coraline is one of my favourite villains.
I would appreciate some more examples from literature or movies.
I feel a little called out for giving my villain a black trench coat 😂
I was wondering if I could have my main character’s love interest become a villain only to protect her from being hurt
What if your villain has all the same skills and many of the personality traits of your hero and your hero starts out with a negative character arc and becomes more and more like the villain, while hating the villain and trying to destroy them? Eventually the hero becomes more antihero and the villain seems more and more justified in their plot. And then a second hero comes and starts the first hero’s redemptive arc and the villain falls more into their madness because suddenly the heroes are gaining more ground in their fight.
Michael Connelly and other crime fic authors use the misdirect very well. Especially in books like The Poet by Michael Connelly.
In my current WIP I have my protagonists (3) go after a robbery crew for a crime only to learn it was someone else
Blade from Survivors by Erin Hunter. She is such a good villain until book 5 when she loses her mind and goes completely mad. Also Breeze from Survivors is written really well but I hate her so much!
But in my opinion so villians are better without hearts. Its scarier to be unsure of why they are a monster or such a force
Humanising them takes away from their effectivness
I think of darth vader from the original film. A unknown force to be reckon with
They they showed his back story in the prequals
I think this devasted and weakened his character
But also i guess execution plays a big part too
What do i do if my villain is a problem that needs to get sorted out rather than a person? How do I make a backstory for my problem and a reason for it, but also make sure it's known that the problem is no one person's fault that it exists?
I would love to read a book of yours with a villain character
So the villain should be developed as the main character of his own story. The hero's story is also developed as the antagonist for the villain, so they work together to tell the real story in your final draft.
I'll need to keep this in mind when I edit my current NaNoWriMo project. I don't usually use villains, so I had trouble.
The antagonist is the mayor of a town at the edge of a high mountain valley. A dark sorceress has taken over the valley as a shelter for a race endowed with an affinity with magic, who have been oppressed and called demons for a thousand years. She's closed down the caravan route through the valley.
The mayor wants to save the town, which is withering away without the caravan trade, so when a traveling swordsman pass through, he hires the swordsman to "deal with" the sorceress.
The swordsman, unwilling to assassinate the sorceress in her own castle, surrounded by her army of monsters and demons (not a plan which would guarantee long life), instead negotiates to have the pass reopened peacefully.
This causes conflict with the mayor, who wants a faster solution, and doesn't want to negotiate with the sorceress. He opposes measures that would have opened the route earlier because he doesn't want to deal with the woman who consorts with demons.
Now I have to identify the trauma that caused him to be willing to postpone his original goal rather than deal with the sorceress.
YESS I don't have a steady villain in my book and they are all red herings bc tge real villain is the protagonist 😍
What is we don't want to give out villain a redempsion arc?
There are quite a few villains that I like and that I would love to see get redeemed!!! And I truly believe that they are very redeemable!!!!
And some villains aren't even that bad but yet the people who wrote the book they're in or made the show or movie they are in have no interest in doing this.
And some of these characters I'm thinking of are Disney characters and I think we all know by now that they have no interest in creativity!!!! All they want is MONEY!!!!!!!💰🤑