Dabble writer code#

Basically anything that would allow one person to do something others usually can’t.

And when I say power, I mean any of the following:

Power is something most villains crave but also something they likely already have a decent amount of. A Tablespoon of Power (for Larger Stories, Add to Taste)

Imagine if he had been too unsure of himself and just sat around and waited for them to fall into his lap?Ī stagnant, reactive villain is a boring one. He traveled across the galaxies and sought out the Infinity Stones he needed to bring his plan to fruition. He made a plan to eliminate half the universe and actually acted on it. They will work tirelessly and mercilessly to achieve what they want rather than sitting around and waiting to react to the events of the world.īack to Thanos. This is because, unlike our heroes, villains are proactive in reaching their goals. They are actively making life harder for your would-be heroes, even if they don’t know it. This isn’t the case for your villain.Īntagonists start the story with not only a surprising amount of control (think corrupt governments, a powerful wizard, a high school bully), but they are obsessed with maintaining or increasing that control. In most stories, your protagonists are reactive until the later parts of the book, meaning they are simply trying to keep up with what’s going on. So ask yourself, what’s your villain’s motivation? Two Packets of Proactivity It was to save the other half of the universe. His motivation wasn’t killing half the universe for the sake of killing half the universe. He witnessed his entire planet waste away because there were too many mouths and not enough food. Image credit: Film Frame/Marvel Studios/Walt Disneyīut his motivation stemmed from his own life. The big purple guy wanted to erase half the life in the universe. Now, I’m a Marvel fan, so let’s think about Thanos. If they don’t have a reason–and a dang good one at that–to do what they’re doing, then they aren’t a good villain. Like I said before, it isn’t good enough these days to write a villain who wants to blow up the moon, unleash a virus, kidnap orphans, and so on. It reveals so much about a character–their backstory, their traits and flaws, their desires–but is often neglected by writers. Two Cups of Believable MotivationĮvery villain has a goal, but what would they say if you asked them why they have that goal?īelievable motivation plays a huge role in turning a boring villain into a great one. Okay, let’s break down each ingredient of this recipe so you can write a great villain. It is, after all, the presence and force of the villain that makes your protagonist heroic.īut this isn’t a food blog, so I won’t insert a few thousand words between you and the recipe for writing your best antagonist.

Dabble writer code#

In fact, Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and other bestsellers, claims that villains are what define your hero and argues that you should write your villain first. I’d argue that you owe it to your reader to write a good villain. Writing a good antagonist means you are adding more depth and enjoyment to your novel. With an awesome antagonist, you have the capacity to not just tell a story about your heroes, but to weave together both sides of the coin. Gone are the days when readers are content having a baddy who is just illogically evil, who wants to destroy the world for no other reason than “because.”Ī good villain can take a good book and make it great. It isn't easy to write a good villain, but it is immensely rewarding.