Villains and Stuff

So yeah, since (once more) it seems like it's been forever since I posted anything on here, I've decided to do another writing tip thingy. :P

To start with, if you know me (which is ok if you don't.....because you probably don't ;) ) you probably know that I am an extremely picky reader. I put down books within the first couple chapters if the main characters aren't doing the things I want them to. I have no idea what makes me such a stickler for books but I suspect writing has something to do with it. Not only do I like books with believable characters (which are pretty hard to find nowadays :( ) but also with plots and storylines that are interesting THE WHOLE TIME and not just part of the time.

One of these important pieces to building a plot worthy of my insane scrutiny is making the problem believable or interesting and likable enough to not be logical but still enjoyable. Often the manifesto of the problem in the story is the villain. Be that evil corrupted robot or xenophobic extremist, this individual (or individuals) I've found are the best written when they are written as what I call "good-bad guys".

"Good-bad guys" are literally villains that aren't completely evil. For example: wicked robot was maltreated by owners thus turning him cruel to others or xenophobic guy witnessed was so brilliantly intelligent but didn't have anything he could find to use his mind for other than creating bio-weapons against aliens. The truth is, is that this directly reflects real life. As you may know, the 'just world bias' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis ) says it all. The real-life 'bad-guys' aren't like pure evil. They were probably once average people or were driven to the extents they were by their own personal flaws or weaknesses. And in order to make the villains in your stories believable and intriguing, it is often a wise move to make them fit more of a realistic corruption into villainy.

Some great examples I could think of for "good-bad guys" would be people like Mr. Freeze from Batman, Asajj Ventress, or Javert from Les Miserables. I think what makes these villains so awesome was that they got you to question the protagonist's' decisions with dealing with them. They make you wonder what you would do if you were in their shoes. Another thing, these two "good-bad guys" are prime examples of where the hero had to stay their hand and allow these people to live on. I think that's really important, especially in a world where there is so much killing. I place certain higher value on the characters that let the "good-bad guys" live, not only because they've found out what happened to make them villains, but also just because they understand that life is better.

Next time you read a book, look for a "good-bad guy". If they are well-crafted they will make you kinda pity them. They also make the perils of the story so much better! :D