To Be or Not To Be… a Villain: Guest Post by Author E.P. Marcellin

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To Be or Not To Be… a Villain: Guest Post by Author E.P. Marcellin

Everybody knows your hero has to be well-developed and thought through to the last detail. But what about your villain? How much thought have you given to the proverbial thorn in your protagonist's side? There are many paths to a successful villain; the direction you go depends entirely on your reasons for having an antagonist in the first place. Three examples are: the sympathetic villain, driven to evil; the power-hungry villain, evil without intent; and the purely evil villain.

Frankenstein. The monster is not created evil. It is not his fault that he is hideous and spurned by all. We understand his desperate need for companionship, the pain his creator has caused in abandoning him, the lengths he is driven to. Of course, we do not condone the vile acts he stoops to when Frankenstein refuses to create his mate, but we understand how he has come to it. We feel his pain. Frankenstein is the protagonist, but, at times, we can't help rooting for the monster. This type of villain will engage your readers and stir up controversy, if that is what you are after. He is not the villain of black and white, but the grey areas in which conflicts (and plots!) lie.

The power-hungry villain is one like the White Witch from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She is cold and cruel, but domination is her goal, not evil. She grabs up more than is her due and upsets the balance of things, causing it to be always winter (but never Christmas). Upset balances always try to right themselves, which is where the protagonists come in. They don't hate her until she makes it personal and goes after Edmund. The witch wants more power, so she just has to go. This is the type of villain I used in my own novel, Element Keepers: Whispers of the Wind. The antagonist misuses an ancient power to gain dominion over other lands and it has a serious backlash, threatening the very existence of the world she is trying to control. This type of villain gives your hero someone to fight, but the grey areas still apply.

And, finally, we come to Iago from Shakespeare's Othello, a purely evil villain. He elicits unadulterated hate. The lies he tells lead to Othello murdering his bride on their wedding night. Iago's motive? Maliciousness. There isn't even a glimmer of a redeeming quality in the man. If you want to create utter hatred for your antagonist, make your readers really react violently, Iago is your model. He is deepest black for your protagonist's white. Generally, such uncomplicated evil may not be as gripping as the more complex sympathetic villain, but it is ideal for making a point. Sometimes our motivations lie in the black and white.

Whatever type of villain best foils your hero and advances your plot, it is the humanity of your characters that makes them real. We all carry the potential to be a hero or a villain. Show us what caused your villain to take that path, instead of the hero's. Whether they go along blithely wrecking havoc, are tortured by their decisions, or have completely abandoned their humanity, show us what makes your villain tick (time bomb or not).

About Elizabeth

E.P. Marcellin attended Houghton College for a BA in Creative Writing with a minor in Art. Born in the USA, she spent most of her childhood in western Africa.

Her family moved back to the USA during her teenage years. As time passed, she remained an avid traveler and book enthousiast. She found inspiration for Element Keepers while visiting Ste. Lucia for a wedding. Later on, her travels through Italy and Morroco also fueled her creativity, providing the final touches to the story.

Today, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and artwork, when her little children give her the time. The growing family lives in Canada, where her husband works as a commercial pilot.

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