Creating Sympathetic Villains

Villains are the bad guys ... or are they? 

Have you ever met a truly bad person, someone who had no redeeming qualities whatsoever? 

Probably not ... because people care for their children, their pets, their vegetable garden or neighbors. They help the disabled woman in the next apartment or they pay for a meal for a homeless man ... 

Growing up, my friend's mother was assisted with loading groceries in her car by Ted Bundy. She said he was kind and thoughtful, charismatic ...

So imagine her surprise when she saw him on the news, the added emotion of that experience.

Villains can be flat, hard, mean and angry, but that doesn't conflict the reader. It doesn't make their heart pull and their emotions spiral as they debate whether or not their redeeming qualities outweigh their bad.

So, why would you write about a truly terrible villain with no good qualities and leave the reader void of that emotional experience?

When creating a villain, think about someone who is driven to commit crimes because of a sick child, ailing wife, or someone who just has an overwhelming weakness for assisting the frail. Think of just one characteristic you can emphasize that makes them seem human, almost likable and make sure it plays out in the novel so the reader questions the villain's motives and wonders if there's actually hope for them.

If you can get the reader emotionally involved with all your characters, they will care more for your story as a whole.

Thanks to chrisroll & freedigitalphotos.net for the awesome pic!