After my mile marker victory of 7,000 words the other day, I realized that it was finally time to introduce another aspect of The Novel into the mix: the antagonist. At first, I thought I knew the type of villain I'd be using. But the idea felt flat and so nothing seemed to be moving forward. So during one of my quiet times -- when I'm not reading, watching television, writing, etc -- my brain had a pivotal realization. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as pivotal as I would have liked, but it allowed me to shift my idea and once again have story momentum.
As I've been thinking of villains, I've been trying to think of some of my favorite villains from movies/shows/books. The villains I've loved to hate. Truthfully, the word antagonist is still more accurate, but villain is more fun to use. For me, I need a villain that has a believable motive. I know there are some people who just want to watch the world burn, but I don't buy into the Final Fantasy-esque villains who just want to destroy the world or even the universe. I also think how the villain acts or accomplishes their goals is integral. I started thinking of this as Motives and Methods.
I do have a hard time with the Bad Guys, though. I couldn't even play through Knights of the Old Republic as a Dark Side character. I just couldn't detach myself and do horrible, mean things to the imaginary people. I can be fairly emotionally perceptive, or even sensitive. So I think that has something to do with it. And possibly something to do with the fact that I really don't like bullies. And sometimes, that's what villains are, just empowered bullies.
My career as Subject of Ridicule began in kindergarten, where I was teased for being small. I can only guess that in second grade, when I had to get glasses, the teasing and mocking made me less inclined to wear them. This didn't help with my schoolwork, until mom saw a video of our classroom and asked why I wasn't wearing my glasses.
I was just an easy target, I guess, from elementary up through high school and even into college. It's made me a little flighty sometimes as my insecurities well up around people I don't know well. It's also made me a little protective of other people when I think someone is bullying or just saying something not nice. Which really makes writing a compelling antagonist a challenge...
It's too bad I don't like you anymore
Yes it's too bad
But my novel is gonna need an evil villain
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