Cupcakes and Writing: Devil's Food

Devil's Food: Writing Compelling Villains

I had to look this one up.  Why is it called Devil's Food Cake, and how is it different from a traditional chocolate cake?  Good ol' Wikipedia told me that 1) It's called Devil's Food because its color is counterpart to the white or yellow Angel Food cake and 2) It's different from chocolate cake in that it is traditionally made with cocoa, rather than chocolate, and with some shredded beets to give it a reddish, or "devilish" color.

Beets in cake, sounds weird to me. But then I thought, well, shredded carrots makes a delicious carrot cake, so what the heck.  Beets just seems like something incredibly unique to put into a cake.  And that's when I made the connection: to write a compelling villain, they need to have something incredibly unique about them too.

"I like villains because there's something so attractive about a committed person - they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They're motivated." -Russell Crowe

Love that quote!  So, how do I make my villain unique or compelling, or in Russel Crowe's words, attractive?  I think it's different for every person, but I gave my villain the following three things:

1) A weird quirk.  My villain talks to a picture of his girlfriend as if she's really in the room with him.  "She" encourages him and also argues with him, adding a unique inner dialogue within my villain.

2) A back story.  Though short, it makes it clear that something in his past (ridicule and disbelief from peers that he was smart enough to pull something thing off) has driven him to prove them wrong and redeem himself in their eyes and in the eyes of others too.  Because of this ridicule he is disillusioned, thinking he is doing what is good for others but not being aware of how his deeds affect others.

3) He's powerful.  For my villain, his power is his intelligence.  He's ridiculously smart.  So much so that he is driven to prove his intelligence no matter the cost.  Even if it causes people to get hurt.

So there you have it.  A villain needs something unique to make them an attractive character.  They can't be all bad, there should be something human and compelling about them.

What traits do you think a compelling villain should have? 

Monthly Musing: How Do You Feel About Villains?

"I like villains because there's something so attractive about a committed person - they have a plan, an ideology, no matter how twisted. They're motivated."  -Russell Crowe


I find this quote interesting, since I think we're raised to dislike the villains and root for the princess or the hero or whoever happens to be the "good" person in a story.  I know many a writer who has struggled with creating their villains.  I am one of those writers.

I looked up the definition on dictionary.com and they seem just as confused about it as well.  One definition says a villain is "an evil character in a story", another says "a character who opposes the protagonist, whether intentionally or unintentionally".   In my WIP, my villain isn't out to destroy the world.  He isn't evil.  He's just a disillusioned guy who thinks he's trying to do good.  But since he's unintentionally opposing the protagonists, he's a villain. 

Who's your favorite villain?  For me, it has to be Snape from Harry Potter.  I guess Voldemort is the evil villain, but Snape is one too since there are times when he opposes Harry and his friends.  I think what I love so much about him is I never was sure if he was a bad guy or a good guy.  I saw glimpses of both in him.  And I think that's what makes him intriguing.  He wasn't all evil.  There were times he'd help Harry out.  And that's what makes him so unique.

So, your turn.  What do you think about villains?  And who's your favorite?