Writing the Uplifting Villain

The what? Can there be such a thing as an uplifting villain? Well, that's a tricky question.

In my mind, villains in a story should be clearly bad. Sure, they may have a tragic back-story or a conflicted heart, but in the end the villain should be the person you do not want to be. Obviously then, writing an evil villain is important to a epic story. But those villains are nasty things, and they have a way of not only causing trouble for the hero in the story, but also the writer and reader.

Maybe it's just me, but have you have discovered how easy ( and even a little fun) it is to write a villain? Sometimes, its frightening to see just how fiendish our minds can be. And as you're caught up in writing this antagonist, it can be all too tempting to go overboard in your descriptions of their evil doings.

I'm a follower of Christ, and it is my goal to write works that will not dishonor him and will give him glory. In that case, I wonder in dismay, should I even be writing about such evil people? But then I have to remember--villains can be in the story we're writing, because they're in our story. Evil is everywhere, and we have to deal with it. Some of the most terrible examples of evil I've found are in the Bible.

But one must be careful that the villain does not stumble the reader. I try not to write a villain with the idea of him or her being "cool." I don't want my readers to think being bad is "cool." Nor do I want to write a villain that is sooo bad, that I leave readers blinking and thinking "Why did I just read that?"

You can write a villain without being explicit in their insidious doings. In my opinion, it falls into the category "Less Is More."  Your reader can pick up the fact that this guy or girl is really bad stuff and is huge trouble for the protagonist without going into big descriptions.

Remember, as a writer, we are responsible for what we put into the imaginative windows of others. So be careful and thoughtful of what you write. It's a challenge. But don't let those nasty little villains get the worst of you! Send them to their literary doom!!! Mwahahaha! (Wait, was that an evil laugh? Ack, I think they're affecting me!)

By the way, if you're having trouble writing that dreadful antagonist, there is a blog called "Of Battles, Dragons, and Swords of Adamant"  by Gillian Adams, in which Ms. Adams has provided us with classes taking directly from the Academy of Ultimate Villainy! This link goes directly to  Gillian's posts on villainy .  If you have time, please read some of them. They are hilarious!