How much work do we give to the protagonist or hero? “A lot, duh.” You say? “The hero is who the story is about.”
That is what I would have said not too long ago. If everyone else is a supporting character to the hero or protagonist, then I should give the most attention and character building to the hero or protagonist, right? Possibly, but on the other hand…
Imagine Superman. He has his suit on, and he’s in tip-top shape. His whole life has led him to this moment. He goes to the top of the tallest building and…
he sits.
With no villain for him to pit himself against, he might as well go back to the Daily Planet and work as mild-mannered Clark Kent. If “A good story is life with the boring parts taken out,” as Alfred Hitchcock said, Superman minus a villain is exactly the opposite.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here it is, straight from the mouth of one of the villains themselves…
After I had my burst of ideas for “Holders…” which I mentioned vaguely in “It Just Takes One Little Spark,” and a little deeper in “Evil Schemes,” I got to a point where, even though I had a good idea about the basics of my plot and characters, I still came to a point where I struggled to make any progress, and the plot, and some of the characters, as well as their interactions, seemed a bit hollow. This was disturbing to me, because it didn’t bode well for the story’s progress or the final result.
I forget what my instigating thought was, but I realized that I didn’t know exactly what my protagonist was working against. My villain was vague and, as a result, the direction of my story was also vague. I had to make a basic backstory for the original villain from the usurping of the throne from the original royal line. This gave me the mechanics of what went awry in the first place, making a utopia into a dystopia. I then had to find out how this legacy affected the current king, and what he had to do to keep the effects in working order. After that, I was able to progress further in my plot, but something was still missing. Finally, I decided to totally rework my villain. I had my villain write me a letter explaining his youth, his views of the world, and the basic concept of why that is his view.
It was only a little further along when I was able to write my first book’s outline. Not only that, but I have more idea of how I might be able to fill up the other book I wanted, in order to make, at least, a two book series. Will I have enough for two books? I hope so. I guess that means I need another outline.
My biggest problem was making sure I had a villain that was worthy of my protagonist, giving my protagonist something to strive against, something to get her out of her relative comfort zone and into the action.
I now have the villain’s plot, that drives what is done by the villain and his supporting characters. His actions affect the protagonist and her supporting characters, thus causing them to act themselves.
I have been reading other blog posts on villains and found one that I think might be helpful for those looking for some extra insight. This is a post from “All Write Alright”, and it covers different motivations for the villain and different ways in which to view them.
Remember that the villain is more than just another character. Without them presenting sufficient challenge to the protagonist, your protagonist is unlikely to be motivated to grow strong enough to save your story.
So, give your villain your time and energy; your love. This way, you will be giving love to your protagonist/hero and giving love to your story. As you spread the love, remember to enjoy the wonder.
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