tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post7500077794921112396..comments2023-05-17T14:48:44.098+01:00Comments on That Elusive Line: Do I need a villain?Thomas Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987047131104943571noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post-85584212750561043402012-04-30T12:03:22.211+01:002012-04-30T12:03:22.211+01:00Thanks, Simon. Here's to sympathetic villains ...Thanks, Simon. Here's to sympathetic villains everywhere.Thomas Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987047131104943571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post-23653594876092211972012-04-30T11:26:31.547+01:002012-04-30T11:26:31.547+01:00Yes, villains can have literary depth too: inner c...Yes, villains can have literary depth too: inner conflicts, redeeming features. And they are, no doubts about it, fun to write ...Simon Kewinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11537163555998763769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post-24956261328858670922012-04-29T13:42:53.604+01:002012-04-29T13:42:53.604+01:00Rachel, I agree. Someone who does bad in pursuit o...Rachel, I agree. Someone who does bad in pursuit of an outcome they believe to be good is much more believable. An anti-hero, plagued by obsessions and a low degree of empathy, rather than someone who is merely 'evil' in some innate way. So complex characters, yes. I just wish I could resist giving them capes and accessories;-)Thomas Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987047131104943571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post-10032829211890305512012-04-29T06:57:58.091+01:002012-04-29T06:57:58.091+01:00I think the best baddies are the ones we can't...I think the best baddies are the ones we can't call baddies, simply because they are not that simple. A baddie who is actually pied with goodness, whose faults are measured, who wants to be bad but often does good and is still punished..complex characters are the best. <br />Not, perhaps, as literary as you had in mind, Damon Salvatore is my current fave baddie - for various reasons... :)<br /><br />And the more complex the character, the easier the story is to write in a sense - more pre-ordained - the events often unfold a particular way because they have to as dictated by what that character would do - it makes writing so much fun! I know, overthinking it and you don't actually need any suggestions but...Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981609828734332286.post-23958580872311166632012-04-28T16:01:47.188+01:002012-04-28T16:01:47.188+01:00The archetypal villain must be fun to write, they ...The archetypal villain must be fun to write, they crop up so regularly in fiction, but tend to be quite two dimensional. The scariest 'villains' are those who genuinely believe they bathe in the milk of human kindness, dealing devastation through misty-eyed protestations of love.Planet Pennyhttp://planetpenny.co.uknoreply@blogger.com