Writing Villains - Tumblr Posts

Do you have any tips on how to write a character who’s being manipulated?

Your blog has been very helpful to me! :) thanks a lot

Quick Tips for Writing Manipulative Characters

To convincingly write a character who is being manipulated, you must first understand how to write a believable manipulator. Often hidden in plain sight, manipulators pull the strings, guiding the actions of those who are often unaware that they're dancing to someone else's tune.

Let’s look at manipulators as puppet masters, exploring how they function and how their actions echo throughout your story. By understanding the manipulator, you'll better equip yourself to create realistic characters who are unwittingly under their sway.

How do they behave?

Play the victim to garner sympathy

Charming and persuasive

Twist and distort the truth to suit their agenda

Play mind games

Are silver-tongued

Passive-aggressive when confronted

Use guilt to control others

Don’t hesitate to lie or deceive

Demonstrate a sense of entitlement.

Project their feelings onto others

How do they interact?

Play different roles with different people

Prefer indirect communication to direct confrontation

Gaslight others, making them doubt their own perceptions

Shift the blame onto others

Exploit others' vulnerabilities

Use people’s secrets against them

Make others feel obligated or in debt to them

Use flattery to get their way

Create conflict between other characters

Deliberately create confusion and chaos

Describe their body language

Maintain intense eye contact

Use touch to seem friendly and intimate

Facial expressions often don't match their words

Use large, expressive gestures to dramatise

Have a confident and exaggerated posture

Soften expression to look more trustworthy

Smile artificially or excessively

Lean in close, invading personal space

Mirror others’ behaviours to seem more likeable

Mimic emotions they may not feel

Describe their attitudes

Believe they are always right

Feel entitled and superior

Lack empathy

Highly competitive

Often impatient and intolerant

Controlling and like to be in charge

Rarely apologize sincerely

Often play the martyr, acting self-sacrificing

Can be sceptical of others’ intentions

Kindness is often an act

Positive narrative effects

Paradoxically, manipulative characters can have a positive narrative effect on those they manipulate. These characters can act as a catalyst for change, pushing others to unlock hidden potential and indirectly teaching them to be more cautious. In the face of manipulation, characters can mature and grow resilience.

Manipulative characters can also reveal people’s true natures by tricking them into revelations or by fostering unity as others band together against them. Furthermore, their actions can create dramatic plot twists, make people question their own perceptions and realities, and add intrigue.

Negative narrative effects

Manipulators can cause emotional and psychological distress, breed distrust and insecurity, and disrupt relationships and friendships. These characters often lead others to make damaging decisions, creating a toxic environment.

By exploiting and exposing others' vulnerabilities, manipulators make individuals question their self-worth. The extent of their manipulation can even cause physical harm and lead to the downfall of other characters. Their lasting legacy? Emotional scars that define their victims long after the manipulator has exited the narrative.

Do any of you have an tips for writing an manipulative behevior and a character experiencig a post traumatic event like that? I'm going to need that, and I'm not sure where to search or how to write that, so it's not stereotypical and stuff

Writing Advice For Villain Motivation

There are so many people out there in the world who accidentally overcomplicate the process of giving your villain a motivation and goal.

The trick to villain motivation is not to justifying or excuse your villain's actions but explain them! A classic example I use when talking about good motivation and good goals for your villain is the cookie jar metaphor!

COOKIE JAR METAPHOR:

A kid wants cookies but was told they couldn't get a cookie. They decide to steal the cookie jar because they really wanted it. If they're caught then they might suffer punishment or they might be able to blame the stolen cookie jar on their sibling.

In this case the "villain" is the kid. They wanted a cookie or some other thing but they weren't allowed to so they acted villainously in order to get it. They put the blame on their sibling because they didn't want to be punished.

It's simple. All your villain needs is to want something, be told they can't have it, and then try to get it.

What constitues "sufficient motivation" largely depends on the child/villain. For some children, the fear of punishment is enough to prevent them from trying to steal cookies but they may convince other kids to steal the cookies for everyone. For other children, they may do everything in their power to avoid getting caught while still stealing the cookies. Then there are children that don't care about punishment so they eat the cookies and don't try to hide it.

Their motivations don't need to be complicated. They want [THING], they're told they can't get [THING], and they decide that being evil is the quickest way to get [THING].

writing tom is so frustrating

tom: i'm being bullied

me: talk to dumbledore

dumbledore: talk to me

tom:

dumbledore:

me: please?

tom: actually i'm going to go torture them with a random dark spell i found in the library

me: TOM NO!

tom: everything is under control

tom: *skips off*

me: why are you like this?

me: oh, wait, yeah. because i wrote you like this.

dumbledore: *shrug* boys will be boys

dumbledore: lemon drop?

me:

me: i'm done with you both

Recently, I've seen a lot of debate about what makes a good villain and I just wanted to add my two cents so we can pay for this chip bag together.

Bad guys, villains, antags, whatever you call them are very interesting individuals. It doesn't even have to be a person, it can simply be an ideal that makes something negative for your main characters.

In this specific case, I was seeing a lot of people dislike the villain with the sympathetic background. I totally see where this is coming from so here's my take.

Most people don't feel like they can create a bad person without giving them a moral justification for what they're doing. I would assume this comes from the fact that most people irl don't do bad things for no reason.

Revenge

Sorrow

Rage

Are usually the things people in the backstories of villains.

Tell me you haven't heard one of these before:

I was married before this, but they took them away from me, now I have nothing to live for and nothing to care about.

When I was younger, everyone used to make fun of me, bully me into submission, and do whatever they wanted. Now that I'm stronger, I'll do to them what they did to me.

I swore revenge to those who crossed me. No one believed I could do anything, and now my goals are right in front of me.

These are normal human emotions taken to 11 and are stereotypical reasons why antags do what they do. They're not bad as everyone has love for the sympathetic villain or the misunderstood bad guy, but reasonably it's been over used to hell and any attempt to make the opposite is a one-dimensional mess.

Here's the thing though. The mindless villains who are evil for the sake if being evil are confusing to most people.

People try and come up with a backstory when there isn't one for a villain who just wants to smash some heads. Creators are almost forced to make a backstory because "there has to be something.

When, in reality, they're just a bad person.

A good way to avoid all of these cliches is to use real human emotions to your advantage. I happen to like true crime and have seen a lot of people who are worse than the scum in the drain of your toilet, but yet finding out they just "took pleasure" in their crimes is much better than them saying they're the way they are because of bullying, abuse, or trauma. Which is often used as an excuse rather than an actual reason.

Not to say these can't be valid reasons for someone's behavior, but sometimes people are just evil. Not every killer had an abusive dad or a vicious mom. Sometimes their life can be the most normal sitcom thing ever and they still turn out to be a rotten apple.

Now, in order to end this, I say we need to see more if every kind of villain. The sympathetic one, the mindlessly evil, the tactical bad guy, the power hungry one that everyone loves, and the one who everyone loves to hate.

Here's some "advice" about writing/creating a non sympathetic villain though. Don't think you have to make a reason, but if you want to give them a reason make it more related to their personality and not their upbringing.

For example, a villain I know nothing about seems to have the plot that he doesn't like the group he's apart of; so, people took that as the creators making him sympathetic. Most likely though, he probably just doesn't like the way in which those around him act. How foolish they act with the power they have. He wants the same thing they do, but not in the way they choose to go about getting it. This seems to just be the way he is regardless of if he was a bad or good guy. (I'll see if I'm even a little bit close when I finally see the game for myself).

This guy who I didn't even know existed until about an hour ago is what spawned this post. So use this as you will and thanks for reading~

"yes i know having villains and/or morally grey characters in a story is important – nay, crucial — but I think this character is too *lists the qualities and traits of a villain/morally grey character* and anyone who likes this character should seek help immediately!!!"

This is a damn blessing and I need to share for any of those who also be struggling to develop their villains. (I can't be alone in this, c'mon)

A list of moral questions to developing a villainous character

Is mercy a sign of weakness in your eyes?

What is your primary motivation or value that drives your actions?

Are there any principles you refuse to compromise on, even in your pursuit of power?

Do you believe lying is justified if it serves your goals?

How do you manipulate others to achieve your ends?

Would you betray an ally to further your plans?

Do you believe in justice, or do you see it as a tool to manipulate others?

Would you sacrifice yourself for a cause or ambition?

Would you destroy something beautiful or innocent to achieve your goals?

If you had to choose between your ambition and the life of someone you care about, what would you do?

Do you feel any responsibility towards society, or do you act solely for your gain?

How do you justify your actions to yourself and others?

Can you forgive someone who has wronged you, or do you seek revenge?

How long do you hold grudges, and what actions might provoke them?

Do you respect any form of authority, or do you see yourself as the ultimate power?

These questions can help you delve into the psyche of your villain.