"This world has only two kinds of people: villains and smiling villains." - Brent Weeks.
1. A moral code. The vast majority of people have a limit as to how far they'll go, and the villain isn't always an exception. Maybe they refuse to harm innocents, or won't kill.
2. A backstory that isn't childhood abuse/deaths of family members. What's scarier than someone who goes through a lifetime of trauma and ends up becoming a messed-up person? Someone who has an entirely normal childhood and still becomes a horrible human being.
3. Something to lose. If your villain has a family, friends, even a pet or a special place, it will give them motivation and something to protect.
4. Personally causing your hero pain. It makes them a lot more intimidating and gets more response from readers. For instance, let's compare the Emperor (Star Wars) and Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter). The Emperor never really does anything but give monologues and evil cackles, which makes the audience pretty apathetic toward him even when he finally does decide to attack personally. Umbridge, on the other hand, torments Harry by taking Quidditch (and almost Hogwarts) from him, in addition to making him carve his own hand open repeatedly. No surprise that she's one of the most hated villains of all time.
5. Research. If you're focusing on a certain time period, ability, mental disorder, etc. ... do your research. This tip applies to pretty much everything, actually-- characters, world-building, fight scenes, and more.
On that note, I'll leave you. Good luck in creating awesome villains worthy of your story.
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A Guide To Writing Villains
DiversosIs your villain falling flat? Too cheesy? Just not the type of menacing that you want them to be? Well, here's a quick guide on ways to improve your villain.
