How To: Create Your Fantasy Bad Guy

7. Things to Avoid

Here are a few things that I believe you should try and avoid when you put a villain in your story.

THE UNNECESSARY VILLAIN

I think I've already mentioned that a villain is not always necessary. Even in a fantasy novel, depending on what kind of fantasy you're writing, a villain is not always necessary. For example, I am currently writing an urban fantasy which doesn't have a villain. Instead, my protagonist has a nemesis and faces multiple antagonists. Villains are most common in high/epic fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy.

If your antagonising character is personally against your protagonist, but their intentions are not truly evil, then they are a nemesis - not a villain. If you think that you don't have a villain in your story, then you probably don't. But that isn't an issue, you don't want to force a one into your story. Just remember that, if there is no villain in your story, then there is no hero. 

THE OBVIOUS VILLAIN

You can ignore this one if you're writing dark fantasy, or in any other situation where your villain has already risen to power (either in the past or the present) and your characters are already aware of who they are.

If you're adding mystery or suspense to your novel, or if you're writing a series where you don't want your villain to be identified right away, then don't let them be. Give your readers multiple suspects, let them try and figure out who the villain is so that when it is finally revealed, your readers react appropriately. It is possible to have a nemesis and a villain in your story, and it can be a great way to distract your readers from the true villain.

THE CLICHE VILLAIN

A cliche is a stereotype, something unoriginal, something that has been a million times before. I'm not saying you should completely avoid cliches, to some extent, everyone's villain is based off a cliche. What you need to do is make your villain stand out by considering everything we've already talked about. You're not just creating a villain, you're creating a character who became the villain. Remember to make your villain complex, give them evil, yet reasonable motivations. Do that and cliches can be easily avoided.

A trope, on the other hand, is not so easily avoided. Which is good - they're not supposed to be. In writing, a trope is a pattern, a recurring theme that pops up in the genre you're writing. Similar to a cliche, but much less tiring. A trope that is often seen in fantasy, especially epic/high fantasy is a 'chosen one'. This is usually the one whose POV the story is told from, the one whose story we follow, the main protagonist who must embark on a challenging journey in order to defeat the villain. In fact, they are the only one who can defeat the villain - hence why they are deemed the chosen one.

Rowling used this trope in Harry Potter. However, what she did differently, was create a prophecy that actually pointed to two characters - Harry and Neville. The story followed Harry, so it appeared as though he was the chosen one. However, this wasn't necessarily true, the story only followed Harry because he was the boy who lived and Voldemort wanted his revenge. It is possible that, all along, Harry and Neville were the chosen two - she put her own spin on a recurring fantasy theme and we all lived for it. Some of us still do.

THE OVERKILL VILLAIN

Yes, the villain is evil. However, their actions, motivations and intentions make them evil. They aren't evil just for the sake of being evil, this is one of those cliches that you should definitely avoid. A villain who is pointlessly cruel removes your reader's suspension of disbelief. Your villain may do something to show just how bad they can be, however, one extreme act of villainy is enough to avoid overkill. Or, if you're going to have multiple extreme acts of villainy, put a motivation behind them.

THE WEAK VILLAIN

Of course, everyone will want your hero to win. However, whether you have plans for your hero to win or your villain to conquer, your villain should be a force to be reckoned with. Your villain should appear to be undefeatable at first glance. An epic battle between good and bad shouldn't be one-sided, they should both be able to put up a worthy fight.

JUSTICE NOT SERVED

You may have plans for your villain to lose, but not get killed off. It's fine for you to not kill off your villain, however, you need to make sure justice is served. As an audience, we want bad things to happen to bad people, and I'm sure your hero wants this to happen too. Perhaps a powerful witch, either your hero or another character, dooms your villain to spend the rest of eternity in hell. Or they flee before they can meet their demise.

If you choose not to kill your villain, you should think about the consequences of them still being alive. Is there a chance that they could return? What will your hero do in order to stop this from happening? 

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A/N: at the end of all the chapters, I am going to put a little exercise/question for you guys to do in the comments as a way for you to interact and really take something away from reading this guide. I will leave an answer regarding one of my own fantasy books for you to use as an example. Don't forget to vote and share this guide with whoever may need it!

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Exercise 7:

Is your villain revealed right away, or do you keep their identity a secret?

My answer:

My villain isn't revealed as the true force of evil in my story until near the end
(#spoilers)