Caren Johnson Literary Agency

By Kathleen Long

When Caren asked each of CJLA’s authors to think about topics for the blog, I immediately thought about the process of creating unforgettable villains in fiction. I love creating villains—the creepier, the more terrifying, the more unforgettable the better. But, what does it take to make a villain come to life? How do I make them real?

Motivation .

In my opinion, motivation is the magic element that keeps a writer pouring words onto the page and keeps the reader turning those same pages late into the night. Without believable motivation, it’s difficult to feel much of anything for a character, let alone a villain. After all, who wants to read about a one-dimensional character? Not me. I don’t want to write about them either. I want to create whole characters, not cardboard cutouts.

The importance of creating a fully-developed villain was first pointed out to me in a rejection letter for a romantic comedy. I can picture you screwing up your face and thinking romantic comedy? Yes. Romantic comedy.

In my letter, the rejecting editor explained she wanted well-motivated characters readers would care about—including the villain. That single piece of advice resonated with me, and I went to work. That book was my first sale, and sold only a few months later.

So, how do you motivate a villain? And why should you? For me, the process is identical to the process I use in developing every character in every book. Goal, motivation and conflict.

What is it my villain wants? In that first romantic comedy, the villain wanted to sell the special events planning firm she’d been straddled with since the death of her husband. Her motivation? She wanted her life back. She’d raised two nephews following the death of their parents and to do so, she’d forfeited her own dreams. She’d forfeited those same dreams again when she’d taken over the family firm after her husband’s death. Now, she wanted out. Her conflict? Her oldest nephew had dedicated his life to the firm and vowed to fight off the sale, no matter what.

In the early drafts of this book, the character of the villain had very little to do or say other than to be…well…nasty. In the final version of the book, she had her own scenes that let the reader glimpse her thoughts and actions—her motivations—enough to care about her.

And why do I, as the author, want the reader to care? Because I want her to keep reading, and even more importantly, I want my reader to come away from the book satisfied after that last page is turned. I want her to develop an emotional bond with every character in every book.

I hear the wheels clicking in your brain. That’s fine for a so-called villain in a comedy, but what about creating the suspense villain? Each must be fully formed, his motivation explained and believable. Many times, that final explanation comes during the villain’s reveal—the pivotal scene in which the puzzle pieces of the book’s mystery come together in the hero/heroine’s mind often at the same time the villain describes the delicious details of his plot to achieve his dastardly goal.

While I’d love to give you an example of one of my villain’s motivations, I’d run the risk of ruining the twists and surprises I work so hard to include in each suspense. Which brings me to yet another important plot element—the false suspect. The red herring. Believably motivating each false suspect is a crucial part of the plotting that goes into each book. My job as author is to provide a suspense or thriller that keeps my readers turning pages, working the clues alongside the book’s hero and heroine.

For this aspect of layering, I use a suspect character chart that’s simple and effective. For each potential suspect, I break down what has to happen to make my readers believe that character could be the true villain. What does the character need to say? What actions do I need to show? Where does the character fit into the overall puzzle of the plot? For each, I show a potential motivation that could explain guilt.

There it is again. Motivation.

From that first romantic comedy to my current Harlequin Intrigue, motivation has been my key to making the bad guy…or gal…come to life. Without motivation, any character will lack the depth needed to fully engage readers.

And that’s my cue to get back to work.

May all of your villains be satisfying, deliciously developed, and unforgettable!

www.kathleenlong.com