Comments on: Bring on the BINGE! Creating Villains Audiences Can’t Get Enough Of

By: Top Picks Thursday! For Writers & Readers 09-21-2017 | The Author Chronicles

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 17:03:49 +0000

[…] To help you craft effective characters, Laurence MacNaughton shares 6 ways to make readers fall in love with your characters, and Kristen Lamb shares tips for creating villains audiences can’t get enough of. […]

By: Bring on the BINGE! Creating Villains Audiences Can’t Get Enough Of – From Kristen Lamb’s blog. | Author Don Massenzio

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 23:17:02 +0000

[…] Read the rest of this post HERE. […]

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 15:47:29 +0000

In reply to M.R. Miller. Oh GOOD ONES! I actually wrote a post on Mags. #Genuis

By: M.R. Miller

M.R. Miller — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 13:50:54 +0000

One of my all-time favorite TV villains is Boyd Crowder from “Justified” for all the reasons you mention above. I was always kind of rooting for him, even though he was a baddie. Great writing on that show — Mags was another favorite villain from Season 2 because her dark side was so unexpected. The scene with her and a hammer and one of her wayward kids still gives me the chills.

By: Fernanda Josefa del Castillo

Fernanda Josefa del Castillo — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 03:11:28 +0000

There is one from Umberto Eco who actually was a historical figure from the XII century. Bernardo de Guido, the Inquisitor who is killed at the end of the novel the name of the rose , nobody helped him

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 01:57:44 +0000

I am of two minds when it comes to villains. Many of my favorites include characters who have been wronged, but in their effort to redress the wrongs against them, the character gets carried away and decides that there is no “enough”, only “How much can I take? How much damage can I deal out?”
But then there are the villains who do evil because they enjoy it. The Joker is probably the most well known example, but for part of the story the Hound might fall into that category as well. These are villains who may have been wronged at one point, but now they have no goal beyond embracing the joy they get from wreaking havoc and fomenting chaos.

By: Theresa Snyder

Theresa Snyder — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 23:50:30 +0000

Great article. It really nails the important features for a villain. My personal favorite was Keith Ledger’s Joker. He gave me the creeps. I had nightmares about him because he was so close to those whacked out serial killers you read about. He tipped the scale at just the right angle between real and fantasy villain.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 23:37:19 +0000

What’s your take on multiple villains? I’m reading Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson and while Momma is probably the main baddy, there are a whole horde of people who belong in the villain column. Does each deserve such thorough treatment or does that kind of thing into a backstory bonanza?

By: Deborah Makarios

Deborah Makarios — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 23:06:43 +0000

A witty villain is always a draw. A thicko thug who just happens to have the biggest fists/guns/tanks/whatever, on the other hand, falls flat.

By: Elizabeth Drake

Elizabeth Drake — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 23:05:08 +0000

I thought I was the only one who saw the other side of Cersei!

Yes, she has done some downright awful things. But I get it. Being passed over so many times for something you have no control over. And, as a mother, that level of love you feel for your children is overwhelming. Although, not sure I could still feel that for Joffrey… Great actor with how much he made me hate Joffrey 🙂

Interesting, though, how difficult villains can be to write. To make them sympathetic enough, yet still make the reader want them to lose. A delicate balancing act.

I read mostly romance, and in a lot of the novels, the villains might as well have mustaches to twirl. But when a romance author does it right, really amps up the plot tension and keeps me from rolling my eyes so hard they get stuck in my head.