How do you make a sympathetic villain?

How do you make a sympathetic villain?

Play around with your villain for a while, treating them as though they were your hero. Discern their emotions, motivations, and good intentions. Give them at least one supporting character to reinforce the reader’s ability to connect on an emotional level (see Frodo’s sympathy for Gollum.)

What is a sympathetic villain?

The sympathetic villain or anti-villain is one with the typical traits of a villainous character but differs in their motivations. Their intentions to cause chaos or commit evil actions is driven by an ambiguous motivation or is not driven by an intent to cause evil.

Does a villain have to be sympathetic?

There’s no rule that says you have to make a villain sympathetic. You can make them utterly repulsive. It all depends on the type of story you’re trying to tell. If you want your villain to be the moustache twirler, doing evil for the sake of ding evil, have at it.

How do you make an antagonist relatable?

As you’re developing your characters, keep in mind these three techniques for humanizing your antagonist.

1. Create empathy for your antagonist from the get-go.
2. Make your antagonist a viewpoint character.
3. Put a human face on the abstraction.

How do you write a Twist villain?

5 Tips for Writing a Good Plot Twist

1. Kill off a seemingly important character.
2. Let your character discover a plot twist organically.
3. Elevate a seemingly minor character.
4. Have your big reveal instigate a twist ending.
5. Make sure your plot twist is earned.

How do you write a villain’s backstory?

4 Tips for Writing a Great Villain in Your Novel

1. Choose a real-life model. Find a real person to model your villain after.
2. Put yourself in their shoes. When it’s time for your villain to act, put yourself in their place.
3. Consider their motivation.
4. Introduce a villain with a bang.

How can I make my villain likeable?

Six Ways to Make Your Villain Likable

1. Make Them Cool and Competent. It’s hard to hate a villain with style.
2. Help Your Audience Understand Them.
3. Bestow Them With Moral Strengths.
4. Create a Tragic Backstory.
5. Give Them Justifiable Motivation.
6. Make Them an Underdog.

Can a antagonist be good?

Your antagonist may be a “bad guy” by regular standards, but to someone, they’re a good guy. Because not every antagonist believes they’re doing evil. Many do “evil” things with the honest intention of making the world a better place.

Why is it important to make your villain sympathetic?

Another way sympathetic villains can cause problems is their intimidation factor. A sympathetic villain that isn’t all powerful will be vulnerable. He’s human, and humans are vincible. But your hero must be threatened by him, so he can’t be too feeble. Don’t lessen conflict by weakening your villain.

Why do you need a villain in a story?

A villain rounds out your story’s conflict by opposing the hero’s every move. But, like heroes, villains are busy people, and they have more purposes than wreaking havoc. You’ve probably heard that they need to be “sympathetic” and “relatable.”

Do you have a sympathetic villain in Les Miserables?

If you have a totally justified villain, you don’t have a villain; you have an antagonist. When a villain has a thread of moral strength, though, they layer intricacy and sympathy onto the story. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean in Les Miserables, is essentially doing what he believes to be right.