{"id":24053,"date":"2021-04-16T03:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=24053"},"modified":"2021-04-19T07:54:24","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T14:54:24","slug":"5-ways-to-help-your-readers-fall-in-love-with-your-villain-by-keri-kruspe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/16\/5-ways-to-help-your-readers-fall-in-love-with-your-villain-by-keri-kruspe\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Help Your Readers Fall in Love with Your Villain by Keri Kruspe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"5<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Keri Kruspe<\/a> as she shares with us \u201c5 Ways to Help Your Readers Fall in Love with Your Villain.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Cackling, evil laugh\u2026. the wringing of gloved hands\u2026 the melodramatic mustache twirling\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, yeah. We get it. To make a good story, we include a villain (usually another human) to offset our hero to create conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Good guy vs. bad guy<\/strong>\u2014back and forth until the good guy triumphs at the end and the villain is defeated. Woo-hoo\u2026 truth and justice win!<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, ho-hum. Yawn\u2026 yawn\u2026 yawn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, I\u2019m being snarky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we didn\u2019t love these stories where the hero outsmarts the villain<\/strong>, that trope would have died out centuries ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The best way to keep these stories \u201cfresh\u201d is to have your reader fall in love with not only the hero, but with the villain as well. To the point where the reader will secretly fall in love with the bad guy, rooting for them from time-to-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best way to do this?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why make them flawed, of course!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resist the urge to make your bad guy, someone who is ugly and has no redeeming qualities. A boring cardboard stereotype whose every action is glaringly predictable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"doctor\"<\/a>5 Suggestions to Fix Your Villain\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

These aren\u2019t in a specific order, just some fun ways to fix your bad guy:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    Parents matter\u2014even to a villain.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That includes orphans. The absence of parents can be a motivational force in their (or anyone\u2019s) life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Was how they were raised a main factor on what drives them? Here are a couple of examples in my own work.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The main bad guy in my <\/strong>Alien Exchange universe<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has been shaped by his family and how they treated him growing up.<\/strong> The lack of love and recognition (all because he didn\u2019t look like others in his race, especially his identical twin who did) drove him to extremes to prove his worth. Not only to his elitist parents, but to the entire galaxy.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In my second series, <\/span>Ancient Alien Descendants<\/span><\/a>, the main villain discovers he is not the legitimate blood heir to the throne of a planet, so he has to commit all sorts of atrocities to ensure no one finds out so he isn\u2019t executed.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. \n

      What (or who) does the villain love?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The villain who only wants to take over the galaxy (what do you expect? I write scifi romance so it\u2019s all about the bigger stuff\u2026) is tedious and has been overdone. But if you can somehow put in what they love, it gives them an added dimension.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The best part of it doesn\u2019t have to be anything big.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The villain in my latest series actually loves his people. He feels that if he wasn\u2019t in charge, they\u2019d succumb to extinction. He just happens to be a self-absorbed narcissist at the same time\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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      1. \n

        Why do they do the things they do?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Here\u2019s where the big \u201cM\u201d word comes in<\/span> \u201c<\/span>motivation.<\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n