{"id":28819,"date":"2024-09-20T03:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=28819"},"modified":"2025-02-19T13:33:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T21:33:50","slug":"crafting-a-killer-motivation-matters-by-laurel-osterkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/20\/crafting-a-killer-motivation-matters-by-laurel-osterkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting a Killer: Motivation Matters by Laurel Osterkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Crafting-a-Killer-Motivation-Matters-by-Laurel-Osterkamp.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-28820 size-full\" title=\"Crafting a Killer: Motivation Matters by Laurel Osterkamp\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Crafting-a-Killer-Motivation-Matters-by-Laurel-Osterkamp.png\" alt=\"Crafting a Killer: Motivation Matters by Laurel Osterkamp\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Crafting-a-Killer-Motivation-Matters-by-Laurel-Osterkamp.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Crafting-a-Killer-Motivation-Matters-by-Laurel-Osterkamp-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s=Laurel+Osterkamp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laurel Osterkamp<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cCrafting a Killer: Motivation Matters.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>The other day I Googled<\/strong>, \u201cBest way to poison someone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instantly, I wondered what damage I\u2019d done to my digital footprint. Will whoever\u2019s in charge of the internet think I\u2019m a killer? Will they understand that while I\u2019d never murder anyone, I can\u2019t say the same for all of the characters I craft?<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s where the real problem comes in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Truth is, I don\u2019t have a ton of experience crafting killers<\/strong>. But my current WIP requires me to make at least one of my main characters a murderer.<\/p>\n<p>How do I figure out their identity and motivation?<\/p>\n<p><i>Why <\/i>are they committing such dastardly deeds?<\/p>\n<p>(Hint: The answer cannot simply be because they\u2019re insane, evil, or evil and insane.)<\/p>\n<p>So, how do you create a villain that\u2019s believable? Here\u2019s how I plan to go about it. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for my search history) it\u2019s not something I can Google.<\/p>\n<h2>The Steps to Create a Believable Villain<\/h2>\n<h3>The Villain&#8217;s Past<\/h3>\n<p>First, I\u2019ll delve into the depths of the villain&#8217;s past.<\/p>\n<p>A believable villain isn&#8217;t born from the ether, sprung fully-formed with an intent to do harm. No, they are a product of their circumstances, sculpted by the rough hands of life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>For instance, consider the notorious Hannibal Lecter.<\/strong> Hannibal did not take pleasure in savagery for savagery\u2019s sake; his past held dark secrets that steered him towards his monstrous path. There was a reason, a root cause &#8212; albeit disturbing &#8212; that gave birth to the villain he became and his taste for human flesh.<\/p>\n<h3>Human Traits<\/h3>\n<p>Secondly, I\u2019ll give my villain human traits.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their evil deeds, they must bear qualities that we can empathize with or relate to.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">In J.K. Rowling\u2019s <i>Harry Potter<\/i> series, Voldemort is not a symbol of unadulterated evil without any redeeming qualities. He is shown as a profoundly lonely individual who fears death above all things. His fear of death makes him human, even if his actions are undoubtedly monstrous.<\/p>\n<h3>Their Unbreakable Rules and Codes<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Third, my villain will follow a unique set of rules and codes that they won&#8217;t break for anything.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These rules help add depth to their character and make them predictable in their unpredictability.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The Joker from Christopher Nolan&#8217;s Dark Knight Trilogy serves as an excellent example here. This agent of chaos lived by his principle of upending societal order; it was not personal vendetta but an anarchic worldview that drove him.<\/p>\n<h3>Smarter Than the Proragonist<\/h3>\n<p>Fourth, my villains should be intelligent and cunning &#8212; two steps ahead of the protagonist always!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Take Amy Dunne from Gillian Flynn&#8217;s<i> Gone Girl<\/i> as the perfect embodiment of this trait. Precise and meticulous in her manipulation, she is always one step ahead not only of her husband Nick but also the audience, making her a highly engaging and believable antagonist.<\/p>\n<h3>Hero of their own Story<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Finally&#8211;and perhaps most importantly<\/strong>&#8211;I\u2019ll remember that no villain believes themselves to be evil; they think they&#8217;re the hero of their own story, fighting for what they perceive is right.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Take Thanos from Marvel&#8217;s <i>Infinity War<\/i>. He genuinely believes in his cause of balancing the universe, even if it means half of its population must die. To him, he is not the villain but a necessary force of change.<\/p>\n<h2>Bringing It All Together<\/h2>\n<p>By weaving these essential elements together &#8212; a troubled past, humanizing traits, personal code, intelligence, and self-justification &#8212; you create a villain that does more than just carry out evil deeds.<\/p>\n<p>This villain becomes a fully-fledged character, as alive and psychologically complex as your protagonist.<\/p>\n<p>A believable villain can transform a simple story into an intriguing battle of philosophies and wits, keeping your readers hooked till the very last page.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About the Author\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-25376\" title=\"Laurel Osterkamp\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Laurel Osterkamp\" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp-640x960.jpg 640w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Laurel-Osterkamp.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/a><\/span>Laurel Osterkamp is from Minneapolis, where she teaches and writes like it\u2019s going out of style.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s lost count of her novels, and her short fiction has been featured in Abandon Journal, Idle Ink, Tangled Locks Literary Journal, Bright Flash Literary Journal, and The Metawoker, among other places. Her newest novel, The Side Project, will be released in November by The Wild Rose Press. Ramona Quimby is her spirit animal.<\/p>\n<h3>Social Media:<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Website &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/laurellit.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/laurellit.com<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Facebook &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorlaurelosterkamp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorlaurelosterkamp<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BookBub &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bookbub.com\/profile\/laurel-osterkamp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.bookbub.com\/profile\/laurel-osterkamp<\/span><\/a><br \/>\nInstagram: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/laurel_osterkamp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laurel Osterkamp (@laurel_osterkamp) \u2022 Instagram photos and videos<\/a><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want an entire course on crafting your villain?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then check out <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/13\/how-to-build-an-epic-rivalry-between-your-hero-and-your-villain-by-bonnie-johnston\/\">&#8220;How to Build an Epic Rivalry Between Your Hero and Your Villain.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More resources on <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/16\/craft-great-villains-to-write-a-compelling-story\/\">crafting a great villain to writ a compelling story.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laurel Osterkamp has been crafting a killer for her newest novel. Join her as she shares what makes a villain believable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":28820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[561,75,5016,132,1276,5773,11],"class_list":["post-28819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-craft","tag-fiction","tag-laurel-osterkamp","tag-novel","tag-short-story","tag-villain","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Crafting a Killer: Motivation Matters by Laurel Osterkamp &#183; Writer&#039;s Fun Zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Laurel Osterkamp has been crafting a killer for her newest novel. 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