{"id":30588,"date":"2026-06-22T11:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=30588"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:14:50","slug":"crafting-a-compelling-villain-goals-motivation-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2026\/06\/22\/crafting-a-compelling-villain-goals-motivation-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-30589 size-full\" title=\" Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict - How To Write the Future podcast, Episode 210\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images.png\" alt=\"Image of person in a black cloak for Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict \" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images-2.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-30590 size-full\" title=\"Quote from Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict \" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images-2.png\" alt=\"Quote from Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict \" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images-2.png 300w, https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HTWTF-Episode-210-Blog-Images-2-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict &#8211; How To Write the Future podcast, episode 210<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition to your villain&#8217;s goal, they need a motivation. They feel like they&#8217;re the hero of their own story. They have a good reason for wanting what they want.\u201d &#8211; Beth Barany<\/p>\n<p>In some stories long after the final page is closed, the villain often captivates the reader over a hero. Their backstory, portrayal, beliefs, and even down to certain acts of heroism, but how do you make your villain compelling?<br \/>\nIn the latest How To Write the Future podcast episode, titled \u201cCrafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict\u201d host Beth Barany, shares how to craft a compelling villain to engage readers, drive the plot of their story, and ways to build an in-depth conflict within their journey.<\/p>\n<p>Use the steps outlined in the episode to plan and draft out your villain and apply it to your story.<\/p>\n<p>Platforms the podcast is available on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/210-crafting-a-compelling-villain-goals-motivation\/id1641025914?i=1000773692115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061\/episodes\/19379823-210-crafting-a-compelling-villain-goals-motivation-conflict\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buzzsprout<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/56ecfUZG1zgwGXQ8tLX5UL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a>| <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DXIwLjDkr1I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DXIwLjDkr1I?si=dlbDzuQUk2uWpdU9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-large-player\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><script type='text\/javascript' charset='utf-8' src='https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061.js?container_id=buzzsprout-large-player&#038;player=large'><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RESOURCES\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JOIN: <\/span><b>For fiction writers! You&#8217;ve finished your first draft! Congrats! <\/b><b><i>Now what?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join the Future-Ready Writer membership and get premium weekly lessons and a monthly Q&amp;A on Zoom. Subscribe: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061\/subscribe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FREE: <\/span><b>Sign up here to get your World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overwhelmed by world-building for your sci-fi\/fantasy novel? Use these prompts to brainstorm your story\u2019s world: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/world-building-resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/world-building-resources\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SHOP**: Sci\u2011Fi &amp; Fantasy 24 Writing Prompts:** <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/s\/4ac9160a74\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/s\/4ac9160a74<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Want to be interviewed on the podcast? =&gt;<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/bethbarany.com\/emailBeth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email us!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>FOR CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSIONALS &#8211; BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SERVING WRITERS<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sign up to be notified when our training opens and get a short Creative Business Style Quiz to help you create success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bethbarany.com\/apprenticeship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/bethbarany.com\/apprenticeship\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Support our work for creatives!<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buy me a coffee:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>GET SUPPORT FOR YOUR FICTION WRITING BY A NOVELIST AND WRITING TEACHER AND COACH<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Schedule an exploratory call here and see if Beth can support you today:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/discovery-call\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/discovery-call\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About the How To Write the Future podcast\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How To Write The Future<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers. This podcast is for readers too if you\u2019re at all curious about the future of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This podcast is for you if you have questions like:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; How do I create a believable world for my science fiction story?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; How do I figure out what&#8217;s not working if my story feels flat?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; How do I make my story more interesting and alive?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This podcast is for readers, too, if you\u2019re at all curious about the future of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transcript for Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict, How To Write the Future podcast, episode 210\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Welcome and Focus\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>BETH BARANY:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Hi, everyone. Beth Barany here with How to Write the Future podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My focus is on helping specifically science fiction and fantasy writers. In that light, I talk about craft, the writing craft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[00:14] Villain Goals That Drive Plot\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So today I&#8217;m gonna talk about tips on how to craft an awesome villain. Let&#8217;s get started.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You wanna give your villain a goal, a reason for their goal, and conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because guess what? Your villains are people too. In their own mind, what they&#8217;re doing is reasonable. So give them a goal that is specific and active. Remember, a compelling villain isn&#8217;t trying to be evil. They&#8217;re actually trying to achieve something, and they can justify that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[00:47] Make Goals Concrete and Urgent\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So first off, think of your villain&#8217;s goal as a concrete verb phrase. They are there to seize or protect or punish, expose, restore, control, purify, stabilize. Also, make their goal time-bound or urgent. In this way, it will create plot pressure. So perhaps your villain wants to seize property to protect their domain, or they want to stabilize the magic so that things don&#8217;t go out of control into chaos. Legitimate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So when you think of your villain&#8217;s goal, you want to think of it, explain it like this. Be able to say this or write this: My villain wants goal by method before deadline, because otherwise consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[01:49] Motivation and Core Beliefs\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, in addition to your villain&#8217;s goal, they need a motivation. They feel like they&#8217;re the hero of their own story. They have a good reason for wanting what they want. They don&#8217;t wake up thinking, I&#8217;m the bad guy. No, they believe they&#8217;re right. They believe they&#8217;re justified. And usually, and, you know, this goes for every character that you assign a goal to in your story, their motivation has an emotional engine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It could be fear, it could be grief, or entitlement, ideology, revenge, shame, love, devotion, or a hunger for order.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See if you can design your villain&#8217;s core belief that underpins their quest for their goal as a sentence they might even say out loud, that they would defend in public. What would they say if they had to defend their goal? If you can write that in a convincing way, then the readers will feel the villain&#8217;s logic even while they disagree or even hate the villain, and that&#8217;s okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make our villains compelling we have to make them relatable, and we do that by hinting at or revealing their surface-level motivation but also their deep motivation for what they want. And in some writing craft explainer books, they will call this the want. The need is the goal, and the want is the motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I find that a bit confusing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[03:21] Backstory Prompt for Motivation\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think if you classify it as the motivation and keep asking why and go down deep, deep to the core belief that stemmed. Often they stem from either childhood experiences or some amazing crisis turning point in their early life, in their teen life. Our core beliefs are changing and shifting all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your character could also be motivated by a recent event as well that shaped why they want what they want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So here&#8217;s the prompt. So write down for yourself: &#8220;My villain believes X. They learned it when, at some point in time. So now they must act a certain way.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[04:03] Conflict Mirrors the Hero\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s move on to conflict. You wanna design your villain&#8217;s conflict as a mirror of the protagonist&#8217;s goal. Conflict isn&#8217;t just, oh, the hero fights the villain. Rawr.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No, you need a specific thing that blocks the villain&#8217;s goal, and that is most often the protagonist&#8217;s values, choices, or very existence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[04:29] Internal Cracks and Escalation\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So a strong villain will also carry their internal conflicts. So they won&#8217;t just have their external conflicts, usually represented by the protagonist, but they will also have internal conflicts. It will be blind spots or contradictions or even self-justifying stories they tell themselves, that can get in the way, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So you wanna see if you can make your villain&#8217;s strength a direct pressure point on the protagonist&#8217;s weakness, and vice versa. You wanna make your protagonist&#8217;s strength a direct pressure point on the villain&#8217;s weakness. And then see if you can add one internal fault line or crack in the villain that makes their approach tragically inevitable if you wanna end the story with the protagonist being triumphant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, if you&#8217;re writing a tragedy where the pr- antagonist succeeds over the protagonist, then that fault line could be inside of the protagonist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So here&#8217;s the prompt: the hero blocks the villain because some value or action. The villain can&#8217;t adapt because some blind spot. So the villain escalates by some action.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[05:49] Wrap Up and Farewell\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So today we talked about the goal, motivation, and conflict of your villain. If you can define this clearly for yourself, now you have created a compelling villain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s it for this week, everyone. Write long and prosper.\u00a0 \u200b<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here:\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2012061<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><b>Need instructions on how to leave a review?<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/leave-a-podcast-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Support our work for creatives: leave a tip: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">***<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ABOUT BETH BARANY\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BETH-BARANY_2023_300px_01-e1692481023683.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27411 size-full alignleft\" title=\"Beth Barany\" src=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BETH-BARANY_2023_300px_01-e1692481023683.png\" alt=\"Beth Barany\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beth Barany is an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. They help novelists write, revise, and publish stories that matter\u2014blending practical craft guidance with a big-picture commitment to imagination, meaning, and possibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about Beth Barany at these sites:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/author.bethbarany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Author site<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \/\u00a0 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/bethbarany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coaching site<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/baranyschooloffiction.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School of Fiction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \/ <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.writersfunzone.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Writer\u2019s Fun Zone blog<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CONNECT\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact Beth: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/podcast\/#tve-jump-185b4422580\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/podcast\/#tve-jump-185b4422580<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email: beth@bethbarany.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LinkedIn:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bethbarany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bethbarany\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IG: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bethbarany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bethbarany\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TT: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@bethbarany\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@bethbarany\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FB: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">X: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BethBarany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/BethBarany<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CREDITS\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">EDITED WITH DESCRIPT:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> https:\/\/www.descript.com?lmref=_w1WCA <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Refer-a-Friend link)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MUSIC CREDITS : Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uppbeat.io\/t\/soundroll\/fuzz-buzz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> https:\/\/uppbeat.io\/t\/soundroll\/fuzz-buzz<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> License code: UMMKDRL02DFGKJ0L. \u201cFuzz buzz\u201d by Soundroll. Commercial license:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/musicvine.com\/track\/soundroll\/fuzz-buzz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> https:\/\/musicvine.com\/track\/soundroll\/fuzz-buzz<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DISTRIBUTED BY BUZZSPROUT:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/?referrer_id=1994465\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/?referrer_id=1994465<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Refer-a-Friend link)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SHOW CO-PRODUCTION + NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">c 2025 BETH BARANY<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bethbarany.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/bethbarany.com\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more \u201cHow To Write the Future\u201d episodes, go <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019d like to invite Beth onto your podcast, drop her a note <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/contact-beth\/#contactbeth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2705 Like the work we do? Tip us! <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/bethbarany<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Crafting a Compelling Villain: Goals, Motivation, Conflict &#8211; How To Write the Future podcast, episode 210 *** \u201cIn addition to your villain&#8217;s goal, they need a motivation. They feel like they&#8217;re the hero of&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":30589,"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":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[5099],"tags":[1875,1010,140,7998,1422,7995,285,7999,7982,7996,7992,7983,7989,8001,5923,8003,4607,5160,7993,7990,7997,7988,7986,8002,1874,7994,7991,8000,7771,2872,5163,5183,7985,5162,5927,8004,7987,7984,7981,5164,1490,5165],"class_list":["post-30588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-write-the-future-podcast","tag-antagonist","tag-backstory","tag-beth-barany","tag-blind-spots","tag-character-motivation","tag-childhood-experiences","tag-consequences","tag-contradictions","tag-core-belief","tag-crisis-turning-point","tag-devotion","tag-emotional-engine","tag-entitlement","tag-escalation","tag-fatal-flaw","tag-fault-line","tag-fiction-writing-tips","tag-futuristics","tag-hunger-for-order","tag-ideology","tag-internal-conflict","tag-method-and-deadline","tag-plot-pressure","tag-pressure-point","tag-protagonist","tag-relatability","tag-revenge","tag-self-justifying-stories","tag-shame","tag-story-telling","tag-story-world-building","tag-strategic-foresight","tag-time-bound-goal","tag-tips-for-fiction-writers","tag-tragedy","tag-triumphant-ending","tag-urgency","tag-verb-phrase","tag-villain-goals","tag-write-the-future","tag-writing-coaching","tag-writing-teaching"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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