Help with a character
- Thread starter Wilfy
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Back story is fine, but also write what is mentally happening in his head. Actions are one thing, but what is the thought process behind it? Are his thoughts fueled by an anger filled rage or a cold rational hatred. Has your character become emotional dead inside and no longer cares for life, or is he a vicious psychopath who lives to see the next drop of blood spilled?
It is fine that he tortures his father, but how exactly is he doing it? Is he grinning like a fiend or does he look at his father like he is an insect? Does he feel joy in the act or does he feel it is just something he needs to do?
I suggest you watch "Wire in the Blood". It is a good detective series about serial killers and psychopaths, and gives a good look at the thought processes behind them.
It is fine that he tortures his father, but how exactly is he doing it? Is he grinning like a fiend or does he look at his father like he is an insect? Does he feel joy in the act or does he feel it is just something he needs to do?
I suggest you watch "Wire in the Blood". It is a good detective series about serial killers and psychopaths, and gives a good look at the thought processes behind them.
Depends. Do you want him to still be liked? if not keep him cold and distant. Don't explore his character or mentality from the first person, always from the perspective of another. It keeps the reader from empathizing with him by building up a wall. Its the cold indifferent killers who are really scary, rather than the obvious sociopaths. The more professional about his work he is, the less relatable he becomes and the more evil he at the very least seems. It also helps keep away from the poorer cliches.
True evil is very simple. He knows exactly what damage his actions cause and he does them anyway because it benefits him. No worthless rationalizations. No evil for the sheer sake of evil e.g. killing kittens. Just a desire to advance regardless of cost.
Get rid of him hunting down his father. revenge isn't evil, it's understandable. His past has to be a strong part of who he is but it shouldn't define him completely.
Before the cult he has basically been trodden on, by his father, by society, a little bug under everyone's heel. And while he's still a bug serving the cult, he's been shown for the first time in his life a way up. A way to stop being a bug, And that drives him.
That's the road I'd go down, I dunno exactly how you want him to play out so I'm not sure this is useful to you but meh. If I may offer one other bit of advice, listen to people's suggestions but make sure you're writing the character you want to write, otherwise it won't be any fun.
Get rid of him hunting down his father. revenge isn't evil, it's understandable. His past has to be a strong part of who he is but it shouldn't define him completely.
Before the cult he has basically been trodden on, by his father, by society, a little bug under everyone's heel. And while he's still a bug serving the cult, he's been shown for the first time in his life a way up. A way to stop being a bug, And that drives him.
That's the road I'd go down, I dunno exactly how you want him to play out so I'm not sure this is useful to you but meh. If I may offer one other bit of advice, listen to people's suggestions but make sure you're writing the character you want to write, otherwise it won't be any fun.
The intent behind things is what most of us consider when deciding if something is truly evil or simply misguided actions.
Flesh out the mental parts of your character more. What is his goal on the long term and on the short term? Why? What keeps him going when the going gets though? What are his main mental engines if you will? Write a few. Include a belief, an objective, a broadly defined method of getting there and personal justification - An example: "Social services did not help me as a child when I needed them. The rest of the government is just as useless. The only person I can have always trusted and counted upon is myself. Hence I will act alone as far a possible as I try to get rid of the useless politicians that govern us. I will do so by killing them or discrediting them."
That should help you out in figuring what you want your character to be like and how he would think in situations that come up. Three or four such mental cornerstones should help a lot with bringing the character to life.
Also, think of what he is willing to do to achieve his objective. Would he kill an innocent child that stand between him and his goal? Would he try to minimize collateral damage? Does he care? What would it take for him to reconsider his method, halt/delay his plans etc. What are his moral limits, what, at the moment, is he entirely unwilling to do? What would it take to change that?
Flesh out the mental parts of your character more. What is his goal on the long term and on the short term? Why? What keeps him going when the going gets though? What are his main mental engines if you will? Write a few. Include a belief, an objective, a broadly defined method of getting there and personal justification - An example: "Social services did not help me as a child when I needed them. The rest of the government is just as useless. The only person I can have always trusted and counted upon is myself. Hence I will act alone as far a possible as I try to get rid of the useless politicians that govern us. I will do so by killing them or discrediting them."
That should help you out in figuring what you want your character to be like and how he would think in situations that come up. Three or four such mental cornerstones should help a lot with bringing the character to life.
Also, think of what he is willing to do to achieve his objective. Would he kill an innocent child that stand between him and his goal? Would he try to minimize collateral damage? Does he care? What would it take for him to reconsider his method, halt/delay his plans etc. What are his moral limits, what, at the moment, is he entirely unwilling to do? What would it take to change that?
I think it has to go beyond " look at the evil stuff he did" idea. It needs to come from his personality. I'm talking total apathy and total manipulation of those around him, even those who think they control him. I think the best evil character is the one that sees everything as a chessboard. You don't care about sacrificing those around you to get to your goals.
But also it needs to feel original and complicated. If the personality comes off as being too one- dimensional then it can get boring for the reader. It could be interesting if you make it look like, despite all of his other traits, he does have a genuine relationship with a particular character. Then, for a climactic moment.. you have us realise that there was a reason for them being kept in the picture when expires, followed by him killing them.
Always remember that doing bad things doesn't make him evil. It's the reason behind the act that is important. If he tortures his father, it loses the evil touch. We can justify that.. "his father abused him. His childhood was hell". To be honest, there's no right way to deal with him and his father meeting each other again without us having sympathy for him and him not seeming totally evil. perhaps... just maybe you could use the total manipulation idea where he convinces his father that he forgives him.. before realising the son poisoned his drink 5 minutes before the scene began.
but I think the best solution is to not have them meet. keep dad in the past, just work on the consequences.
hope this helps.
But also it needs to feel original and complicated. If the personality comes off as being too one- dimensional then it can get boring for the reader. It could be interesting if you make it look like, despite all of his other traits, he does have a genuine relationship with a particular character. Then, for a climactic moment.. you have us realise that there was a reason for them being kept in the picture when expires, followed by him killing them.
Always remember that doing bad things doesn't make him evil. It's the reason behind the act that is important. If he tortures his father, it loses the evil touch. We can justify that.. "his father abused him. His childhood was hell". To be honest, there's no right way to deal with him and his father meeting each other again without us having sympathy for him and him not seeming totally evil. perhaps... just maybe you could use the total manipulation idea where he convinces his father that he forgives him.. before realising the son poisoned his drink 5 minutes before the scene began.
but I think the best solution is to not have them meet. keep dad in the past, just work on the consequences.
hope this helps.
He still sounds more of an anti-hero.Wilfy said:
If you want him to be evil, the best thing to do is to have him ignore people's wants in place of his own.
Think Jack Thompson/PETA
And evil people never serve something, they make the something serve them.
Maybe he hunts down his father, who has hidden away from the limelight, and then his father begs him to kill him - so he can end the pain.
The really evil option there is just to refuse and pity the man. Walk up to his father and chastise him because you'd wanted to do it.
All of your actions so far are things that could be seen as forgivable. To be evil, you need to have unforgivable actions.
He could kill half of the cult and animate them into undead, along with his father. Now have them work in sweatshops to create some arbitrary items that everyone needs, for instance knives or leather pants, 24/7. Since they're undead they don't need to eat, drink or sleep and since they're under your control they won't complain. Now you control the market. Profit.The_root_of_all_evil said:
quite honestly the best villains are those who are not outright evil, i'd think more about fleshing out his sense of morality, give him a set of principles, like he only kills when ppl deserve it, or whatever... and dont have him just a be a grunt, a good villain has ambition. he seams to me from your background to be really methodical, and once he sets out to do something, like kill his father, he will stop at nothing to achieve it, but he will also take his time and do it right. expanding on that have him be a hateful and vengeful character, even totured, but to a much lesser extent, otehrwise he'll just be an emo with superpowers. Anyway have something happen to have him have a personal grudge against the hero(s), that way you can have him slowly, but surely plot his revenge. one last final tip is make him be more than the sum of his powers, he doesn't need them, in fact have him not rely on his powers at all, or even avoid using them unless he absolutely has too. A good villain in my opinion, is clever and intelligent, and has some sort of personal relationship with the hero, whether that is something that developed before the story, or during is up to you.
Well hope that helps, and good luck writing.
Well hope that helps, and good luck writing.
Perhaps his childhood of abuse left him feeling worthless, and entering the cult gave him his first sense of purpose, and from then on he developed an increasingly ruthless thirst for power (you don't have to mention the word explicitly because that's kind of tacky). Not "rule-the-world" power, because it's no fun when everybody already does what you say; you have to treat everyone as individuals in order to appreciate their reluctance to obey you, futile reluctance because you are more powerful than they are.Wilfy said:
Don't have him kill people. Torture them instead. Make them wish they were dead.
dont make him evil because he was aboused make him abused because he was evil. in other words go into depth of his childhood some thing sick like as a child he killed his hamster it sounds stupid but with the wright wording could be devastating.
Who says you need to make him anything more than just the unquestioning arm of whatever order you've got him working for. That makes him evil enough for me, I mean look at Darth Vader, he's like space Sauron, and he wasn't really anything more than an unquestioning arm of the Emporer.
If you want to make a good villain read the book "Soon I Will Be Invincible." To borrow a quote... "To be a good villain, you need certain things. Don't bother with a secret identity, that's a hero thing... You need an obsession. The Zeta Beam, key to ultimate power. Secret of Corefire's might and the fire that scarred me. You need a nemesis. Mine is Corefire. An imbecile gifted with powers and abilities far exceeding mortal man's. You need a goal. Viz, to take over the world. And you need, something else. It could be anything really. A girl you couldn't get, parents slain before you, or just a nagging grudge against the world. I don't know what makes you evil, but it does."
good ways to make him seem evil is by having undertones
have him be violent and abusive of his power when it is unneccesary - make him sacrifice his underlings (if any) to make an example, or beat them for minor flaws that wont matter in the long run.
another good idea is to make him seem to pity or sympathise with his foes (I do this for your own good) and not realize his own evil, even when he is wrong in so many ways (hge thinks what be does is right).
another way to make him evil is to make him more like the joker: he does not normal moral issues and/or he does not know why he is evil.
hope it helps.
peace out - the count
have him be violent and abusive of his power when it is unneccesary - make him sacrifice his underlings (if any) to make an example, or beat them for minor flaws that wont matter in the long run.
another good idea is to make him seem to pity or sympathise with his foes (I do this for your own good) and not realize his own evil, even when he is wrong in so many ways (hge thinks what be does is right).
another way to make him evil is to make him more like the joker: he does not normal moral issues and/or he does not know why he is evil.
hope it helps.
peace out - the count
Well if you want him to be a serial killer before the cult he sould be very good at manipulating people and some one you would not suspect of being a killer, or if you dont go with the serial killer thing you should make him indoctranated by the cult into thinking what he is doing is good no mater how horrible the act he is comiting is.
You can use his back story to make him miss guided. Evil is a matter of opinion, one side of an argument so don't bother trying to make him evil. Instead let reader come up with the decision. An idea, after the abuse of his parent (I'm assuming that his father was an average human, lacking powers) Instead of hating his father he idolises him for showing him how weak humanity is and he detests his mothers weakness because of this he steers the cults motives from domination to genocide as he wants to purge the planet of everyone lacking powers. (that is going on the assumption that the cult wants to become humanity's masters)
Try to make him intelligent, get the reader to sympathise with him and maybe even befriend him and when they hear of his deeds it will seam worse. Don't introduce him through destruction try to use other characters to paint the picture of this tyrant and when you do introduce him make him charismatic for he respects the main character (for he has powers) maybe make him an ally of the main character until he witnesses him doing unspeakable things to "normal folk" If you've ever read The Saga of Darren Shan, in some of the later books he actually befriends the villain, until a dramatic turning point.
Try to make him intelligent, get the reader to sympathise with him and maybe even befriend him and when they hear of his deeds it will seam worse. Don't introduce him through destruction try to use other characters to paint the picture of this tyrant and when you do introduce him make him charismatic for he respects the main character (for he has powers) maybe make him an ally of the main character until he witnesses him doing unspeakable things to "normal folk" If you've ever read The Saga of Darren Shan, in some of the later books he actually befriends the villain, until a dramatic turning point.
Read the Pendragon books
Saint Dane is a good example of what I think your villain should be a bit like
Saint Dane is a good example of what I think your villain should be a bit like