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myhoniahaka:
- Give them relationships with other characters. Being a villain doesn’t mean they’re isolated
- Give them their own set of morals
- Give them something to care about
- Consider the reasons why they want to hurt the protagonist
- Remember that they are human
- Don’t make them evil for the sake of being evil
- Keep in mind that a villain doesn’t have to do every horrible thing imaginable
- Not every villain was abused. Someone who was spoiled is just as, if not more, likely to lack empathy than someone who was abused
- Consider how they rationalize their behavior (blame their victims, make excuses, believe that what they’re doing is right) if you need a reference for this kind of behavior, look at how Trump defends the horrible things he does
- Give them a life outside of being a villain. Maybe your protagonist is going shopping and they run into their villain and the villain isn’t interested or up for a fight that day. This really depends on the story, though
- Give them a past, present, or future relationship with the protagonist. Again, this depends on the story
- Consider making your villain likable
- Give the reader a reason to sympathize with them
