We all love a good villain. But too often writers try so hard to make the antagonist come across like a bad guy that they forget to make them human. They forget to add nuance and texture to their characters.
Remember that most bad guys don’t think they’re bad. They see themselves as the good guys. They believe their fight is just. A good, memorable, well-written villain isn’t pure evil; leave that for Saturday morning cartoons.
Insurgents believe they are fighting a just war. They think they’ve been wronged. They retaliate.
Sympathetic traits give your villain dimension. They make him relatable. Now, note that you don’t have to like a villain, or root for him, for him to be sympathetic. He simply has to have strong human traits that you can identify with. No matter how atrocious the acts he commits are, he believes he is justified. In spite of yourself, you recognise his humanity.
Hannibal Lecter was erudite, charming, and learned—and he spared Jodie Foster’s life. Ra’s Al Ghul believed that Gotham was inherently corrupt and hypocritical, and needed to be cleansed. Satan got his feelings hurt.
Say what, now? Yes, THAT Satan. He wanted to be the most beloved, and he was not. He wanted to be top dawg, but simply didn’t have what it took. He was cast out of heaven, and when he hit the ground, he hit hard. It hurt. So he retaliated.
Poor guy.
Sit down and think of three good reasons to feel sorry for Satan. If you can do that, you’re well on your way to developing the sensitivity that breeds great, three-dimensional characters.
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