Villains

[ostarella]

Just a little thought about villains...

"Audiences enjoy bad guys because through these characters, normal people are able to experience, vicariously, what its like to be vicious, nasty, and amoral." - Michael Douglas

Something to think about as we write our various villains and bad guys - give the readers a chance to "see" what being the bad guy is like... ?

Comments

[beckyblack]

I think that sounds fair. I think it applies to a couple of different types of characters in a way. Villains and criminals, certainly, but I think it applies to any character who has fewer limits on their bahaviour than we have on ours. Like someone who's very rich and can just pay their way out of trouble.

So I don't think it's just about experiencing what it's like to be vicious, nasty and amoral, but more about experiencing what it would be like to do whatever it is we want to do, but can't do because we're too scared, or too poor, or too restricted by society's rules. Characters who break those rules are fun.

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

Characters who break those rules are fun.

Which is probably why TAT is so much fun :D

But I agree - anytime we have the chance to write about someone who lives or acts outside society's rules, we can have a field day. And then there's the two ends of that spectrum - those who *like* to break the rules and those who have no choice. I think the guys are kinda of combination of the two. ;-)