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Villain
Chatterbox: Crowd Sorcery
Villain
Villain
Note: You have until Monday, July 7, to create a villain in time for voting. Go here to see the schedule.
One of the most effective ways to be sure a story will have conflict that keeps readers breathlessly turning pages is to introduce a villain—someone whose goals collide head-on with the main character’s goals. We fantasy readers can all think of unforgettable villains from our favorite stories, those scary or relentless opponents that make life so difficult for the hero or heroine.
Villains need more than special magical powers to become so memorable that they haunt our imaginations; they also need as much personality and feeling as the hero. In actual life, almost no one ever sets out to become a villain. Perhaps your villain is desperate to protect her homeland, or family, or dragon. Perhaps the villain’s very life is at stake. There must always be a why, a solid reason behind the evil the villain does so that it makes sense—at least to him or her.
Usually the plot will unfold if you can figure out the relationship of the villain to the main character and what the villain wants. For instance, in thinking about Quill, my heroine who comes out only in moonlight, I might wonder who cast the original spell on her grandmother and why. I’ll imagine it was a monstrous spirit-witch, Gershardt, who lives in a cavern beneath a pool in the forest. Gershardt’s spells can steal someone’s daytime essence, enabling her to take on a human form, leave the pool, and walk about in the world of mortals. But her spell fades over time so she is trying to steal Quill’s nighttime essence, too—although that would make Quill vanish forever.
In my example the stakes are high: the villain wants to continue living in the physical world, and so does the main character—whichever of them loses will disappear!
I might write for my Crowd Sorcery Sentences: “Gnarled hands rose from the water and gripped a tree root, followed by bony arms and a streaming tangle of white hair. Old Gershardt crept from the pool and stood dripping and frosty in the moonlight, blinking into the shadows with her pale blue eyes, chuckling through her toothless mouth.”
When I write, I try to keep in mind that, from the villain’s point of view, he or she is the true main character of the story, and it is the hero or heroine that is in the way.
- 1. Name
- 2. Physical appearance
- 3. Background
- 4. Lair (Hut? Castle? Cave? Ship?)
- 5. What is the villain’s goal?
- 6. Attitude toward hero
- 7. How is the villain stronger than the hero?
- 8. How is the villain weak or vulnerable?
- 9. Why are the main character and the villain in conflict with each other?
- 10. Your Crowd Sorcery Sentence(s)
submitted by Fred Durbin
(April 23, 2014 - 11:54 am)
(April 23, 2014 - 11:54 am)
(May 23, 2014 - 8:24 pm)
Darecropolis Darecrpolis is a bioodthirsty villain. He has a robotic appearance if he dares show his face. He has green hair. You can also identify him by the way he acts. He really is a fraidy cat.
(July 2, 2014 - 5:52 pm)
Three words:
Return. Of. Morgoth.
(May 28, 2014 - 4:58 pm)
That would be so cool!
I LOVE ARDA!!!
FORTH EORLINGAS!!!
(May 28, 2014 - 6:03 pm)
YES YES YES YES!
(June 25, 2015 - 11:22 am)
Hi mom lol (get it ungoliant and shelob)
MORGOTH YES THANK YOU
(June 26, 2014 - 3:54 pm)
1. Name
Maximus (or just Max, for short)
2. Physical Appearance
Max is a crow. Don't judge. He just is. He can't change his species.
3. Background
Max is misunderstood. As a low-status child, authors everywhere used his species as a symbol for death and evil. Then, after learning English, Max set out to write a book in which crows were the heroes. Unfortunately, the publisher hated the story due to "inaccurate symbolism". Max took this as a personal insult. He resigned himself to a life of poverty. One day, however, while stealing -- I mean't, uh... borrowing some food from a picnicker, he saw it. The Nasskash, a magic, red, glowing stone that has the power to bend any mortal's will to the bearer of the stone. Max took the stone and forged it into an amulet (fit for a crow, so if a human were to wear it, they would have to lengthen the neck-cord) and took it back to his abandoned fortress. However, he did not use it. I don't know if he even was going to use it. But, regardless, the next day, it vanished. Max blames the hero.
4. Lair
Max has an old, abandoned house that he uses as a base of headquarters. (It should be noted that, since Max is a crow, he is smaller than a human, so the house really is quite large for him.)
5. What is the villain's goal?
Max wants the Nasskash Amulet back. He knows of its power, but I think he mostly wants it for safekeeping. I could be mistaken, though. I haven't actually met him.
6. Attitude toward hero
Max thinks that the hero wants to use the Nasskash to take over the world.
7. How is the villain stronger than the hero?
Even though the hero has the Nasskash, it won't work on Max because, after his book failed, but before he gave up to beg for food on the streets, he dabbled a bit in Dark Magic and the only spells he knows is one that magically slices and serves tropical fruit, an invisibility spell (works on himself or others), and the spell to resist the influence of the Nasskash. Also, Max has a small army of about five hundred-ish loyal crows (with Roman names) and a large army of about one thousand other nameless crow soldiers.
8. How is the villain weak or vulnerable?
Max has a terrible fear of raccoons, but he can see through most bluffing (so merely pretending to have a raccoon wouldn't work). Also, if the hero is human or something like that, there is a noticeable size disadvantage.
9. Why are the main character and the villain in conflict with each other?
Max thinks that the hero has the Nasskash. The hero may or may not actually have it.
10. Your Crowd Sorcery Sentence(s)
Tiberius approached the dark throne and knelt (if you've never seen a crow kneel, they kneel on one knee like humans, and then take their left wing and cross it over their chest) in front of his master.
"Oh, Dark Lord and Evil Ruler, Maximus the Fearsome, the troops have advanced," the old crow general dutifully reported.
His master replied in a voice that seemed much too deep for a bird, "Good... The plan is going well... Is the Secret Weapon ready to deploy?"
"My Lord, he is... unruly. I am not sure if it would be wise to use this asset until there is no other choice."
"That is no matter. This war of wrath is coming to an end anyway. The Nasskash is almost in my grasp. The Secret Weapon may provide a final push, giving our troops courage and giving the opposition a fair reason to surrender the Nasskash to my stewardship."
"Yes, My Lord, I will do as you wish. {Hero's Name} will be crushed."
(May 28, 2014 - 5:50 pm)
(May 29, 2014 - 10:08 am)
She used to be beautiful. Gorgeous. The nicest even. Until she met Lisa. It was all about Lisa. Lisa this, Lisa that. Lisa, Lisa, LISA. Then the chess game came along. So tired of it. Ariel's power was stronger. The only thing she could think of was fire. Then she did it. Burned Lisa's face. Just in spite of her. Next thing she knew Lisa's parents were there. No one saw them but Ariel. They cursed her. But what Ariel knew was Lisa's mom was pregnant. Lisa was always talking about it. That next day Ariel was a cat. She ran from the college, looking for Lisa's house. The day she found it, she was happy. So happy in fact, she decided to curse the baby bad herself to Fallentresaa. Not caring. When the baby was born, it was to be sent to Fallentresaa, along with Ariel. Finally the portal appeared next to Ariel. She jumped in. Ariel is still here. To this day. Stupid Lisa, Ariel thought. She closed her eyes and slept in the hollow of her tree.
I got carried away.... Lol love this sooo much.
(June 7, 2014 - 10:55 am)
These are fun to read! You all have some fantastic ideas for villains! I really like the ones posted so far -- they're creative and fascinating! For anyone who's still thinking of posting: please let us read your idea! Post it here!
Something to keep thinking about: villains present an opportunity for you, the writer, to have great fun, because you can let your imagination run wild! Your villain can (and probably will) do things that you'd never do in real life. I think this is the reason that many actors (male and female) LOVE to portray villains in movies. It's a chance to interpret a character that's different from yourself. (And yet, I think we can all relate to villains, too, because humans aren't perfect creatures. Whether we like it or not, there's a little bit of villain in all of us, just as there's some hero/heroine in all of us. As writers, if we pay attention to these points of commonality, we have a key for unlocking characters that readers will enjoy.) So have fun making up your villain! Make her or him different from any other villain you've heard or read about! Give the villain a good, solid reason for working against the main character. Keep those great villains coming!
(June 9, 2014 - 6:35 pm)
Finally get around to this!
Name: Whisper Creighton
Physical Appearance: Black hair with white streaks, golden eyes, short and normal width.
Background: She was born in the year 2013, and when she was 12 (she was a child genius) she figured out how to like forever. Well, she would say just how to age much slower. She has lived, aging very slowly for a long time. Since she has lived through the many years that passed, and many of them were horrible (including World War III, the worst war that has ever happened; it destroyed the earth) and doesn't want to share it with anybody, because she thinks the true past would horrify them (the goverment has told the human race of a good past) and so has made a pact with herself to never tell anyone of the past. Ever.
Lair: Her house, which she almost never leaves.
What is the villan's goal?: To protect the real past from anybody.
Attitude towards hero: Doesn't know her yet, but will do anything to stop her from seeing the past.
How is the villan stronger than the hero?: She has much more knowledge, and makes quick and usually good desicions. Seh doesn't care what other thinks, too.
How is the villain weak or vulnerable?: Will never surrender to anything and is extremely stubborn.
Why are the hero and villan in conflict?: Whejn they meet, Laykenya will want to know about the past and Whisper wants to keep it from her.
Your Crowd Sorcery Sentences:
I sat down in my chair, opening a book. I read the first sentence, realized it was a history book, and threw it down. Nobody, nobody knew the real truth. And if I could help it, it would stay that way.
(June 11, 2014 - 9:43 am)
Name: "Esmerelda Westwood IV"
Physical Appearance: Long , long black hair, amber eyes, pale skin.
Background: She isn't the real Esmerelda Westwood IV, Princess of Coyaya; she killed her long ago. She is an impersonator, and is controlling her "mother" and "father", the king and queen. She plans to expand the countrys borders past the Pearllist River by conquering and killing. In actuality, Esmerelda is an ambitious orphan who discovered that she had magical powers, and looked just like the princess. She snuck into the castle at age 13, killed the real Esmerelda, and since then on has controlled the entire royal family with her powers. Because she controlls the royal family, she cannot let anyone into the castle or her spell will berak.
Lair: Droskyn Castle
What is the villains goal?: To expand the borders of Coyaya, and take over the world.
Attitude towards hero: Has no idea who she is, but if/when she meets her, she will not let her into the castle to see the royal family Miranda has longed for.
How is the villan stronger than the hero?: She She is stubborn, persistent, and can dampen spririts easily. And immeasurebly evil.
How is the villain weak or vulnerable?: Under all her evil, she longs for a pet.
Why are the main character and villain in conflict with each other?: Esmerelda wants to keep people out of the castle; Miranda wants in.
Your Crowd Sorcery Sentence(s):
I hummed the tune that would be callled erie by anyone but me as I stood over my "mother" and "father", my fingers hovering over them, moving as delicatly and precisely as a pianists. Dark purple magic flowed from them, at first curling around my fingers lovingly, and then entering the king and queens hearts. I smiled. One king and queen hypnotized, courtesy of loving me, their "daughter", Esmerelda. Check.
(June 12, 2014 - 9:16 am)
Name
K
Physical appearance
Long, straight hair, so blond it’s almost white. Piercing blue eyes.
Background
All she knows about herself is that the first
letter of her first name is K. She doesn’t
know who her parents are, or how old she is.
She grew up on the streets and learned to fend for herself. K wants to kill all rich people.
Lair
Nowhere.
She roams.
What is the villain’s goal?
K wants to kill all rich people.
Attitude toward hero
K wants to kill her because she is rich.
How is the villain stronger than the hero?
K is a master at sneaking and stealing and
lying and killing. She has no
conscience.
How is the villain weak or vulnerable?
She works alone.
Why are the main character and the villain in
conflict with each other?
K wants to kill the heroine because she is
rich.
Your Crowd Sorcery Sentences
I roam the village of Fairwoods, searching
for rich people. I glimpse a woman in a
dress that’s probably worth even more than the price on my head.
The houses gradually change from shacks to
mansions as I trail the woman. She goes
into the largest of the mansions. A maid
opens the door for her, and I duck behind a tree.
After waiting for about half an hour, I creep
to the side of the mansion. Pink and
gold drapes adorn a second floor window.
I know from experience that that must be the chamber of the lady of the
house.
Finding purchase in the bricks, I easily
scale the wall. As it is a lovely day in
early June, the window is open. All I
have to do is slip silently through it.
There she is! The same woman I
was stalking earlier is sitting at her dresser, applying her stupid expensive makeup.
I nearly laugh. This’ll be easy. I just have to make sure that she is killed
immediately, before she has time to scream.
I pull my dagger from where it is hidden—my shoe.
I know where to stab—the throat. I know how to avoid being seen as I cross the
room, even with the mirror. As I sink my
dagger into her flesh, the woman’s eyes go wide, her mouth opens slightly, and
she drops the makeup kit. Then she
slumps over, dead.
One down, millions to go.
(June 12, 2014 - 6:05 pm)
Wait! Let me edit that! The hero is not rich, he/she just wants to stop K. K wants to kill the hero because the hero wants to stop her, even though the hero isn't rich.
(June 25, 2014 - 12:28 pm)
That.... is...... awesome!
(June 27, 2014 - 2:53 pm)