Do You Enjoy Writing Wicked?

Published on by thelonelyauthorblog

Every hero needs a villain.

Remember the cardboard cutout dastardly villain who squeezed his handle bar mustache between his fingers while tying the damsel in distress to the railroad tracks. Those days are over.

If you are a writer and you have a great hero, there is one thing that you need; an even GREATER villain.

Today’s readers and audiences don’t expect a bad guy who is all brawn and no brains. They want a villain who challenges our hero and defeats him time and time again. This allows you to build tension. Readers want a cunning evil doer who is always two steps ahead of our protagonist.

Think of The Joker (the Heath Ledger version of course) in The Dark Knight, constantly outwitting everyone including Batman. Hannibal Lecter “quid pro quo” demands of Clarice Starling; before he led her to a serial killer (Buffalo Bill) she desperately needed to stop, all the while planning his bold escape from prison. Each bad guy absolutely brilliant yet controlled by their psychopathic desires.

To strengthen your story, give your villain a justified reason to be evil. In my yet to be published sci-fi novel/screenplay, Paradox, Mabus (villain) witnessed the slaughter of his family, now he will over protect his kingdom (his new family). Give the antagonist motivations and goals that conflict with your hero’s needs. Let them clash. The protagonist/antagonist opposing needs will provide conflict throughout your story building to a page turning finale.

This chimp loves writing antagonist and their evil deeds (and an occasional naughty).

Do you enjoy writing wicked?

Please note: My poetic friends, you are not off the hook. Do you enjoy writing wicked?                                                         (I mean wicked in all its evil and naughty connotations.)

hannibal_joker

153 thoughts on “Do You Enjoy Writing Wicked?”

  4. Personally, I love writing wicked poetry. It brings me a sense of insanity and laughter.
    When I write by myself – I laugh but that’s because I’m thinking eating a cookies with milk. Milk does the body good. Especially, if you want your own body to be invaded by the milk harbingers. 🙂

    The Joker and Hannibal Lecter are my favorite villains of all time.

    However, we have to wait till’ next year for (DC Suicide Squad) movie.

    I’m crossing my fingers and hope that Jared Leto does not fuck up as the new Joker. Will compare the difference between Heath Ledger’s version and Jared Leto.

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    1. Aha. I thought so. On occasions Lonely Author has a milk mustache while writing. Milk with cookies does a body better. More often my chin is is drenched in red wine. Heath w=could never replaced as the Joker. Thanks for commenting. We shall see. Enjoy the cow juice.

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              1. Ok. But not all villains are Darth Vader types. Heroes battle Mother Nature, beasts. Lonely Author had to risk life and limb one time battling a fierce cockroach. Villains come in all shapes and sizes. I need to read more of your work to see that wicked side..

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                    1. Agreed! Forgot to mention that my 11 year old son loves to make up his own superheros villains. He draws the comics and writes the stories. Very talented. He prefers villains. Today he asked for help naming his evil organization 🙂

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      1. I loved the old scifi pics like “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and I love good horror stories rich in the psychological aspects they represent. I hate shock and awe and blood and gore for special effects sake. Art in general these days leans too heavily on technology and formula. Art is lost in craft and the desire to please consumers who don’t know the difference but true art is vital for a healthy culture. Anyway…I only write about villains that are real.

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        1. I remember that one. I enjoyed the old black and white Flash Gordon. That first sci-fi movie won me over was the original Planet of The Apes. Lonely Author does not do blood. I agree, movies and art too reliant on technology. Thanks for the comments and interesting conversation.

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  9. A most excellent post, Sir. And I completely agree with everything you’ve said. The villain is key.

    As to writing wicked, my response can only be: heck yeah. Wicked is where it’s at for me, at this point in my life. One of the many advantages of having a creative outlet is being able to let off steam. Better to release our “wicked” through writing, rather than “real” life. Besides writing should be fun, alongside work. And wicked, naughty, or dark writing is fantastic fun.

    Love the dialogue you’re set up here. You’re very good at it.

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  10. Wicked is hard for me. My stories usually have “inner” demons that they battle. I can write short stories with actual real villains, but have trouble finding enough “in between” and “filler” scenes to keep the momentum going in true hero-villain plot lines. Still working on that.

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  12. I honestly haven’t written a poem or story since I was a child, but I have always enjoyed reading and watching (TV shows and movies) wicked. It keeps you on your toes and it is exciting!

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      1. Hahaha yeah me too, my parents were unbelievably strict. Like I didn’t even have a boyfriend until I was 21, and wasn’t allowed to have a job outside the home. Lol

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  16. I love writing evil, despite being a sweet granny who wouldn’t hurt a soul. Nuanced villains are the best. I like your description of what compels Mabus. When they believe that they are doing the “just or moral” thing, it can get quite interesting. 🙂

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    1. Hey, sweet grannies can make for some great villains. lol I love what you said. When a villain believes he is morally right it makes for a more interesting character. Thanks so much for contributing to the discussion. I love talking writing.

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  17. never tried it before though, wait never mind, I am in the process of trying my hand at that type of dark writing, a psychological dark writing…

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  18. I do not enjoy wicked, nor write FOR the wicked, I mean wicked 😀
    But here and there, I will insert evil laughter to entertain THE wicked 😀

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  20. Hmm… Interesting challenge. I haven’t written a truly wicked character in probably 25 years or so, and even those tended toward the tortured soul genre. I might have to pick up this gauntlet just for fun. Thanks for the inspiration and the fascinating dialogue here! I get so excited when that notification comes in that you’ve posted something new… 🙂

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  22. so true, I think we all love a good bad guy, don’t we? just look at how well Frank Underwood is doing on House of Cards. bad guys are also a lot more fun to write I think because they’re further removed from our real selves (hopefully!). I think we’re moving away from the cardboard cutout good/bad characters to exploring more three dimensional characters who can be good and bad, depending on the readers perspective..?

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    1. Yes we do. NO good guy is all good. No bad guy is all bad. And no chimp is all monkey. Ooops. Bad guys make books and film so entertaining. And they are a load of fun to write. There I can do all the things I normally wouldn’t do.

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  23. I’ve never written anything wicked, but my favorite stories are all wicked. Maybe I should give it a go! Thanks for your post 🙂

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  26. But the joker’s past was never fully explained. I think that a joker like case will always get more attention than a predictable one. Readers today are getting pretty smart, you need to give them something which didn’t turn evil by a situation because that can be treated. But to keep the origin of a villain ambiguous, you must show such a powerful presence of him/her that the readers wonder about it, that they are forced to think that how can one be so evil? And the rest is all known.

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  29. I believe our villains are more imaginative than our heroes because they express things that most of us can only imagine, and would never imagine actually doing or being. Because of this, we rely more on our imaginations for their creation which ultimately makes them deeper, richer, and far more interesting.

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      1. I just enjoy writing the story, I don’t focus on any particular thing too much, but I would say that the thing I enjoy the most is writing the conversations and interactions between characters. My ideas are wild and imaginative and I find the simplest interactions to be some of the most enjoyable parts of the book writing process.

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    1. Oh, thank you Lisa. I am so flattered. You are so sweet. Aren’t there other bloggers more deserving than I? I just started blogging in September. Honestly, I can’t accept. I am tied up querying literary agents for my manuscripts and it is occupying much of my time. Thank you so much. I hope I haven’t offended you in any way.

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  33. I love your blog. Writing really is a lonely profession, but I can’t imagine do anything else (not that I’m published or anything.) 🙂 Thank you for commenting and following Flaggfan. It’s much appreciated!

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  34. I read the title and immediately thought of the Wicked book series. Disappointed, but not too much.
    I recently wrote a one shot for a writing contest. I came in second for Best Villain and second for Most Original story :D. I’ve written for these contests off and on over the last couple of years and other than a ‘win’ when I was the only entry this is the first time I’ve got more than an honorable mention and actually had some competition.
    *pats self on back*
    Proud of myself, and my boyfriend since he was the inspiration beyond the initial contest idea.
    It could be better, I’m sure, but it is what it is :D.

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        1. I don’t do twitter. Actually I have stopped all social media. It never helped my writing; it only ate up hours I could be writing, querying, or editing. I will spend more time on your page. This writing community is positive and supportive. I will be there to keep you motivated.

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          1. Exactly the same with me. I was too open with my ideas and they were sabotaged before they even got off the ground by ego maniacism. Thank you I will keep you close. I am dyslexic so it takes me a while to get it right. Thank you so much.

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  36. I want to share two thoughts:
    1. Disturbing.
    Like certain edible things have toxins or will upset the stomach. I choose to avoid.

    2. Error.
    A hero does not (necessarily) need a villain.
    Hazardous Adventure and overcoming personal limits are enough drama to entertain a story about the protagonist.

    I think mass media, corporate sponsored entertainment, Cinematic drama has over-influenced the art of story telling.
    Where today in this 21st century, far too many individuals are under the influence of institutional story telling because it is profitable and the simple plot structure elements works.
    Nuanced and non-villainous stories about good people and a good community is now a rare story to be told…

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    1. Interesting comment.to say the least. I agree with every point you made. There are hundreds of great coming-of-age stories in literature. And plenty of people overcoming personal adversity. When I said every hero needs a villain it was simply to start a dialogue about writing villains nothing as profound as you made it out to be. It must be difficult taking everything so seriously. Thankfully, I don’t suffer from that affliction. Thanks for your two cents.

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        1. LOL I don’t read or watch horror or gore. Totally unnecessary. That subject will get me angry. Hollywood force feeds it down our throats. Thanks for the comment..I have several penny jars beside me. LOL

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  37. Wicked is more enjoyable to write than good. I love getting inside the minds of the bad guys…fleshing them out, explaining what makes them tick. Antagonists usually have complicated and horrific backstories, usually more interesting than the protagonists.

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    1. Early Sunday morning, I expect to be here alone. I agree with everything you said. I love writing villains and all of the evil things I wouldn’t dare think of doing. Writers have evolved. Writing a flawed protagonist can be fun, too. I guess any kind of writing can be fun. Thanks for stopping by. Have a magnificent day.

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      1. Everyone has flaws…a protagonist with no flaws is boring, to say the least.
        You enjoy your day as well. As for me, I’m off to work in a bit.
        Kathy

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  38. Gone are the days of the unsympathetic villain! I love it when the so-called “villain” has more layers than just simply being the evil factor in the story. It’s fantastic when the storyteller prompts the reader to question their allegiance between the hero and villain. Then again…I thoroughly enjoy learning about what makes the antagonist tick. The story is very different when seen from their perspective.

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    1. Me too. Thankfully we our villains have evolved from the days cardboard figures. A good writer should find a way to justice the villain’s evil that makes them so much more compelling. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts

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