Bad Guys part 2

Wow! This post is long over due.

In part one of my post on bad guys, we looked at some of the different kinds of bad guys. In part two of this "series" we will be looking at three things that make a good bad guy. (And yes, I know how contradictory that sounded.)

One - Do not forget to introduce your bad guy.

It would be so cool if all character could have name tags. Imagine it, Captain Hook enters with his beautifully handwritten name tag and everyone knows who it is. Not just bad guys but all characters.

(Using the example of Captain Hook and Peter Pan. Warning: not taken form the real book.)

One of the ways you could do that is to let someone who already knows who Captain Hook is speak.

Example:
Peter Pan gasped, "It's Captain Hook."

That was easy, and now everyone know who he is. Granted, if you want your bad guy to remain a secret for the time being, let it. But don't forget to introduce his when it comes time. Nothing is more annoying than reading a book that expects you to know all the characters.

Two - Every bad guy needs a purpose, fuel, a motive. Why is he doing this? We know that every bad guy has a motivation. Captain Hook wants to kill Peter Pan. Dr. Cuddles (from 'Muddle Earth', a wonderful book!) wants to be ruler of Muddle Earth. The Red Queen, well, just likes saying "Off with her head!"

It may seem like an unnecessary thing to have to figure out before you write. But I promise if you don't know why your bad guy is doing this, neither will your reader.

Three - Depending on the role you give your bad guy, it (being the role) should suit how you want your readers to look at him. You would probably take a different approach at introducing your bad guy if you wanted your readers to pity him, contrary to you wanting your readers to hate your bad guy with a vengeance. So take the time to think about how you want to portray your bad guy.

That is the end of my bad guys "series". I'm afraid if I said I'd do another one it would be awhile before you saw it. ☺

So what so you think makes a good bad guy?

Bad Guys

What would a story be without bad guys? Well, kind of boring. (Although there are some very good story that wouldn't have worked with a bad guy).

Funny enough the bad guys are some of my favorite characters, as long as they are well written. There are many different kinds of bad guys I have found, (from both books I've read and movies I've watched), some of them are:

Power hunger bad guys: Such as Opal from the 'Artemis Fowl' series (a series I will be reviewing). This kind of bad guy is a character that becomes obsessed over power.

No mercy bad guys: Such as Culney the Rat (from Redwall, a wonderful series) or Capricorn from Inkheart. Bad guys who give no mercy and have no hearts.

Annoying bad guys: Everyone has there own 'annoying bad guys' list, and each one is completely different. In my 'annoying bad guy' category is, The Sheriff of Nottingham (from the BBC TV version of Robin Hood) is one of many I have in this category.

Oddball bad guys: I reserved this category for more kid character bad guys, such as the Red Queen (from Alice in Wonderland) and Cinderella's ugly step-mother. A (normally) jealous character that would not bring his/herself to kill, but makes everyone else miserable.

Secret bad guys: Now these bad guys are ones you don't know are bad guys at first. But, of course, their true nature becomes known in the end. I won't give any examples for this category, I would hate to ruin a book someone was planning on reading. ☺

Now a bad guy doesn't have to be in only one of these categories, in fact many are in more than one.

What are some of your favorite bad guys?

Part 2 on bad guys will be coming soon.