March 22nd, 2014
VILLAINS
Do you need them? When do you use them, and what is the most
diabolical type of villain to you?
Every mystery/thriller needs a villain or a perp as they are
called in ‘police speak’.
The perpetrator is as necessary to the plot of a mystery or
a thriller as sunshine to a plant.
In the romance genre too, the TV show Dynasty is a great
example of how necessary villains are… Krystle Carrington seemed all the nicer
when she was constantly battling Alexis’ ploys.
His or her wickedness throws the hero and heroine into sharp
relief, draws the reader into the story and has him or her cheering for the
main protagonist, the hero or heroine and hoping they will win.
In the young adult mystery series I’m writing: The Green and Gold Mystery Series, the first
three books, January, February (out now) and March (upcoming) have villains that are introduced
early in the story.
They are used throughout the story and add richness to the mysteries.
In ‘The Green and Gold Mystery Series: February’ (now available on Amazon.com), there
is a unique twist on the perps.
Instead of being the usual dastardly criminal minds, they
were people one can’t help liking. They
were funny, endearing and have troubles of their own.
Was I channeling Arsenic and Old Lace, a favorite movie of
mine when I wrote this book? I think
so. Though there are no murders involved
in this mystery, the sisters do challenge the readers’ imaginations and the
story has an unusual ending.
The most diabolic type of villains to me are the ones in the
following psych thrillers,
A Perfect Murder
and
Along Came a Spider.
I love psych thrillers in which villains are disguised as
good guys/gals and keep us guessing till the very end ‘whodunit’.
Please visit the next blog in the Round Rhobin for more:
Please visit the next blog in the Round Rhobin for more:
Yeah, psychologically damaged killers and villains are hard to beat for drama. Thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteAs I'm reading these blogs, I'm discovering that I have indeed created more villains than I thought. My problem was every time I pictured one when writing my own post, I saw someone like Snidely Whiplash, twirling his moustache. Although I do use time, space, and life to create obstacles in my stories, I do have some pretty key villains I managed to overlook. When you write western historical--my main genre--you usually have some guy with a gun slung low on his hip looking for trouble. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Geeta, I'm doing this shared round robin for the first time and really enjoying reading about everyone's villains and approach to creating them. Anne Stenhouse
ReplyDeleteI agree also, that the insane villains are the creepiest, because they don't see what they do as wrong. There's nothing like a villain who thinks he/she is acting normal, while they cook and eat your brains with some fava beans and a good chianti! Yikes! I'm the one in the audience yelling for the heroine to go hide under the bed! I'd NEVER be the one to "open the door" just to see who's behind it!
ReplyDeleteI feel like a broken record. LOL I don't think every story needs a villain. Challenging situations that require overcoming? Yes, but not necessarily villains. That being said, there are genres that require villains: mysteries, suspense, thrillers, sci-fi, and fantasy, to name a few. Are they necessary in romance? No. I've read very successful romances that don't necessarily have villains.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I can enjoy a good villain when they are good.
Marci
Insane villains keep me on edge. Marathon Man is a classic study for truly Evil villains.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Geeta, I am very careful in my children and YA novels also. I am looking forward to your March release.
Love your evil mask. And I liked your point about the villain's wickedness throws the hero and heroine into sharp relief and draws the reader into the story and has him or her cheering for the main protagonist, the hero or heroine. Good post.
ReplyDelete