Post by Doris McCraw
writing fiction as Angela Raines
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So what is 'sinspiratioin'? Well, it's what I call my inspiration for most of my antagonists. Perhaps some of you might like to see how my mind works as I develop the best 'villain' I can.
In my first novella, "Home for His Heart", my antagonist, Oliver, came from my work with juvenile delinquents. We had young girls who'd been convinced to work as prostitutes by men who would pretend to love these young girls, many of who were desperate to be loved. We also had a person who was probably a psychopath, and lastly a person who'd killed their best friend and partner in what was defined as a homosexual rage. These traits were used to compose my villain.
In the short story for "Hot Western Nights", one of the antagonists was a land-hungry rancher. Although a common trope in Westerns, I used the man who wanted to buy my great-grandparents property. While he was a really nice man, he was determined to purchase the land. I just made him meaner and a bit larger than life.
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There are also many news articles about crimes and criminals from the 1800s. A retired police officer, and friend, has been compiling the homicides in the newspapers for the Pikes Peak Region and it is a constantly growing resource. I have studied those pages many times. I've drawn on the descriptions of people, their crimes, and how the public perceived them. Sometimes the crimes are exactly what I'm looking for so they end up, with a bit of editing, in my work.
I am looking for a way to create a villain from a compilation of a young man who slept with his girlfriend's sister, and another who felt it was his boss's fault for giving him money to deposit in the bank. (He kept it.) I simply haven't found the right story, yet.
Of all the characters I developed, the villain is probably the easiest for me to create. Not because I'm a bad person, at least most don't think so, but due to my work with delinquents, my research, spending time in cemeteries, and my fascination with human nature. I've always thought, although not always successful in creating, the antagonist is what makes the story worth reading. I do love a juicy villain who believes he's doing no wrong. The person who believes in their own truth.
So how do you find your 'sinspirations'?
Colorado and Women's History
I love villains -- just not the stereotypical ones. When I was growing up, there was a budding serial killer that made life hell for the children in our small town. I am not exaggerating. He killed his best friend's dog, a pretty gentle Collie, just because he wanted to watch something die. It was a matter of time before he killed a human to watch them die. When he was 13 years old, he led two other boys,13 and 12, to rape a little girl 9 years old. Once they raped her, they thought they beat her to death with 2x4s. That little girl was my best friend. She had been to my house for a play afternoon and walked from my yard, across the yard of the neighbor 2 doors away. From there she crossed a vacant lot, then the back of the Pike's home (descendant of Zebulon Pike discovered Pike's Peak). After that she was on her property. We both had made this trek many many times. It could have been me they caught out in the vacant lot. She survived, broken legs, arms, nearly all ribs, her skull bashed in. Lucky for her, she had no memory of the attack. The boy leading it was a doctor's son, scion of society. He was rich, intelligent, and quite beautiful - blond hair and big blue eyes. The face of an angel. So, any time I need a villain, I have inspiration there waiting. I learned villains don't have ugly faces many times. Sometimes they are the most beautiful people and have elitist backgrounds, their beauty and position allowing them to deceive so many. There is no need to default to stereotypical villains
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!!
I am so sorry for your friend, but not surprised it happened given the the history of the instigator.
DeleteYou are correct, villains many times have beautiful faces, and that can make them even more effective.
I thank you for the kind words about the post. Doris
Most welcome. If a villain looks like a villain and is acting like a villain at the start, then I think people would be clued up. It's the beautiful face, the charm that fools people into believe they are going until POW it's too late when you find out what they really are. So this is super blog to make writing think about the villain and how more powerful he/she can be if you really think about who they are.
DeleteGreat post. I so agree that criminals often have a lot of ways to justify their actions, and when they can't they just lie. Either way they seek to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ma'am. Criminals are a fascinating bunch, you just don't trust them. They don't take responsibility, unless it's to manipulate a situation. Doris
ReplyDeleteDoris,
ReplyDeleteI typically draw upon the villainous characteristics I encountered with supervisors and co-workers from my pre-retirement years when I craft a villain's personality. In one of my novels, I rearranged the villain's name and his right-hand-man's name from real school superintendents I had the misfortune to work with. It was cathartic to bring this villain to abject and utter ruin in the story, since I wasn't able to do that to the real person. ;-)
The villain is also the easiest character for me to write. Who knows what that says about our personalities. hahaha
I don't know, Kaye, but... I know what you mean.LOL
DeleteVillains are the meat of a story to me, and when I can draw on actual experiences it does help. Doris
Really interesting, Doris, and I know what you mean about a realistic 'baddie'. I find a hero or heroine needs a strong foil and, as you say, all characters have their own motives that are worth exploring in full.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsay. I love learning how others get to where they do when writing, and thought others might be interested in how I get there.
DeleteLike you, the richer the characters the more I get engaged in the story. Doris
The hero can only be as good as the villain is evil. Villains can be cunning to complement the hero (or heroine). I had one particularly bad female boss who played me dirty...twice. I got my revenge in of my books by making her a down-on-her luck gin-soaker has-been. I often take a trait from people I know/have worked with and combine them with others. What I cannot do very well, yet, is make my villains really evil. I'm too easy on them and by the same token, I don't like to torture my hero too much. Perhaps it's because I'm a Beta person myself, not an Alpha? But it's fun trying. Great post as usual, Doris. You never disappoint.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found the post useful. I do understand 'taking revenge' via the villain in your story. It is therapeutic, isn't it? Doris
DeleteYour posts are always interesting, Doris. I am guilty of using a stereotypical villain at times. Like the others who've commented, I use people who have harmed my family or me to fill in the characteristics of the villain.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Caroline. I'm lucky in the respect that I spent twenty years dealing with behaviours that most would call villainous. At the same time, using people who threatened or harmed those we love, is a great way to get back at them. (Even if they don't know it.) Doris
DeleteI love a good villain. I have 2 favorite types of villains. One is the psychopathic villain who does horrible things to other people for no other reason than for the fun of it. These villains cannot be restrained or changed. The fear that they will harm someone in the story that I care about makes me invest in getting that villain before more harm is done and intensifies the need for the hero and/or hero to bring them down.
ReplyDeleteThe second villain is the one that is motivated by his/her own feelings of pain from a past situation. They may strike out at the main characters because they feel justified, but underneath all that supposed hatred or need for revenge beats the heart of a person who desperately wants to be loved and appreciated. I particularly enjoy when he author writes this villain into a reformed person either within the same story or as a hero with regrets in a second story.
This was such an engaging post, Doris. I apologize for taking so much time to finally get to read it.