tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post8577233224054614863..comments2023-05-11T05:27:38.755-04:00Comments on Naughty Author Chicks: How Do You Take Your Villains?Cindy Spencer Papehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01583236494759465431noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-90594333290259922452010-01-19T10:00:30.410-05:002010-01-19T10:00:30.410-05:00I just have to ditto what everyone else has said. ...I just have to ditto what everyone else has said. Villain turned hero are my favorite ones to write and read about. :)Stephanie Adkinshttp://www.stephanieadkins.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-28554988227085773302010-01-19T06:51:06.009-05:002010-01-19T06:51:06.009-05:00Michelle - characters suffering is always good;-)
...Michelle - characters suffering is always good;-)<br /><br />Naima - Loved Die for Me. Karen Rose writes such great psycho villains.Wynterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13611293420659353094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-80096493046353844032010-01-18T23:33:07.107-05:002010-01-18T23:33:07.107-05:00Hi, Wynter!
My favorite is like the villian Denzil...Hi, Wynter!<br />My favorite is like the villian Denzil Washington portrayed in "Training Day". For a while there you didn't know whether he was good or bad. As a cop you saw him committing these acts that were in the grey area of right and wrong--wrong but could be excused since the means justified the end. But even when you figured out he was crooked, you still kind of found yourself rooting for him. <br /><br />And then I love reading psycho villians who have their own reasons for being evil and it's up to me to figure out why. I'm reading Karen Rose's "Die For Me" and he is a certified nut and it's in the pursuit of perfect art. So he kills people to achieve it. His motivation is so perverse and sick that it captivates me! <br /><br />I completely agree that the villians are often harder to writer than the hero and heroine. And just as much fun to create!!<br /><br />Great post!!Naima Simonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12269175037270984886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-84773587046735413582010-01-18T22:51:12.052-05:002010-01-18T22:51:12.052-05:00Wynter,
I also love villain turned hero, but my fa...Wynter,<br />I also love villain turned hero, but my favorite are villains that are morally ambivalent. I'm not sure I'm describing that correctly, but I like my bad guys with enough good inside them to keep the readers guessing. With some sort of motivation for which readers can be sympathetic, although the bad guys choices cannot ultimately be condoned. It's the opposite side of the coin from the bad boy hero that is ultimately redeemed. Instead, the villain may never be redeemed, but the complexity to them as they're defeated makes the heartwrenching tragedy of it even greater. This can act as contrast to the successful growth the h/h may experience and the pay off when they have a happily ever after but have suffered to reach it. I guess I just like suffering (grin). Okay, I better stop now.Michelle Polarishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03717774498289472190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-58329154472197349682010-01-18T14:44:45.324-05:002010-01-18T14:44:45.324-05:00Katie - I love, love, love writing the villain tur...Katie - I love, love, love writing the villain turned hero.<br />Terry - I haven't read Barry Eisler yet, but now I will - thanks. I totally agree about the cardboard villain - boring and unconvincing.Wynterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13611293420659353094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-39108025545493856322010-01-18T12:38:43.128-05:002010-01-18T12:38:43.128-05:00I've been reading series mystery lately, with ...I've been reading series mystery lately, with a good number of "anti-heroes" as protagonists. They have their own code, and do what's right. It takes some skill to make an assassin the hero of a book, but Barry Eisler does it well. And Lee Child's Jack Reacher is certainly not your typical 'hero'. <br /><br />A purely "bad" villain is a cardboard character. They have to think they're the hero, even if you're making them a 'real' villain. <br /><br />Hero and heroine in conflict is always a good story.Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295035878432187803.post-73897758356600304572010-01-18T12:15:29.613-05:002010-01-18T12:15:29.613-05:00I'm like you, I love all sorts of villains, bu...I'm like you, I love all sorts of villains, but villain turned hero is fun to read and write!Savannah Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07923140305202250794noreply@blogger.com