: Re: What to avoid when writing a villain? The villain so far has only appeared in two chapters. However now he's making a return in a chapter which is mostly about him, his actions and his past.

@BetL639

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I second @Mark Baker's answer: Make sure he's not a caricature of villainy. Motivations are critical: Give him motivations that make sense for the story and the characters in it. If he's going to oppose your protagonist (and that's what he's there for), make sure he either wants the same thing for his own valid reasons, or he's pursuing something that causes him to go directly against your protagonist's goals.

I'd also add, make sure he's the hero of his own story. Internally, what he's doing should appear right, good, correct, or whatever, even if it's not in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Like @Mark Baker says, make him a person, with real reasons for doing what he does. Those actions only have to make sense to him, but if you write the character believably and consistently, his madness, obsession, weirdness, or just his reasons for going against your protagonist, will make sense to the reader, even if in reality don't.

Hope that helps some.

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