Writing Evil

My standards about most things in general aren't exactly stringent; when someone won't eat something, I'm the one stuffing it in my face.

So, when I sank my insouciant teeth into a new library book—praised on the cover by Stephen King—I was surprised to find I didn't like it. 150 pages later, bored and frustrated, I had to put it down.

The book is popular, though; rated well, the author a beloved horror novelist. Later, trying to figure out what enthralled so many others that didn't interest me, I described the book to a friend (the same sharp-witted friend I spoke with about The Drop in my last blog).

“I didn't get it,” I complained. “There were all these mundane details, and then someone finally died and I still didn't give a shit. The killer—was he a vampire? A robot? Garden variety psychopath? And why was he killing people? What did he want?” After I decided to give the book up, I flipped to the middle to find some answers and . . . sigh. I still couldn't find anything. My insouciant teeth were so unsatisfied.

“You wanted a motive,” my friend answered. “Villains are more complicated now, it's not just 'good and evil.' Even the new Joker is complicated, he talks about his messed up past, and he's a comic book character. They're not just monsters in shadows anymore. We expect more from our villains now.”

 She was exactly right! What once were unthinkable beasts—more plot points or parts of the scenery—are now actual characters. Even the most famous monsters—Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, even Satan—are now real characters. Frankenstein's Monster became a character lead (I, Frankenstein), Dracula's story was told (Dracula Untold) and Satan is now Fox's newest primetime hunk (Lucifer).

We want to understand our villains. What does this mean? Are we simply looking for more depth of conflict? Are we examining our own umbra? Are we becoming more empathetic? Where we even seek to understand our killers and criminals?

I'm not sure. Maybe all of the above. In any case, villains are now as important as the heroes. Maybe even more so.

Lastly, a shameless plug; if you want to investigate this villainous complexity more—a concept that continues to absorb me— read my books. Soldier Sons 1: The Ghost of Red Fields is going on sale (FREE!) very soon!