forum How do you introduce new villains????

Started March 18, 2018 by @Victoria

tune

I have many villains in my story, which I don't want to all come in at once. How can I fit them into the story correctly?

It depends. If all of them have different end goals, then they should probably be introduced gradually throughout the story until ypu've woven them all together. Can you give any brief details about the plot and the different villains?

Well, it's not fully developed, but basically, in the villans, there is one main group, with thousands of people, and in that group of bad people, there are mini-squads of villains (only one of the squads is focused on), which go on separate missions and have different bases, etc… The main group was started by one horrible person, who is still in development, so don't know much about their character yet, who a long time ago force people against their will to join his cause. Which is a bad cause, of course, it's really hard to explain, so I'll just skip that part. But it does create a huge toll on the world and its inhabitants. Now, after generations and generations have passed, more and more of the people from the villain group either think what they are doing is good, or they just are used to being bad. However, there are some people there, who secretly don't agree with the motives, and want freedom from the bad group. Knowing the group's power, they keep that dream to themselves and follow orders (for now). In the squad I focus on for the story, some of the more important members are, Ivan(one of the people who wants to be good), Melissa and Crow (actual, mean villains. For now). There are a LOT of more people in their group, but I don't want to flood the reader with new characters all at once. I don't know how to make someone who is in that same group show up later, without making it seem like they magically appeared into the group. (also, sorry if the villain's plotline is really really cringy, It is nowhere near being finished, lol)

That sounds really cool! I think the way I'd do it is stick with those three you mentioned by name for the first couple of chapters (if you want them to have the primary focus in the story), and then slowly introduce the others by FIRST, having people talk about them, and SECOND, have them come in one by one with something unique and memorable to the reader. That way they know the names ahead of time, and then when comes the time to connect the name to the face, the person is introduced in a memorable way and it's easier to attach the name to them (or at least remember them as a distinct person. Like "Oh! Burning down the orphanage guy!")

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much!!!!! :D It really helps!!!

No problem!

One thing that I did is in the first ‘book’, the villains are more small scale, so like an abusive father, a rude and disobedient lieutenant, etc. but in the second one, the villain is more main (the leader they’re trying to overthrow) but also characters dealing with their insecurities, injuries, losses of friends and family, etc.

That's really smart! Thank you for the advice!

one of my favorite ways to intro a villain is to have them appear and play a part in something minor, can be as simple as accidentally bumping into the main character and having them seem like just a random person, but reveal them as a villain later.

That sounds like a really smart way! It's kind of like foreshadowing. Thanks for the tip!

I think a fun thing to do is to disguise them as supporting characters, or good-natures people. Make the audience kind of connect to them, but also make them say or do things that will make them go "wait, what?" then, reveal the big twist later on. Have another supporting character, say, standing over a dead body, covered in blood and holding a knife, and (if you really want to do) make them get killed for doing so. You can have a small explanation done to the dead body. Also, that's dramatic irony: we know something your MC doesn't, which means its either funny or sadder to watch them fall.

That's so cool! I love the dramatic irony!

Another fun way is not not reveal the main antagonists name. My antagonist forgot his name for a while (his name was Brier) and got called B-27 by the scientists that were studying him. I either just use the male pronoun and put it in italics, or call him B-27. Then, when you want to reveal him all the way, you reveal his name.

Hiiiii!!!!!!!!!!

So I was wondering if I could have a bit of help with my antagonist???? You guys seem pretty helpful.

Of course!

Another fun way is not not reveal the main antagonists name. My antagonist forgot his name for a while (his name was Brier) and got called B-27 by the scientists that were studying him. I either just use the male pronoun and put it in italics, or call him B-27. Then, when you want to reveal him all the way, you reveal his name.

(Also, thanks for the help! That's such an awesome way to reveal an antagonist!)

One thing I love in writing is when the author mentions a name or an event or a place that we don't know about yet. Think about the opening paragraph of "To Kill a Mockingbird:"

"When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."
Harper Lee

We don't know anything at all about the Ewells, or Dill or Boo Radley– they're characters we don't know but are sure to be elaborated on. Try subtly sneaking your unintroduced characters into "casual" conversation, like this.

Person A (Protagonist): "Yeah, I just got a new one, do you like it? It's one of the latest models."
Person B (Supporting Character): It's okay, you know. I heard Person X (someone you have yet to introduce) got a custom designed one."
Person A: "Uh huh, that is so like her– she just has to have the best, doesn't she. (this is where you insert some character trait about Person X)

If you do it right, people won't feel like they're meeting a new character when you introduce Person X– they'll just know that you're expanding on an already existing character.

That's so smart! I would have never thought of that! I love how it opens a spot to introduce the character at any point after them being mentioned without it being too sudden. Thank you for the help! :D