Scottish laird, Australian journalist - and villain at work
https://books2read.com/Dancing-the-Reel
Enter villains.
In such a romance, the main characters are heading to a 'happy ever after'. or at least, a 'happy for the time being', and the role of the villain is to set them apart. This troublemaker has a single-minded personal agenda, a motivation for interfering with their developing relationship. On an early draft of Dancing the Reel a critique suggested that the character I'd built as the villain needed redemption. I was surprised, and had no idea how to redeem her without compromising most of the plot. However, having considered this, I decided that as she was such an unsympathetic personality totally focused own her own ambition and attempting to walk over everyone in her way, redemption would be misplaced. In fact, the very suggestion of it led me to strengthen her personality, actions and dialogue, so that, while still credible within the story, this villain is unlikeable. Ultimately, she fulfilled her necessity to the plot, so I wrote her out in a tactic pertinent to her behaviour and preferred lifestyle. And the hero and heroine eventually arrived at their 'happy ever after'.
Wishing you lots of enjoyable reading, Priscilla
https://priscillabrownauthor.com
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I always loved a good villain. Especially in sci-fi and fantasy, with or without romance. It's fun to get into the villain's frame of mind... and sometimes therapeutic. As for the reader, it's also fun to focus on hating unlikeable characters. It adds tension to the story.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, some villains just have to go by the end! But....these things must be done delicately (cur cackle!)! Great post, thanks!
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ReplyDeleteAll is not roses even in romance. Having a villain adds to the intensity and makes the reader keep reading to find out what happens next. Love This.