Hiding Your Villain in Plain Sight

By Teasha Lynn

There are many ways to write a good villain. Sometimes, their evil doings are out in the open, ready for the reader to hate. But equally compelling is the villain who double-crosses your protagonist. Hiding your bad guy among your hero’s allies can require more planning. But when it is done right, it can leave your reader on edge, questioning which characters they can trust. It can be very satisfying as a writer if your audience loves your villain before they learn to hate them. Here are some tips and tricks to help camouflage your antagonist.  

Not every villain needs to be sympathetic, but they should always be realistic. A good way to add realism is to plan your characters out. It is important to know what kind of reaction your antagonist is going to invoke. Do they strike fear from the start? Will they tug on heartstrings? Or will they make your reader squirm with their sly, despicable ways? Answering these questions can help you plan your villain’s actions and reactions. If they are hiding their true nature, it should show. Have them openly lie about seemingly small things. Make them create emotional walls, so your protagonist is unable to get too close. It is also important to give them slip-ups in their deceit. Maybe they lose track of what lies they have told to a certain character. Or they let their true temper show for a split second. These should be small things that give the audience something to find upon multiple readings.

A villain in disguise is still a bad guy at heart. So, do not be afraid to make them a little mean. If your antagonist is too nice, it can make your reveal seem unnatural or out of character. Give them a stressful scene where they can snap or say something cruel. They can upset your hero in one scene and come back with a “heartfelt” apology a few scenes later. Lay the groundwork cleverly by carefully planning out the dialogue between your hero and villain. By doing this, you give your character depth and make their switch to evil make sense. You can effectively hide manipulative behaviors as relatively innocent character flaws. You can lull your readers and heroes into a false sense of security, letting them trust the villain more. Once these character flaws are established, you can start slowly nudging them down a darker path. The closer your villain gets to their goal, the more unhinged you can make them. 

You should have a good timeline of your villain’s plan. Have them set up situations that make them look better while they are gaining the hero’s trust. Know where you are going to sprinkle in your seeds of doubt. But the most important timing to get right is the betrayal itself. Make a moment where the good guys desperately need the villain’s help. Set up a moment of triumph that your villain can viciously steal away. Adding real, steep consequences for your main characters makes all the groundwork you did worth it. This all comes down to planning. What is your antagonist going to take away? Whose life is at stake because of the betrayal? Make that moment seem like there is no time for the protagonist to react, giving them more to discuss in later dialogue. Let the emotions hit hard and continue to build as the story goes on. 

The final step is the fallout of the reveal. Do not be afraid to break your heroes down to their lowest point. Do not move on to the next plan too quickly. By showing your good guys can be misled and hurt, you make them more relatable. Let your characters sit with the desperation, heartbreak, and dread that come with being stabbed in the back. This negativity does not have to last forever, but the consequences should still mean something. The more realistic agony your heroes feel, the more your reader will feel it. If you don’t make your readers sit with the uncomfortable emotions of the betrayal, you lose the impact of the story. The more the villain’s treachery hurts, the more triumphant the hero’s rise will be.    

Teasha Lynn

Teasha Lynn is new to the writing world. This will be her first publication Since childhood, she has had a great passion for literature. Now, she is taking a risk to find a career within her life-long love. When she is not building her skill as an author, she finds joy in video games and the outdoors. She grew up in an extremely close-knit family. Teasha is dedicating her first published work to her two little sisters-Ceysha Maree, and Alee Ahn. It is through their unconditional love that Teasha found the courage to chase her dreams.

Check out some of Teasha Lynn’s villians in Collective Tales Publishing’s upcoming horror anthology Darkness 101: Lessons Were Learned.