The Bad Guy

We all love our main characters. What about the bad guy? Is he or she just about moving the plot of the story along, or are they the central theme of the story? Do they bring out the weaknesses and strengths of our main characters? What would our tales be like without them?

That is an easy question to answer. Our stories would be dried up, mathematical equations of who-dun-its, or colorless adventures that no one would bother reading. We can tell a story without a villain. But can we show a story without them? No.

The literary axe-murderer or evil seducer is necessary to highlight our main character's humanity. How they react to the demon's call and the magnetic pull of evil portrayed by our contrasting characters brings interest and depth to our hero or heroine. You cannot have good without evil. Bad brings good out of the shadows and creates conflict and tension.

I have a favorite bad guy named Jake. Jake is a charming, handsome, womanizer who will do anything to convince a woman he can't live without her. He will pursue the most saintly woman and turn her into his own personal whore just to see if he can. Jake is married, has another side-chick and pursues my main character to the gates of Hell and back. There is more to this fellow than his evil intentions though. There always is. Hurt people hurt people, is the saying that represents this man.

His need to sexually conquer women comes from a deep seated fear of being used and discarded. So he must be the one doing the using and tossing. My main character is so accustomed to being used and discarded that Jake's personality is simply another challenge that she must rise to. She works harder every time Jake presents her with another obstacle to obtaining his love for herself. She twists and turns with his moods to be there for him, while he makes frequent trips to see his wife and side-chick.

She surprises him with her tenacity and her endurance in taking his abuse and she pulls him in, despite himself. We see all sides of the main character, as she navigates this mine-field love affair. In the end she decides this man is simply not worth it and surprises everyone by discarding him. Without this evil character, our heroine would not have grown. The story would have been wooden and empty. Simply a tale of someone traveling from here to yon with no color, no conflict, no sexual or emotional energy.

The villain makes the story.