Villains? Realistic or Cruella-er the better?

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HALLIE EPHRON: Many of us who like to read (and write) crime fiction are fascinated by villains. (This lovely young woman is Lizzie Borden.)

Do we think of our villains as criminal masterminds? As misguided mortals under the influence? Delusional maniacs??

When I was writing my first mystery series (the Dr. Peter Zak mysteries) and coauthoring them with a real-life forensic neuropsychologist, I asked him (Donald Davidoff) about the defendants he evaluated and testified on behalf of in court.

He said that, based on his experience, the average criminal defendant is a "poor schlub," not a criminal mastermind. In out of their depth. Wrong place, wrong time...

Last week's news about the heist of crown jewels at the Louvre seems to bear that out. Reporting in the New York Times called the thieves "sloppy" after pulling off what seemed like a well-planned robbery in one of the world’s most famous museums in broad daylight."

Apparently in beating their hasty retreat, they left behind a mountain of incriminating evidence. A glove. A jeweled crown that they dropped on their way out. The truck that they tried unsuccessfully to set on fire. All told, the evidence yelded 150 forensic samples.

All of that led to arrests of suspects whose DNA was already on file because of their criminal histories.

Today's question: How do you think of your villains – as brilliant and evil, fatally flawed, or poor schlubs?

RHYS BOWEN: I think the villain is often the most interesting character. I rarely create evil people, true villains. I’m more interested in what would make an ordinary person, you or me, be backed into a corner so desperately that killing is the only way out. 

I often feel sorry for them and regret when they are caught at the end of the book.

I’ve never written a true criminal master mind, the sort who delights in evil, like we have learned about some of the Nazis in WWII, smiling as they operate without anesthetic. 

I’m actually trying to remember if I’ve ever written a truly bad person. I’d say it was fear more than anything that makes my villains kill. Fear of being found out. Or sometimes a warped sense of entitlement. 

But no Doctor Evils for me. Although a caper with some inept jewel thieves would be delicious to write!

JENN McKINLAY: Great question, Hallie. I tend to focus on my victims. They’re not characters that I’m sad to see go. 

The villain, however, is usually as Rhys mentioned someone who’s ordinary but in a situation where they think murder is the only way out. 

Of course, that makes them as bad as the person they murdered, so… I do think most criminals are dumb. That’s why they get caught.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I never know who the bad guy is at the beginning, I just see who evolves based on what they want, and how far they will go to get it, and what will happen if they fail. Are they “bad’? No, they just want something, and think it’s the right and good and fair thing for them to want.

Some guy who robs a bank because it’s an easy way to get money is gonna get caught. And my villains don’t do things like that. So my villains are not schlubs, they are smart people who think the rules don't apply to them. And that they deserve to have what the want. Because they have been wronged somehow. That the world has been unfair to them, and now it’s their turn.

Are they criminal masterminds? Never. I’m trying to think if there really is such a thing, outside of the comics.

Possibly in the corporate world?

LUCY BURDETTE: What Rhys said about wondering what drives a person to the most extreme act hit home for me. 

I don’t start with a villain, but I do start with the inciting event that launches the story–and that of course leads to the villain. Villains are my writing weakness, so I’m always working on filling them out. Why? Why? Why?

Hank’s comments led me to thinking about politics today, how polarized we are, and how certain each side is that their view is right. I think we can take a lesson for our villains from that!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: When my hubby worked in law enforcement he always said that most of the criminals they dealt with were really stupid. I suspect we don't know much about the ones who aren't stupid, because they don't get caught.

I don't generally write villains as evil masterminds. They can be caught up in an obsession, or unable to see any other way out of a predicament–usually of their own making.

HALLIE: I think the one thing we have in common is we agree with that old saw, "The villain is the hero of their own story." What they do has to make some kind of SENSE to them, and grow out of something in their past that they're trying to "get right this time." (Just like our protagonists.) 

But the truth is, writing the villain as an ordinary guy just isn't that compelling.

Do you like to read villains that are realistically drawn, or larger than life and scary?