How to Create the Villain in a Romantic Suspense Novel

The villain in a romance-suspense novel must have a compelling motive.

The romance-suspense novel is nothing new. The genre has been around nearly as long as literature itself. Very often what makes or breaks a novel is not so much the hero or heroine but the villain or antagonist. The heroine can be the typical beauty with a longing heart and a serious mission to meet, subdue or attract the mate of her choice. The reader wants the conflict the heroine meets to be memorable, surprising and satisfyingly concluded. Without a meaty antagonist, that just won't happen.

Instructions

1. 

   "Writing is how you touch someone's heart through his eyeballs." -- Steven James

   Create a backstory for your villain and for each major character prior to beginning writing. A villain who emerges somewhere in the story with no known motive or reason for being antagonistic toward the hero or heroine is not going to satisfy a reader.

2. 

   "A story creates a mental aroma that makes us interested in what comes next." -- Lauren E. Myers

   Write out a scene or explanation regarding the reason for the antagonism that the reader will identify with. Nothing creates more interest or tension in a story than a villain whom the reader can identify with. A satisfying villain is one of whom the reader understands the motives, perhaps even justifying them even if not agreeing with the methods the villain uses to accomplish his goals.

3. 

   Steven James's Ceiling Fan Principle -- "You do not have a story until something goes wrong."

   Create a storyline with more logic than real life. According to Jack M. Bickham in his book "Scene and Structure," fiction should make more sense than real life. In real life, sometimes murderers don't have a motive for killing. Sometimes the love-stricken girl who has suffered through tremendous hardships to attract her one and only from the clutches of the abusive antagonist doesn't succeed.

4. 

   The "Moo-ha-ha" villain is more of a caricature than a character.

   Tone down the "Moo-ha-ha" villain dialogues. The "Moo-ha-ha" villain is a term coined by author Steven James in his "Novel Writing Intensive" seminars. The "Moo-ha-ha" villain speaks and acts like the villain from silent films who ties the damsel to the train tracks and awaits the hero's entrance. Your villain has to speak and act as if she were a real, albeit a bent, person.

5. 

   Isolating your hero or heroine creates more suspense. -- Alfred Hitchcock

   Isolate the protagonist. Your villain should have the authority or power to isolate the heroine from friends, family and support. Alfred Hitchcock believed that by isolating the hero or heroine, he created more danger, dread and suspense. "Rear Window" illustrates this theory, as the main character's isolation and the antagonist's charm lead the hero's friends to wonder whether he is imagining the danger he is in.

6. 

   "As soon as the actual romance happens, the story is over." -- Steven James

   Keep the romance unfulfilled until the end. A romantic story is not about romance -- it's about romantic tension. Once the romance is confirmed with a kiss or a sexual encounter, the tension is over and so is the story. The villain could be a romantic rival or a criminal being pursued by the heroine. Every scene must end in a way that makes it difficult for the reader to reach a comfortable moment at which to insert the bookmark and go to sleep.

7. 

   The twist must be surprising and unpredictable.

   Add a twist to the villain or heroine that the reader won't be expecting. The first few ideas you have will likely be guessed by the reader, and if the reader figures the plot out too early, he will put your book down. The base of the conflict is that either each character wants the same thing but only one can succeed or that what one wants is diametrically opposed to what the other wants and only one can succeed. Perhaps two women want to marry the same man. He wants the heroine, but the villain uses blackmail or other leverage to keep him to herself. Think of a dozen twists to this scenario, and don't use the first five.

References

• "Scene and Structure"; Jack M. Bickham; 1993
• Novel Writing Intensive