Villains can be the best part of a book, tv series, film or game. Would Avengers: Infinity War be the same without Thanos? Would Final Fantasy 7 be as popular without Sephiroth? Would Harry Potter be interesting without Voldemort? The answer might be yes, but they are made so much greater with a strong villain, an evil force for our heroes to do battle with. But in real life, most people don’t have an arch-nemesis. There is no great evil that threatens to destroy the planet, and no I’m not bringing any political views into this. We do, however, have heels, thorns or just genuine arseholes that cause us pain, grief and general annoyance. These are not villains, but obstacles in our lives and it is likely, in face I would say it would be unrealistic if not, that your main character also faces similar obstacles. Mr Collins from Pride and Prejudice is a good example. He is not villainous but causes a lot of trouble for Elizabeth. An obstacle allows you to show how your main character reacts in difficult situations. In Elizabeth’s case, she quite simply rejects Mr Collins, often messing with him and mocking the delusional clergyman. Personally, I enjoy Mr Collins’ character, but he is unlikeable and I would definitely not want to spend too much time with him. What about Harry Potter? It is no doubt that Voldemort is the Villain, and Dolores Umbridge is sometimes seen as even worse. But then there is Draco Malfoy. Is he a villain? While he does oppose our hero, he is not out for world domination or to kill Harry, at least initially, so should be seen as a recurring obstacle for Harry. Again, a fun character to read but it is so satisfying seeing him get his comeuppance. He had that punch coming.
I think finding the line between just an unlikeable character and a villain is a tricky one, in fact this can be something you use in your novel. Something can push a just unlikeable, mean character into villain territory when they take something one step too far. Cersei Lannister I wouldn’t have considered to be the villain at the start of “A Song of Ice and Fire” but, as the story progresses, she takes the step from unlikeable to villain in quite an explosive way. This allows for either a fun twist or, even better, the slow build up where the reader can see the character morph and twist until they make the final villainous step.
Being unlikeable is something we can all associate with, and I mean this as in we all have experiences with unlikeable people (I’m sure all two of my readers are wonderful people). We deal with them on a daily basis, ranging from an annoying customer at a shop to a unlikeable partner of a best friend. What makes them unlikeable? Are they slobby, petty, rude, fake, arrogant, a poor listener, negative, grumpy, a liar, racist, foul-mouthed, vulgar, a tattletale, I can go on. Sometimes all it takes can be just one of these traits to make you dislike someone, so I’m sure you know someone who fits this agenda. I would say obviously don’t give just one trait to a recurring character, but for a minor obstacle one will do.
Give a think to what makes you tick, and does that relate to your MC? A fun little experiment that helps build up the characters you write that I would say is well worth doing.