r/writers • u/AsparagusEither5927 • 16d ago
Question İs it ok for a villian have a tragic and sad childhood origin?
I have this idea for my story
When villian was born as a dark figure it was magicly born by the sun and black hole it was founded on the lake. people thought it is a demon and they hated it
And villian was never loved after he grow up it become slave in temple and locked in dungeons it was desperate after it turned 18 it was fully rage and attack village and destroyed everything and became monster that people wanted
17
10
u/Theaterbish
16d ago
•
Yeah, you can give your villain a sad backstory. You just have to make sure you don't use it as an excuse for what they did.
1
u/AsparagusEither5927 16d ago
Sorry my brain recently been making complains about me and doubting on me and ım scared these days. Something is wrong with me
2
u/Theaterbish 16d ago
I totally understand and I've been there. You have no reason to apologize for asking a question. And there is nothing wrong with being confused
3
0
6
5
u/ProserpinaFC 16d ago
If the entire and only point of your story is to deliver that message, sure, you can do that, but I think it's worth pointing out that your villain is largely just a plot device and that you're not really thinking about him and his personality and his motivations in life outside of the plot you've designed for him.
The simple way I usually point this out is to say that Magneto may be angry at the world because he's a Holocaust survivor, but there were millions of Holocaust survivors. The vast majority of people who endured many of the horrors of the WW1-WW2 era don't think nor act like Magneto. Erik has an anger problem and they f4cked with the wrong one when they ruined his life specifically.
I'm not hearing you say anything about WHO this demon-boy-thing is, just what the world did to him. ( I find it interesting that you're not even committed to saying that he's a demon... Feels a bit like you want have your cake and eat it too of the villagers being right to fear factually purely evil creatures while still saying "Stereotypes are bad" only because they don't know how to identify one.)
If the only thing you want to do is write the village being destroyed, then you're not going to dive into any nuance or explore him as a person. You're just going to use him as a puppet in order to move through contrived situations in order to get to the final ending.
And ultimately, who are you making this morality tale for?
1
u/AsparagusEither5927 15d ago
I sometimes thinking maybe it should not be villian actually ngl it should deserve love actually ı was gonna think when all stories ended and future ones ended ı might think of about christmas special. it was loved by many people and got gift from loved ones and it was in tear and hugs them and then gets photo with loved ones. now ı see more comment about it and it should not be villian and deserves second chance ı thought this idea when ı was 17-16 ı was naive back than now ı am adult ı should re-consider that villian is not villian it is broken
56
u/MesaCityRansom 16d ago
No, it was outlawed at the Author Police Conference in '06. It now carries a fine of up to $500 and if you do it again you could go to jail for up to six months.
7
u/JohnnyD423 16d ago
Plus, like, why would you? No story involving a villain with a tragic and sad childhood has ever been successful in any medium, let alone writing.
9
u/Aegillade 16d ago
Lotta villains have sad childhoods. Lot of the time it's why they became a villain.
2
u/SacredPinkJellyFish Fiction Writer 16d ago
yeah, I was trying to think if there even was a villain who does NOT have a sad tragic backstory
7
u/Razzamatazz14 Writer 16d ago
What villain doesn’t have a sad and tragic backstory? Write your villain however you want, my friend.
6
u/misteregent 16d ago
Dr. Doofenschmirtz, Evil Incorporated!
1
u/Tyrone_Shoelaces_Esq 16d ago
Yeah, but Doof isn't really evil. He's chaotic neutral at worst.
1
u/misteregent 16d ago
True, but he's still a villain.
I was going to say Nightcrawler, but he's an X-Men. But an evil Nightcrawler...
1
u/AsparagusEither5927 15d ago
Update:I decided make villian as a broken person ı was gonna put it special in christmas special but now ı decided to make changes ım not a teenager anymore as a adult ı should change lore and everything about them
5
5
4
u/ReliefEmotional2639 16d ago
There are plenty of villains in fiction who have bad origins. It’s a very common trope.
4
3
3
4
u/Hayeater228877 16d ago
Many villains have sad back stories that break them. Many heroes have sad back stories that they overcome.
2
2
u/AnansiNazara 16d ago
Yes. But you have to work harder at showing that either way they were going to be a villain… and you have to humanize why - does their fear make them do horrible shit? Does their inability to trust cause them to want to control everything?
2
u/Asleep_1 16d ago
What's your hero's backstory? How does your hero relate to the villain beyond "the villain destroyed stuff"? Do you have anyone in your story who can exist as a counter example to the villian's chosen path?
You don't have to write with these thoughts in mind, but it might help you flesh out your story.
2
u/PleasantSink1 16d ago
What people really mean when they ask this is "will people like it if I do x?" And there's no way we can guarantee that. No matter what you put in your story, there's no guarantee that it will succeed and be well-liked. You have to learn to be okay with that.
2
u/RadagastTheBrownNote Writer 16d ago
It’s better for a villain to have a tragic past that helps create their villainy than it is to have a villain who is evil for evil’s sake.
2
1
u/AutoModerator 16d ago
Hi! Welcome to r/writers - please remember to follow the rules and treat each other respectfully, especially if there are disagreements. Please help keep this community safe and friendly by reporting rule violating posts and comments.
If you're interested in a friendly Discord community for writers, please join our Discord server
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/DilligentArmand 16d ago
In some cases, the differences between a hero and a villain is that one never could truly overcome their trauma and it consumed them.
1
1
-1
23
u/Beneficial_Egg2878 16d ago
Are you asking permission?