Do villains need a relatable reason for their wrong doing?
It's not necessary, but it can make for an interesting character.
I mean, the Joker's reason was just to cause chaos wasn't it?
Is that relatable?
Not to me, but maybe to some?
Whereas Darth Vader's reason was to become powerful enough to protect those he loved (I think?) - though this got warped somewhat...
Do they need to have a justifiable cause?
Not necessarily.
You could have a villain do bad things because they enjoy seeing others suffer.
While another villain could be doing something to make something better, but the process/goal of doing it comes into conflict with the protagonist/s of the story.
It just depends on the type of villain you want to make.
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Do they need to be fleshed out so that readers can be immersive into the life of the villains?
Not necessarily.
It depends on if you want to make the readers feel conflicted over who to actually support: the hero/protagonist, or the villain/antagonist
Fleshing them out would give them more substance and depth of character, though, making the world you're writing feel more alive.
Do you want to slip into the villains' shoes and understand their story / their feelings?
Ironically, one of the stories I'm writing (not posted) has a villain as one of the MC's in it.
I wanted to see how readers would perceive them as their villainous acts got revealed.
Not written much of it, though.
So, I guess I personally do, but it's not a necessary thing to have a well-written villain.
Some people would rather just read from the protagonist's perspective.
Do the villains' reasons need to be believable from a normal person's perspective?
Hmm...yes?
Though, I suppose it depends on the mental stability of the villain.
As well as what the world/setting of the story is like.
As an example, say the villain is a widow whose partner was brutally tortured/killed by those in power/another country/etc...
That villain plans to kill off those people in the most painful way possible without caring about the collateral damage to innocent people.
They want the world/others to suffer the emotional pain they have.
I'd say that's a fairly believable reason.
It doesn't mean I support it, though.
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Whereas, say the villain is the guardian of a nation who has protected them for decades and is known for being incredibly loyal, kind and caring towards the people living there.
Then they just suddenly kill every person in it without any warning.
When asked by someone later why they did it, they just answer with, "I felt like it."
It feels kind of weak for a reason.
Like, what made them feel like it?
Why the sudden urge?
It just feels so...random.
Especially if they then return to being kind and caring afterwards.
Or maybe that's just my opinion.
Meh.
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