Novel Villains and High Blood pressure

[Mr.Grey-Cat]

So today when I was reading a certain manhwa, I paid attention to a translator's note, and guess what? that guy is suffering high blood pressure, not because of health issues, overworking or anything like that. Instead, the cause for his suffering is that instead of writing Bitch, the translator is actually forcing himself to write the character's official name (even though both words sound similar). And that led me to a question.

Are villains really essential in a story? well, I guess they are. Nevertheless, is it really necessary to make them so annoying and hateful?

I mean, look at SAO where most villains are disgusting, or to Chinese novels where they are plain annoying, and Oh, don't forget josei novels, they have really the worst collection of villains that are disgusting, annoying, and frustrating. So, what is it I am trying to say?

Nothing. I am just feeling curious if villains that force the reader into slamming a phone to the wall are necessary, and what other problems exist in a story with third-rate villains. And also, what type of villains do you prefer? what type do you hate? and what type do you think is safer to use (safer for readers' mental health, that is)?

 

[ModernGold7ne]

So today when I was reading a certain manhwa, I paid attention to a translator's note, and guess what? that guy is suffering high blood pressure, not because of health issues, overworking or anything like that. Instead, the cause for his suffering is that instead of writing Bitch, the translator is actually forcing himself to write the character's official name (even though both words sound similar). And that led me to a question.

Are villains really essential in a story? well, I guess they are. Nevertheless, is it really necessary to make them so annoying and hateful?

I mean, look at SAO where most villains are disgusting, or to Chinese novels where they are plain annoying, and Oh, don't forget josei novels, they have really the worst collection of villains that are disgusting, annoying, and frustrating. So, what is it I am trying to say?

Nothing. I am just feeling curious if villains that force the reader into slamming a phone to the wall are necessary, and what other problems exist in a story with third-rate villains. And also, what type of villains do you prefer? what type do you hate? and what type do you think is safer to use (safer for readers' mental health, that is)?

For me? I compare them to the joker and try to balance using bane.

 

[SailusGebel]

Are villains really essential in a story?

No.

Nevertheless, is it really necessary to make them so annoying and hateful?

No.

what type of villains do you prefer?

A well-written one.

what type do you hate?

A badly-written one.

what type do you think is safer to use (safer for readers' mental health, that is)?

A well-written one is safe to use. If your writing skills are lacking, at least make him okayish in terms of quality.

 

[Esper]

I will say no. But there is a catch, there needs to be adversity, now antagonists (and by extension villains) are the easiest way to bring adversity (or conflict as others prefer), but it doesn't need to be a villain, could be weather, animals, anything really, but there does need to be adversity.

I like the more monster and nature version for my conflicts, as it is more in knowing the rules than knowing the villain. If you know the rules, and think for a bit, you will get your way out.

No.

No.

A well-written one.

A badly-written one.

A well-written one is safe to use. If your writing skills are lacking, at least make him okayish in terms of quality.

This is man sums up your question better than my rambling could. Good on you Sailus.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

No. I feel like it's more about how they are presented than the pov viewpoints we get of them.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Pretty sure people that get thes

Nothing. I am just feeling curious if villains that force the reader into slamming a phone to the wall are necessary, and what other problems exist in a story with third-rate villains. And also, what type of villains do you prefer? what type do you hate? and what type do you think is safer to use (safer for readers' mental health, that is)?

Pretty sure people that get these kind of emotional reactions shouldn't be reading in the first place

 

[ARedFox]

Nope. Spent a whole year in english class learning about conflict in stories and one of the main ones is man vs nature. Also man vs society, self, and some others.

There are also stories that don’t feature a type of conflict as a large part of the story. Stories that are all fluff are a decent example.

And low quality villains do have their place. They are horribly overused but there’s always going to be someone stupid, overly arrogant, annoying, etc. They shouldn’t take the spotlight of main villain. But if everyone had the same mental abilities of well written main villains, how could there be pawns or even main villains in the first place. And to pretend the main villains are the only people who will want to cause issues for a protagonist seems wrong.

 

[LilRora]

I think that many authors confuse antagonist with villain. Villains are absolutely not necessary in stories, but they are just one of the ways of pushing the mc forward (or bringing misery on him, alternatively).

Making the villains completely hateful or plain annoying is a way to make an obstacle for the mc as clear as possible, but in long term it's unoriginal and bores readers. Though making a villain who isn't like that and has real motivations and reasons can be hard.

 

[RavenRunes]

I love a good villain MWAAAAAHAHAHAaaaaa....oops did I laugh like that out loud...?!

You don't need a villainous person. Like others have said, conflict can come from a number of places, even from within the protagonist themselves. Many people can be their own worst enemy. But, there is a large cosy place in my heart for the trad Dark Lord, got a right soft spot for Dark Lords me, even though they clearly ought to be able to hire better henchmen and are completely inept, I mean it's almost endearing how incompetent the poor loves are. Massive fortresses, armies of monsters, thousands of years of elevated god-magic at their fingertips...and still get brought down by two little hobbits. So unfair.

I particularly like it when the person or thing set up to be the villain or conflict, turns out not to be, and the protagonist is the one cocking things up for everybody.

 

[Temple]

Since this is SH, I'm going to answer that with writing web novels in mind. There's a reason why most web novel villains are really annoying. What's the usual structure for web novels? Power fantasy. OP MC trashing everyone. It's very, very normal in Chinese web novels (and their web novel market dwarfs our English market) for the OP MC to massacre the entire clan of an arrogant asshole who trash-talked him. Now, if you give a sad backstory on why the villain is an asshole, maybe an abused childhood, then it looks really, really bad for the MC to massacre him and his entire bloodline.

You also mentioned Josei. Their story structure is basically a Cinderella story, right? Bitches stepping on the MC, for the MC to rise above them later? Let's just use Cinderella then. If you gave the stepmother and stepsisters more nuance and backstory rather than be outright bitches, then the story would change.

Are they necessary? Not sure why you're asking that question. Are they what the readers want? Yeah. Specific genres come with required villains. Note that the famous version of Cinderella was written in the 17th century. You can say that was Josei back then. Same structure now in the age of internet and web novels, same bitches, same MC starting from dirt. Authors provide what readers want. If you see something prevalent, it's because there's a huge demand for it.

By the way, I'm writing unconventional villains, and I do recognize the fact that my web novels won't have a large audience.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Villains are totally not necessary. Conflict is, tho.
And conflict can be anything.

Does a good villain enhance your story? Yes.

Does it need to be a "villainous" villain? Nope.

It can be anything from a big mean stone to an evil intergalactic empire as long as it fits the story and is in conflict with your characters.

My main conflict is about 'siblings' competing (about who is faster in taking over a continental superpower to kill an immortal pseudo-god). It's actually more about the way than the goal, tho.

If your villain is a rock that is in your way it can still be a better villain than an evil overlord.

 

[kokiboki]

So today when I was reading a certain manhwa, I paid attention to a translator's note, and guess what? that guy is suffering high blood pressure, not because of health issues, overworking or anything like that. Instead, the cause for his suffering is that instead of writing Bitch, the translator is actually forcing himself to write the character's official name (even though both words sound similar). And that led me to a question.

Are villains really essential in a story? well, I guess they are. Nevertheless, is it really necessary to make them so annoying and hateful?

I mean, look at SAO where most villains are disgusting, or to Chinese novels where they are plain annoying, and Oh, don't forget josei novels, they have really the worst collection of villains that are disgusting, annoying, and frustrating. So, what is it I am trying to say?

Nothing. I am just feeling curious if villains that force the reader into slamming a phone to the wall are necessary, and what other problems exist in a story with third-rate villains. And also, what type of villains do you prefer? what type do you hate? and what type do you think is safer to use (safer for readers' mental health, that is)?

I prefer the smexy hot ones.

 

[Viator]

In my opinion, the best villains are both terrible and relatable. They make you recognize the uncomfortable thought that you could become a villain too.