A friend of mine writes Historical Fiction books. A knowledgeable mentor of hers taught that villians need to have something "good" about them. In other words, don't make villians one dimensional. An example given was, show the bad guy liking animals. This would be his or her redeeming quality. Consequently, the villian in her latest book keeps having "soft" thoughts about the bad that he is doing.
I understand the concept. But in thinking about it, I don't agree that the villian has to have something good in his character. Sometimes the bad guy can be all bad, but have fascinating traits that intrigue us. I can't really think of a redeeming quality for Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs except for the fact that he doesn't want to kill Clarice. He's a good villian because he's complex and strange. Not because he has goodness down deep.
I understand the concept. But in thinking about it, I don't agree that the villian has to have something good in his character. Sometimes the bad guy can be all bad, but have fascinating traits that intrigue us. I can't really think of a redeeming quality for Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs except for the fact that he doesn't want to kill Clarice. He's a good villian because he's complex and strange. Not because he has goodness down deep.
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