I've talked about villains before, but now, I'm going to cover the most common villain clichés I have seen, both in fanfiction, and original fiction. While clichés aren't necessarily bad per se, they can make your story extremely predictable, if you don't put your own spin on them. So, here are the most common villain clichés, and how you can avoid them. With that in mind, here we go!
1.) The Generic Douchebag
This cliché is most common in Pokémon fanfictions. This villain is a just an all-round, terrible person, who probably rips the heads off of newborn lillipups, and eats live eevees for snacks in his free time. He will usually be seen beating up, or abandoning, a desirable pokemon, simply because he deems it weak. Yawn. Where's the real villain motivation with this guy?
How to avoid: It's all well and good if you want your character to take in a pokemon who was abandoned by this villain, but give him some real motivation, please. What does he have to gain from beating up insert-pokemon-here? What legitimate reason does he have for abandoning insert-pokemon-here? Did they evolve into something he didn't want? Did they refuse to obey his orders at a critical time? Did he fail at something important thanks to said pokemon? Get creative.
2.) The Popular Girl
Think Regina from Mean Girls. Now clone her, and put her in every teen book, movie, and fanfiction ever. This villain is a nasty, catty girl, who never stops gossiping, and looks down on everyone except for her little band of followers, especially the protagonist, for no good reason. If a pokemon trainer, she usually has a generic team of cute pokemon, or ones that the author doesn't like. She is also probably a girly-girl, and is villainized even more for being one.
How to avoid: Again, you need motivation for this villain. Why does she hate your protagonist more than anyone else? And why does she have to be a girly-girl? Villain or not, she should not be shamed for liking skirts and dresses. Why can't she be a nasty, mean girl who likes videogames? Why can't she be a mean girl who wears jeans and hoodies? Originality matters.
3.) The Evil Overlord
This villain appears in virtually every YA fantasy. They do evil things, and have evil henchmen, and they hate the protagonist. Why? Because they're EVIL. They might also kill henchmen for no good reason, or open fire on civillians, or other generic crap.
How to avoid: Give them a realistic goal, and a plan which isn't totally convoluted. If they want a certain object, or pokemon, how can they get it, without expending too many resources and men, and without being caught? Why would they need to open fire on civillians, or kidnap people, especially if it doesn't bring them any further to their goal?
4.) The Abusive Parent
The parent who routinely beats, berates, or even sexually abuses the protagonist. They are sometimes so over-the-top bad that it's almost comical, and will do cruel things just for the protagonist to angst about later in the story, usually in the arms of their love interest.
How to avoid: Recognise that abuse comes in many different forms, and those who do it usually have some form of personality disorder, or abuse substances like drugs or alcohol. Choosing a personality disorder, or addiction for the villain will allow you to research, and accurately portray what the children of these parents go through. For example, a narcissistic parent may have a favourite, or 'golden child', whom they see as an extension of themselves, and will spoil them. They often also have a scapegoat, another child who is treated with abuse and disgust, because they are not like them, or might challenge their delusion that the golden child is perfect, while they are a monster. RESEARCH THIS BEFORE YOU WRITE IT.
Now, that's all I have for today! Go write!
1.) The Generic Douchebag
This cliché is most common in Pokémon fanfictions. This villain is a just an all-round, terrible person, who probably rips the heads off of newborn lillipups, and eats live eevees for snacks in his free time. He will usually be seen beating up, or abandoning, a desirable pokemon, simply because he deems it weak. Yawn. Where's the real villain motivation with this guy?
How to avoid: It's all well and good if you want your character to take in a pokemon who was abandoned by this villain, but give him some real motivation, please. What does he have to gain from beating up insert-pokemon-here? What legitimate reason does he have for abandoning insert-pokemon-here? Did they evolve into something he didn't want? Did they refuse to obey his orders at a critical time? Did he fail at something important thanks to said pokemon? Get creative.
2.) The Popular Girl
Think Regina from Mean Girls. Now clone her, and put her in every teen book, movie, and fanfiction ever. This villain is a nasty, catty girl, who never stops gossiping, and looks down on everyone except for her little band of followers, especially the protagonist, for no good reason. If a pokemon trainer, she usually has a generic team of cute pokemon, or ones that the author doesn't like. She is also probably a girly-girl, and is villainized even more for being one.
How to avoid: Again, you need motivation for this villain. Why does she hate your protagonist more than anyone else? And why does she have to be a girly-girl? Villain or not, she should not be shamed for liking skirts and dresses. Why can't she be a nasty, mean girl who likes videogames? Why can't she be a mean girl who wears jeans and hoodies? Originality matters.
3.) The Evil Overlord
This villain appears in virtually every YA fantasy. They do evil things, and have evil henchmen, and they hate the protagonist. Why? Because they're EVIL. They might also kill henchmen for no good reason, or open fire on civillians, or other generic crap.
How to avoid: Give them a realistic goal, and a plan which isn't totally convoluted. If they want a certain object, or pokemon, how can they get it, without expending too many resources and men, and without being caught? Why would they need to open fire on civillians, or kidnap people, especially if it doesn't bring them any further to their goal?
4.) The Abusive Parent
The parent who routinely beats, berates, or even sexually abuses the protagonist. They are sometimes so over-the-top bad that it's almost comical, and will do cruel things just for the protagonist to angst about later in the story, usually in the arms of their love interest.
How to avoid: Recognise that abuse comes in many different forms, and those who do it usually have some form of personality disorder, or abuse substances like drugs or alcohol. Choosing a personality disorder, or addiction for the villain will allow you to research, and accurately portray what the children of these parents go through. For example, a narcissistic parent may have a favourite, or 'golden child', whom they see as an extension of themselves, and will spoil them. They often also have a scapegoat, another child who is treated with abuse and disgust, because they are not like them, or might challenge their delusion that the golden child is perfect, while they are a monster. RESEARCH THIS BEFORE YOU WRITE IT.
Now, that's all I have for today! Go write!