Bad boys, bad boys

Once upon a time we all knew bad guys wore black hats. The baddie rode into town and was rude and offensive and bullied everyone. He had slitty eyes and an eat-my-dirt demeanor.

Fast forward to present times, and it isn't easy to identify a bad guy. Bad guys in the news span the range of a teacher's child, hoodlums, politicians, tax authorities, insurance companies, special interest groups, corporate raiders, televangelists, and more.

With such a diverse face to baddies, how are we to stay safe? How will we recognize danger and take steps to have it corrected or avoid it?

I struggle with these questions as I write books set in contemporary times. Human nature is universal, as is human behavior. Debra Dixon's book on Goal, Motivation, and Conflict comes in handy to help writers steer through characterization.

GOAL - a villain's goal can spring from past issues/desires, present issues/desires, or a desire to control the future. The scope of the goal may vary from the villain's immediate vicinity to a global person, place or thing.

MOTIVATION - bad guys want what they want for reasons clear to them, and they will cross lines of respectable behavior to get what they want.

CONFLICT - baddies try to attain something that isn't theirs by any means possible. They will use words, weapons, intimidation, legal maneuvering, bioterrorism, and more.

Using this framework, authors can create a plausible scenario for readers to believe in the antagonist. Next, the villain's physical attributes come into question.

On television, bad guys are often bikers, scowling lawyers, gangsters, Vikings, rival gangs, Olympic athletes, vampires, aliens, or hulking muscle men, to name a few sterotypes. But writers must reflect the times in which we write.

The truth: bad guys come in every race and gender. While it's easy to write a villain who looks and acts different from your main characters, oftentimes the villain comes from their world. He or she is an associate with a sharp axe to grind.

My question for you: what do you look for in a bad guy? Do you enjoy reading about someone who appears "normal" but does heinous things? Or does your taste run more to and outsider vs an insider conflict?

Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com