Villains are always fun to write. They can be over-the-top in all sorts of ways that the heroes and supporting cast can’t get away with. Still, there are times you write a nasty, horrible villain that makes your skin crawl. What do you do to come back to normalcy after writing a scene that doesn’t involve them dying horribly?
Now, I had a villain in Legends of Windemere named Stephen Kernaghan. I felt dirty every time I wrote him because he was designed to be the most loathsome of the antagonists. Manipulative, arrogant, murderous, and it was made clear that he had raped others. Even the other villains had issues with him, but he was too powerful for them to take out. He was also the main antagonist’s son, which didn’t help. I looked forward to the day I wrote his death scene because I needed to walk away every time I was done with him. This happened even if I wasn’t done with the scene.
So, what did I do?
- Took a walk if the weather was good or used my exercise bike.
- Got together with friends if they were free.
- Played a violent video game and imagined Stephen as every enemy.
- Played a calming video game if my son wanted to watch. This was usually a Lego game.
- Watch a TV show or movie.
- Since I was married at the time, I would spend time with my wife if she was available.
- Run an errand if I was desperate.
Surprisingly, taking a nap didn’t help because I would only dream about dealing with Stephen. That and I still had undiagnosed sleep apnea, so a nap would cause me to wake up groggy.
So, what methods would you use to get back from writing a horrible, disgusting villain that makes your skin crawl?
Legends of Windemere 
Good topic! In one of my YA novels, one of the main characters is the antagonist who kills many people. I could only write his scenes in short bursts. Afterward, I needed to detox. (Makes me wonder what Cormac McCarthy did when writing No Country for Old Men or Javier Bardem did when starring in the movie adaptation.) Praying, walking, talking to friends, reading happier books (The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye) or watching Miyazaki films or Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes were helpful.
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I had the same issue with Stephen Kernaghan. I don’t think I have any villain as bad as him though.
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I don’t have this problem as I only write comedy villains. They make me laugh and I come away feeling great!
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That’s a good way to avoid it.
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I find a nice long bike ride works to get rid of fallout from distasteful scenes or characters.
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Biking does help even if it’s a stationary. Good call.
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Thanks.
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I don’t think I’ve had such a bad villain in any of my books, so I don’t quite know how I’d feel or how I’d overcome the feelings. I rather think I’d prefer not to actually write the details, but leave it to the reader’s imagination.
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I’ve learned that leaving it to the reader’s imagination can backfire. Some will think the villain is ‘so cool’ that they’ll ignore any hints that they are doing evil things. I remember having a few people who said their favorite character was Stephen Kernaghan, who I majorly hinted was a psychotic rapist with an inferiority complex. Since I didn’t say the rapist part outright, people didn’t believe he would go that far.
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I don’t know that I’ve experienced that level of stress over it. I write them and forge ahead.
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Guess that’s a good thing.
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If something I was writing made me that uncomfortable, I think I would change something about the story. For a while now I’ve been avoiding writing material that’s so dark, exactly for the reason you state. I don’t want that in my head.
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I think it can be necessary for villains. If we’re comfortable with what they’re doing then they might not be acting truly evil. To create a truly horrid creature of a human, one might have to make themselves uncomfortable. After all, such people exist in the real world, so fictional worlds would have them as well.
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I take delight in writing about how horrible they are but try to focus on the other characters. My only real relief is when I kill them off.
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Death does put an end to it. Do you try for ironic deaths of villains?
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Not so far, but there will be opportunities.
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