How to Write a Killer Villain | Jane Friedman

Create a backstory

Unless you're writing fantasy or sci-fi or the like, your villain will also be human. They will have a personality all their own and, in most cases, they'll have a painful past, so you must tell their story, just as you would with the hero. You want him to be everything that makes us human - fallible, flawed, and complete with a backstory that explains their motives and their reason for being so downright nasty.