Nice

I like to visit sites where writers go to give and get advice. There are many gems to be had from the experience of others when the inner editor becomes bold.

On one such message board, I saw a question posed about writing a bad guy that was "just too nice". I thought about it and decided to add my own comments on why I feel it is not only acceptable to have a “nice” bad guy, but may also be my favorite kind.

In my opinion, being nice is one of the best characteristics for evil characters. They manage to disarm the reader and other characters in the story with their easygoing manner and can often attribute getting away with minor issues because of their “nice” personality. Hannibal Lecter is a gentleman no matter who he is speaking with, but when the time comes to face his dark side, no one is ever prepared. Think of Psycho, Khan, Loki or Moriarty. All evil. All from different genres and all “nice”.

The best part? They are all exceedingly memorable. We don’t recall the endless villains from yesteryear who would twirl a mustache while threatening to close down an orphanage. However, we do remember the well-spoken Hannibal Lecter in his cell telling Clarice how he ate a man’s liver with some Fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Don’t concern yourself with the niceness of an evil character. Let him be as nice as possible. Allow him to cry at the opera. Let him help an old lady cross the street. If it’s a female character, let her give her all for the sake of others even to the point of seeming frail. When no one is looking or the circumstances call for it, reveal who resides behind the mask and, in that moment, the story becomes that much more intense. Expect readers to immediately go back and re-read what was written before just to see how perfect the mask was and kick themselves for not seeing the signs sooner.