Making an antagonist evil and believable - by Vivian Zabel

Psychopath or Sociopath – how to make your antagonist real.

A good writer does the best to make characters believable. Antagonists need to be round characters, too, not stereotypes or flat. One way to put depth into a villain is to decide whether or not the person has a “problem,” perhaps one that’s pathological or traumatic, that motivates behavior.

I’ve researched psychopath and sociopath. Most information stated that they are one and the same, and the terms have been considered interchangeable for at least twenty years. However, some of the newer decisions by the psychiatric community has been to show a slight difference between the two conditions.

Let’s look at the traits found in a psychopath and then look at the slight difference between psychopath and a sociopath. The first eight are absolutely associated with a psychopath. Nine through fifteen aren’t always noticeable, but are found to some extent. The final four are not as common as the first fifteen, but many psychopaths have the traits or history of such traits.

1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Pathological lying
4. Cunning/manipulative
5. Lack of remorse or guilt
6. Emotionally shallow
7. Callous/lack of empathy
8. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
9. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
10. Parasitic lifestyle
11. Poor behavioral control
12. Promiscuous sexual behavior
13. Lack of realistic, long-term goals
14. Impulsivity
15. Irresponsibility

1. Juvenile delinquency
2. Early behavior problems
3. Revocation of conditional release
4. Many short-term marital relationships
5. Criminal versatility

The one difference between a psychopath and a sociopath is a sociopath can, and sometimes does, feel guilt or remorse. A psychopath never does, and if he shows such emotion, he is acting.

Does that mean that every psychopath and sociopath is a criminal? No, because the same traits can be found in politicians, CEOs, and other people in positions of power. However, those people don’t believe that anything they do is wrong, that if others are hurt, it doesn’t matter.

So using the traits to make the antagonist more believable makes our writing better, gives motivation for our villain.


Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
4RV Publishing

Mysteries, Mysteries Everywhere by Vivian Zabel

Mysteries come in all shapes, sizes, level of violence, and degree of suspense. Mysteries have had so manly titles or labels attached over the years. Many people have tried to classify the genre -- basically the mystery or crime story.

Essentially, detective fiction, crime fiction, thrillers, mysteries all have been used to describe, or try to describe the genre.

Let's look at some the sub-genres for mysteries (remember that all "experts" don't always agree on the classifications, but this give us an idea):

Straight Mysteries are character driven. Action happens to center around a crime.

Puzzle Mysteries or the classic detective involves a problem and the writer "toys" with reader, matching wits with clever detectives.

Novel of Pursuit often involves espionage. The protagonist getting out of a situation is the foundation of the writing. Action, terror, often technology, methods of pursuit, as well as entrapment or capture are more important than internal motivation and psychology of characters - plot driven, rather than character-driven. This sub-genre has several sub-genres:
Spy Novel
Man-on-the-Run Mystery
Metaphysical Mystery - Gothic or occult in nature
Doomsday Mystery - threat is global

Hard-boiled Mysteries are adventure stories focused on the exploits of the protagonist, such as a private detective of nearly super-hero status.

Whodunit Mysteries are character-driven mysteries where the solution of the crime comes as a surprise to the reader, but the detectives or more featured more than the deductive process.
Sub-genres of this mystery include the following:
Caper Mystery - reader is knows the perpetrator and all details of crime.
Cozy Mystery - an amateur detective solves a mystery, usually without graphic violence.
Romantic Suspense Mystery
Period Mystery - takes place in the past
Western Mystery - has a western setting
Police Procedural Mystery
Private Eye Mystery
Camp Mystery - of any sub-genre presenting in a comical way.

Finally we have Thrillers, characterized by fast pace, frequent action, and resourceful heroes. Suspense, red herrings, and cliffhangers are found often. Sub-genres include many variations of the thriller concept.

I hope you enjoyed our foray into types of mysteries.

Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
4RV Publishing
Midnight Hours
Prairie Dog Cowboy

Ideas not to use in mysteries by Vivian Zabel

I read books that sometimes irritate me because they contain cheap tricks, but nothing causes me to grit my teeth and throw the book across the room than when it's a mystery with cheap writing tricks. What are some of these "don't use ideas"? Ah, let me count the ways. Sorry, wrong analogy.

Don't have a protagonist, which is usually a woman, insert herself into a dangerous situation when she could call 911. How many stupid people are there in the literary world?

Don't leave the reader guessing about what the hero finds. A clue, a piece of evidence, whatever, should be shared with the reader when the character finds it.

Don't make dialogue boring, unreal, filled with background information. Have you ever become irate when one character explains something to another that the second person should know? I don't like it when one CSI person tells someone running a test all the steps. Surely the one running the test would know what to do.

Don't make the police appear stupid or dumb. Law enforcement officers should be realistic, not buffoons. Yes, they can make mistakes and actually appear flawed as we all are, but they should be intelligent enough to be on the force.

Just a few of my "don't dos," but I'll have more another time.

Vivian Zabel
Brain Cells & Bubble Wrap
Midnight Hours
Prairie Dog Cowboy
4RV Publishing
Vivian's Mysteries