Writing a Mystery Novel: Creating a Villain & 5 Ways To Justify a Crime

Are you thinking about writing a mystery novel? Before you begin writing, create a plan or outline for your story. Then figure out what you want your villain to be like. What type of crime will he/she commit? Discover how a villain might justify a crime and the importance of planning from Hallie Ephron's book, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel.

Some writers know, from the get-go, which character is guilty. They start with the completed puzzle and work backwards, shaping the story pieces and fitting them together. Others happily write without knowing whodunit until the scene when the villain is unmasked. Then they rewrite, cleaning up the trail of red herrings and establishing the clues that make the solution work.

Which way is better? It's up to you. Do what works best for you, but know that having a plan up front can save a whole lot of rewriting in what should be the home stretch.

You can’t just throw all your suspects’ names into a bowl and pick one to be your villain. For your novel to work, the villain must be special. Your sleuth deserves a worthy adversary—a smart, wily, dangerous creature who tests your protagonist’s courage and detective prowess. Stupid, bumbling characters are good for comic relief, but they make lousy villains. The smarter, more invincible the villain, the harder your protagonist must work to find his vulnerability and the greater the achievement in bringing him to justice.

Must the villain be loathsome? Not at all. He can be chilling but charming, like Hannibal Lechter. Thoroughly evil? It’s better when the reader can muster a little sympathy for a complex, realistic character who feels the crimes are justified.

So, in planning, try to wrap your arms around why your villain does what he does. What motivates him to kill? Consider the standard motives like greed, jealousy, or hatred. Then go a step further. Get inside your villain’s head and see the crime from his perspective. What looks to law enforcement like a murder motivated by greed may, to the perpetrator, be an act in the service of a noble, even heroic cause.

Here’s how a villain might justify a crime:

Finally, think about what happened to make that character the way she is. Was she born bad, or turned sour as a result of some early experience? If your villain has a grudge against society, why? If she can’t tolerate being jilted, why? You may never share your villain’s life story with your reader, but to make a complex, interesting villain, you need to know.

By understanding how the villain justifies the crime to himself, and what events in his life triggered these crimes, you give yourself the material you need to get past a black-hatted caricature and paint your villain in shades of gray.

This excerpt is from Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron. If you enjoyed this tip, buy the book and: