Even jerks have friends

[Note- I totally meant to do a meaningful type end of year post yesterday, but I've been sick since Tuesday, and haven't really felt up to it. I may get a post up about larger picture stuff, but this topic has been on my mind. Happy New Year!]

Last month I was talking to someone I don’t like very much, and he mentioned how he had recently gone out with some friends. I’ll be completely honest here; my first thought was not charitable. “You have friends? But you’re a pain to be around! How can others stand you if I can’t?” Then I realized that just as almost everyone has a mother (or father or grandparent or caregiver) who loved them at some time or another, nearly everyone has friends. Even the people you don’t like.

You need to remember things like this while you’re writing your antagonists. Your villains and antagonists very likely have people who love them. They very likely have friends. Someone thinks they’re worth hanging out with. (And if you’re going to nitpick and say I’m wrong, there are people out there who no one loves, well, they probably aren’t very interesting characters, are they?) Remembering to make your antagonists sympathetic will make your story deeper and more resonant.

One of the best creations of sympathetic villains are Londo and G’Kar in the TV show Babylon 5. It had its flaws but it shone in two respects: it had a clear 5 season arc, and its characters were deep and multifaceted. In the first season, G’Kar is the alien who stirs up trouble, unwilling to bend in diplomatic relations. If not an outright villain, he’s at least a real jerk. His enemy, Londo, is a bumbling fool who failed in politics back home. We dislike G’Kar and smile ruefully at Londo’s situation. But as the story goes on, Londo gains a bit of power and G’Kar loses his and the tables become turned. We learn to see G’Kar as a more thoughtful character and sympathize with him, and even though Londo starts doing questionable things, we still remember why we liked him in the first place.

People have many sides. The person you love most in the world? There’s probably someone who hates his/her guts. You may think you’re pretty OK, but you could be the antagonist in someone’s story. Everyone is loved, everyone is hated. Remember this when you write.