A special thanks to Ann and Kummer for this great discussion.
If you haven’t checked out their Substacks, please do — they are wonderful writers!
In this episode, the crew dove deep into the psychology, structure, and creative approaches behind building memorable villains in fiction. What began as a fun discussion quickly turned into a masterclass in character development across formats like novels, serialized fiction, and screenwriting.
Key Highlights from the Conversation:
“I always like to pitch my bad guy’s point of view and make you go, ‘Well yeah... from a twisted angle, I see where they're coming from.’”
Tell Me A Mystery
Start With the Problem, Not the Person:
Jaime emphasized crafting villains as catalysts—they are obstacles that force growth, transformation, and critical decision-making for the hero.Villains Act, Heroes React (At First):
Kummer Wolfe shared a golden principle from tabletop roleplaying games: villains initiate the conflict, and heroes emerge in response. “No villain, no story.”Make Villains Human:
The best antagonists aren’t evil for evil’s sake. They believe they’re right. The panel agreed: “If your villain doesn’t think they’re the hero of their own story, you’re doing it wrong.”Hierarchy of Threats:
From big bads to minions and micro-conflicts, layered threats make for richer storytelling and allow the protagonist to level up emotionally and physically.Twist the Knife—Then Explain It:
The group celebrated villains who deliver emotional gut-punches but still make sense. “I may hate what they’re doing...but I understand why.”
“Villains act. Heroes react. If the villain doesn’t do anything, the hero just lives their life. You don’t get a story until the villain starts smashing things.”
Kummer Wolfe
Redemption Arcs & Grey Morality:
Can a villain be redeemed? Should they be? The panel discussed using side-villains as potential allies and revealed examples of twisting reader expectations late in the game.Serialized Writing Benefits:
Jaime discussed how building villains in a long-running story (like Wanted Hero) opens the door to recurring threats, interconnected character arcs, and emotional depth. “Comics trained me for this,” he said.Don’t Just Make ‘Bad Guys’:
Ann highlighted the pitfall of filler villains—antagonists that exist just to throw up walls. “Your villain’s logic has to hold up, or the reader checks out.”Emotion First, Action Second:
Real engagement comes when villains create an emotional response. If readers don’t feel something, the story flatlines.
“If it doesn’t make you cry while you’re writing it, they’re not going to cry reading it.”
Jaime Buckley
Every fiction story requires worldbuilding
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Hope you enjoyed the video. Drop a comment below and let me know!
Remember:
You are MORE than you THINK you are!
Until Next Time,
Jaime *the-creative-addict* Buckley
Tell me when the next one is so I can pencil it in and maybe even join you.
That would be cool! I'd love for you to join the panel! We get a few days heads-up, so I'll let you know. 😉
Cause I really liked this topic. I like bad guys.
We do need to do the next Cartel stream...
That would be so awesome!
I love listening to other writers, creative minds. So much fun!
I sat through this whole video scribbling down notes, and idea's. Many of which ended up in short hand...hopefully I can remember what they were short for 😅
When Kummer Wolfe said "Dark, historical, fantasy, mystery. " I thought he said "Dork" I actually paused the video "Is that a thing??" 😂🫣 no that's not a thing.
I like my father find zombies terrifying. I remember watching Maze runner 2 (can't remember it's name) we were sitting on the couch, and one of my siblings had just told us that not only were there zombies they were fast too. Like slow zombies weren't bad enough? As the music started to build, we could hear the zombies in the distance my dad yells "TURN IT OFF!" I couldn't help screaming. I scrambled to the TV turning it off just before the zombies appeared on screen. Or so my siblings tell me, I never finished the movie. 😅😂
Dad, if you ever tried to turn Wendell into the bad guy your readers would turn you into their new villain.
Looking forward to the next live you do.
FIRST....Wendell is THE hero.
Always has been.
Always will be.
But I did learn a great deal from this conversation, and also watching Andor again...I have some new arcs to include in my storyline...which I'll taint Season 5 with this July.
Exciting 😎
Dork historical could be a thing. 👊 Glad you got something out of it, and long comments are The Best!!!
See Jessie bear?
...even if I was wrong, which ypu k ow doesn't happen...Ann has perfect taste.
I mean, look at her FRIENDS.
TRUST HER.
I can't decide if you wrote that wrong on purpose or if you were reeeealy tired. Or maybe I'm really tired lol
I think I can trust Ann, she is pretty awesome =)
😊
I really do talk a lot, sorry lol
Never apologize.
Look at your father.
Oh, and look at some of the comments on the TTRGP....goodness, Kristie writes NOVELS, and they are always...ALWAYS magnificant.
So are your comments.
They are real and heartfelt....which I love.
Please don't stop.
- Dad.