SCBWI PA West Presents Devil's Advocate: How to Write a "Good" Villain with JD Donnelly
Jul 14, 2025
Online event
Registration closed.
A hero is only as good as their villain, and the best villains are the ones we love to hate. But how do you avoid the pitfalls of making your villain too flat, or too lame, or “evil for the sake of being evil,” and therefore making your hero lame by association? How do you make someone unlikable to full-on-diabolical understandable, even sympathetic to your other characters and your audience? Why should you give your villains the chance to be redeemed—or what can they do to make themselves utterly irredeemable and have us cheering when the heroes kick their butt? In this lecture we’ll discuss the morals, motives, and modus opperandi of some famous villains, the nuances of antiheros, antagonists, and villains, and how to cut Satan a break—there are much more interesting and sinister figures for inspiration for your big baddies. Zoom Webinar / July 14, 7PM EST 45 Min Presentation / 15 Min Q&A $15 for Members / $20 for Non-Members
A hero is only as good as their villain, and the best villains are the ones we love to hate. But how do you avoid the pitfalls of making your villain too flat, or too lame, or “evil for the sake of being evil,” and therefore making your hero lame by association? How do you make someone unlikable to full-on-diabolical understandable, even sympathetic to your other characters and your audience? Why should you give your villains the chance to be redeemed—or what can they do to make themselves utterly irredeemable and have us cheering when the heroes kick their butt? In this lecture we’ll discuss the morals, motives, and modus opperandi of some famous villains, the nuances of antiheros, antagonists, and villains, and how to cut Satan a break—there are much more interesting and sinister figures for inspiration for your big baddies.
Zoom Webinar / July 14, 7PM EST
45 Min Presentation / 15 Min Q&A
$15 for Members / $20 for Non-Members
About JD
JD Donnelly is an artist, writer, and creature enthusiast of all beasts real, extinct, and fantastical. Her debut young adult paranormal fantasy novel, CryptoZoo, released June 2024 to high praise, her artworks have appeared in conventions and shows across the country, earning many awards and accolades, and she’s a member of SCBWI, Pennwriters, Sigma Tau Delta, and Phi Beta Kappa.
