The Writing Quote I LIVE By…and why you should, too

This writing quote has been hanging on the wall in my office for years. I have no idea where I read it for the first time, nor what the actual original quote was, as I’m fairly certain I changed it to suit my needs. I have seen a ton of versions of it over the years, and for good reason.

Villains are the heroes of their own stories.

-Sarah Gribble’s paraphrased version of an older quote

Okay, that’s not the actual quote. The real one, the one that a little investigation got me, was by John Barth in a short story titled “The Remobilization of Jacob Horner” and went like this: “Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.”

I like my version better.

Want some more quotes about writing? Check out this page!

So why is this my favorite writing quote?

Obviously, as a horror writer, I have to write villains all the time. From imaginary creatures to real-life human psychos, I’m in the trenches with these people/things/animals/aliens/etc.

I have to walk in their shoes. I have to make them interesting.

And the best way to make them interesting is to make sure they don’t actually see themselves as the villain.

Think about it. If someone gets mad at you, do you always see yourself as in the wrong? I’m going to say probably not. Probably, you have your reasons for what you did or said. Good reasons, most likely.

But you’re now the villain to this other person.

Weird, right? You don’t see yourself as a villain, but there’s this human out there walking around, plotting revenge and muttering under their breath about how much of an ass you are. (Okay, that’s a little extreme, so probably not that. But you get the point.)

In stories, villains work the same way. No one is inherently evil. (Or they shouldn’t be, anyway. All those superhero movies where the villain wants to let loose evil on the world for no other reason than because it’s Tuesday? That’s ridiculous if you stop to think about it.)

Everyone has their own reasons for doing things, and mostly those reasons seem good in their minds.

A well-crafted villain has his/her own good reasons for doing the “evil” thing to your hero.

Remember that the next time you’re reading a book or watching a movie. Take a second look at the villain. Did the writer do a good enough job of allowing you to imagine yourself in their shoes?

I always try to remember this in real life, as well. It makes life a little easier and makes my Aries hot temper a little less rage-y. (Also makes for some kickass Devil’s advocate play when I want to mess with the hubby.)

Who (or what) is your favorite villain of all time? Let me know in the comments!