In a post on the Killzone blog, Debbie Burke examines the villain’s journey, a counterpoint to the traditional hero’s journey character arc.
While the traditional hero’s journey has 12 steps, from the Ordinary World to the Return Home, the villain’s journey is understandably a bit shorter. The villain steps off the stage around Step 9, when the hero defeats them in battle. The hero earns the reward, but the villain must fail.
However, you can still apply the hero’s journey to your villain, with a few adjustments. Both heroes and villains experience an inciting event that starts their journey. They encounter obstacles, receive help from sidekicks, and experience success and defeat. Often, the villain’s story is told in reverse. While the hero rises from a lower station to achieve mastery, your villain often starts your story in control and goes backwards as the hero moves forward. The villain loses allies as the hero gains them. Finally, while the hero realizes they must change to win, the villain often holds onto old, debilitating ways of thinking, which leads to their downfall.
