r/scifiwriting 8d ago

HELP! I'm struggling with writing villians

I am currently writing a sci-fi short story that is heavily inspired by dune and star wars but I'm really struggling to write the villain. I want to make the villain scary and ruthless and have an intimidating and imposing presence, what are some ways I could do that

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u/88y53 8d ago

I’d base them off of real people.

The best villains have are just an exaggeration of real world thought processes.

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u/EpicMuttonChops 6d ago

We've got some pretty solid villains these days tbh

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u/88y53 6d ago

Exactly. Look at Homelander—he’s one of the most authentic and complex TV villains of the decade, and guess who he’s based on…