Okay, hear me out: I firmly believe that Dustin Hoffman’s Hook is the greatest movie villain of all time. ☠️ ⁣

The best protagonists make readers say ‘yesss!’ when they step onto the page because they’re so fun to be around, even though they’re actually the bad guy. ⁣

⁣Hoffman’s Hook is vivacious, charming, complicated and sad, and of course he has the funniest lines in the film. Sure, we want Peter Pan to kick his ass, but when Hook steps into the frame he steals every scene (and that’s coming from a major Robin Williams fangirl).

Try this: Think about him when you write your next villain, even if it’s a monster. Of course readers should hate or fear them – they’re baddies! – but if we don’t enjoy spending time with them on the page, those pages won’t be fun to read. They don’t have to be funny or charming like Captain Hook, but they can be smart or interesting or just brilliantly written.

Consider Stephen King’s IT, either the films or the book. You’re not thinking ‘Oh gawd, Pennywise again – get this stupid clown out of my face’. No, he’s utterly mesmerising.

Siobhán at Writer and the Wolf xxx