How it works
These hero and villain story ideas come as pairs, 100 of them. The sentence says why these two belong in one story. The line under it gives what the hero wants, what the villain wants and where they meet.
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Why these two are matched
Five groups give five answers. Once friends learned one trade side by side. Family is a twin, a mother, a grandfather. The same gift, used two ways sets two shapeshifters or two locksmiths against each other. In Each made the other, one old act did it. Everyday heroes and villains fight over a quiet corridor or a field of corn.
Two wants that cannot both happen
The strongest pairs want nearly the same thing. A lighthouse keeper wants every ship safe in, and the wrecker who once rowed with her wants one aground. A scarecrow and a crow both want the corn.
- Write the meeting first. A pair who never share a room are two stories.
- Ask what the villain is right about. In the group Each made the other, it is usually something.
Questions and answers
How do you write a hero and a villain who fit each other?
Give them something in common before you give them a quarrel: a teacher, a parent, a talent or an old mistake. On this list a detective is matched with the forger who used to sign her school absence notes.
How should a hero and a villain first meet?
Somewhere ordinary that belongs to both of them. The pairs here meet in their mother's kitchen on a Sunday, at a regatta they both still enter and at a library's overdue desk, before any scheme is under way.
Does the villain have to be evil?
No. In the group Everyday heroes and villains the villain is a rooster who is always five minutes ahead, a four-year-old who will not go to bed, or a mole. Nobody on the list is hurt by anyone.
Can I use these for a superhero and a supervillain?
Yes. The group The same gift, used two ways pairs two shapeshifters, two mind readers and two people who can stop time. They wear no costume and carry no name from a comic, so both are yours to dress.