Hey! Should I write a chapter of the bad guys perspective to get that feeling of 'No don't go there, the bad guys in there and he's planning on killing you' If you didn't get that (don't blame you) the reader already knows what's coming for the characters and merely sees it unfold, giving off tension.. Or should I not, as that might break the whole suspense and instead just make the reader have the feeling of 'I did not see that coming!' As it might get boring If you already know what's going to coming to the characters and the reader is better of being as surprised as the characters... Opinions please Thank you.
You'd be surprised how many people can sense something is going to happen before it does, even in books. I think that you should just keep the mystery and the tension. Besides, unless the antagonist has more chapters to call his own, it would just seem out of place.
Nothing wrong with having a "bad guy" as the main PoV, but there may be some confusion. Regardless of where his moral compass is pointing, the "bad guy" would then be the protagonist of the story, with the "good guy" being the antagonist. It's been done before, and very well done in many cases, and is always a breathe of fresh air to me. But now you'll have to have your readers sympathizing/empathizing with your "bad guy".
I often enjoy reading novels that have sections from the protag. and antags. mixed throughout, so for me if the story is well written either option could be interesting. I am one of those people who always guesses what is going to happen anyways, so often I enjoy hearing what the villian is thinking. Why is he in there? What does he have to gain? Does he regret his upcoming plan or not? The suspence will still be there if you write it well enough, sometimes knowing what is going to happen before the MC makes you sit all the more anxious because you want to yell at them and tell them to stop what they are doing. Good Luck and I would love to hear what you decide to do
It could be interesting, but I hope if its a shallow evil person you'll avoid his pov. Evil for the sake of evil likely won't work in this situation. If he is merely evil for no apparent reason, then do not put something from his pov.
It really depends on what type of bad guy your antag is and the role he plays in the story. It takes suspense away if the readers know everything the MC doesn't about what the antag is going to do. Some dramatic irony (readers knowing something protag doesn't) creates nice tension, but too much is annoying.
If it works for the story to use the POV of the bad guy, give it a shot. But only if getting his perspective on things makes sense and adds an important element. It could even create more tension if the reader knows what's coming. Depends on how you write it. One thing you could also do, is write the scenes both with and without the bad guy POV and see which fits best. If written well, either method can work.
Hitchcock said something along the lines of, if you let a bomb go off, the audience is shocked for ten seconds, but if you let two people sit and talk by a table, while the audience knows a bomb is ticking below it, you can keep it in suspense for ten minutes. In other words, I'm not sure having the protagonist surprise attacked will create much suspense for the reader. Let the reader know or sense it's coming, but hide exactly how, when and by whom. They don't need to know the name of the bad guy, or even how he/she looks. I don't see any problem with switching perspective for a single chapter or scene, but your mileage may vary.
You could have all the events unfolding and the reader's like "Oh damn, I know what's going on here," then just when the reader thinks they've got it figured out, BAM! throw in a twist. If you keep those twists and turns coming every so often (they don't have to be dramatic, just something to keep it from being too predictable), then your readers will want to know what happens, rather than assuming they already know and not bothering with the rest of the story.
Thank you for the feedback everyone! Thank you! Would it be wise for me to reveal the name of the bad guy, but when the MC meets her, to keep her identity hidden, she uses a fake name. Then I drop hints that it is in fact the bad guy. (Most people will probably figure that out anyway)
I sound like a broken record here but, again either option can work out. Having read books with the MC knowing who the villian is and books where they do not, all I can say is that will depend on your story and its unfolding events. I have just finished a series where in the first two books the MC didn't know who the villian was, but many different characters were suspect. Then only in the very end of book two do we discover who it truely was. Then for the next four novels the villian is well known and readers still feel the growing suspence. Both parts of the novel were riveting in their own way. All I can really say is follow your gut. Start writing and wherever the story takes you just keep working it.
