When writing a story, a decision needs to be made regarding the narrative. Either focus on point of view of the protagonists or alternate perspectives between protagonists and villains. An example of the former would be The Lord of the Rings books while the latter would be Star Wars: Heir to the Empire. I enjoyed reading both, and considered the latter but I do not feel I could properly write in that style. As you may have read in Shining, most of the story was from the point of view of David and occasionally Jenny.
While there is certainly an audience for developed villains, I'm honestly tired of it. Sometimes we need stories that really are good versus evil. At least that is what is needed for this first novel as I set up the world it will take place in. It is actually mostly due to having to focus on world building that I don't have enough space to focus on jumping perspectives. While it will be a battle between good and evil, I'm mainly writing this novel to be an adventure and so the focus will be on the protagonists and the world they see.
So will I never develop the villain? If we are talking about the villain for the next novel, yes and no. In some respects there won't be any development due to one nature of the character. On the other hand, there are plans for legends where he is developed due to a second nature as well as how he connects with our heroes. Yes, it is a fairly complicated antagonist, but his development will be more in Legends than in the first novel as his development is tied to revelations about other character not yet in the spotlight.
J. D. Nyle
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