Motives

I teach a fiction writing class for kids
And we create stories together.
There is usually a villain
Because one of the rudiments
Of story telling is conflict:
Protagonist and Antagonist
Locked in battle somehow.
We invent a villain,
Their eyebrows, their smile,
Their sense of style
(Anything from Snidely Wiplash
To fashion plate to forest ranger),
Their gait and their voice
And their car of choice
The food they eat
And the kind of seat
They sit in.
But it always come down to a question:
"Why are they doing this?"
(This being the robbery, kidnapping, murder,
Sacrifice of small children to a monster,
Or gathering a secret magical object
Into their possession through
Unscrupulous means.)
We used to debate it a lot.
What did our villain want?
On my latest adventure into fiction
I finally decided to come up with a
Quick Reference Guide to Villainous Motives.
But what I thought would stretch on for pages
Was really quite short:

Money/Greed/Selfishness

Power

Revenge

Competition

Prejudice

Misguided idealism/Thinking they’re working for the greater good

Insanity

All of the above.

I was surprised by the brevity of villainy.

Now I wonder about making a

Quick Reference Guide to Goodness.

But I suspect it would not be quick.

I think about what motivates

The good in the world,

And there are so many

Great impulses that lead to great action,

That the list would have no end.