Episode 137: Smile and Be a Villain, ft. CHLOE GONG

Worldbuilding for Masochists

A villain may not have excuses for their behavior -- but they probably have reasons. How can worldbuilding feed those reasons? Antagonists are often those characters who are both the most willing and the most able to seize control of power structures and take advantage of their privileges. So what pressures in your world have created those structures, and how does your Big Bad maniuplate them? Guest Chloe Gong joins us to explore how to build a world that fits your villain and a villain that fits your world.

We also poke around the idea of villainy itself. Is it always the same thing as antagonist? How do you worldbuild differently for a story with an unambiguous, moustache-twirling capital-v Villain versus a story with far more shades of gray? Perspective plays a large role in communicating this to a reader. After all, the villains are the heroes of their own stories, and sometimes we love characters who are very clearly committing crimes! How do we as writers negotiate all of this in balance with genre expectations, reader moralizing, and the veracity of the worlds we're creating?

This one's for all of you out there whose comfort characters may or may not have* committed war crimes.

*definitely have

[Transcript for Episode 137]

Our Guest: Chloe Gong is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Secret Shanghai novels, as well as the Flesh and False Gods trilogy. Her books have been published in over twenty countries and have been featured in the New York Times, PEOPLE, Cosmopolitan, and more. She was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2024. Chloe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, she is now located in New York City, pretending to be a real adult.

Visit her online at thechloegong.com and on Instagram, X, and TikTok at @thechloegong. She is represented by the wonderful Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency.