It's often said that a Villain is a hero in their own mind. And usually, it's true. The question is, how does that change your writing?
If you've actually done your job with your villain, he or she has many things. A backstory, a character, a family line, and so on. And most importantly, a reason why they're the villain. (Most people don't just wake up in the morning, shove their cat off the bed, and decide "well, I'm gonna be a horrible nasty villain today. Looks like I need to cancel my coffee date with mom.")
I am not here to help with this process. At least, not in this post. No, this one requires a villain you have already created. And instead, you are going to learn how to make this villain, the hero. Take said character, and write them as the hero for a bit. Not necessarily from his or her point of view, just portrayed as the hero. Heavily bias it. Make the hero appear to be evil. It's just a little writing exercise, but it will develop your villain much further.
Now, you may want to be careful. Doing this could change your entire point of view on the story. (I did this a couple months ago and... Well, now the story is all from the villain's point of view, with a surprise reveal at the end of how things actually were) It might inspire another side story, similar to Fairest by Marissa Meyer. (If you haven't read it, do. Even if it's only for writing purposes)
If you want to take this exercise just a bit further, I would challenge you, dear reader, to write three scenes. One at the beginning of their story, one in the middle, and one at the conclusion. Each one told with the villain portrayed as the hero.
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