Unseen Villains

Explore the idea of a villain who never physically appears in the story but still significantly impacts the plot.

In many stories, the antagonists who exert the most powerful influence aren’t always present physically. Their wicked actions or the dread they inspire in others cast a long shadow over the narrative. This prompt challenges you to examine the concept of unseen villains: their motivations, their machinations, their indirect effects. Ponder what it means for a character to be hateful in absence and how your other characters perceive and react to that.