Villainy
I’m having a blast working character development for my villain. I should have done all this before beginning to write the book, but, frankly, I didn’t know how. Since this is my second book, and the first, PBOTL, as was thoughtfully pointed out to me, didn’t even have a villain, I believe the mere presence of a villain before I started to write was an improvement.
Of course, I expect I’ll have to do a complete re-write of the book, but that will bring it closer to the vision I have for it, and I like that idea. The book will be much stronger with a more complete villain, too. I finished question five of 21 today. Question five was a biggie which ties in a lot of the villain’s motivation for doing what he does. With a better understanding of that, I believe I can write the story more effectively.
What set of questions are you working through? Don Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook? Or something else I should know about?!
Nothing so lofty as Maass. These are questions and observations I’ve noted for myself. In this instance, they are questions I have about my villain as I try to get to know him better and understand his motivations. He was very cardboard and there were aspects of him that would make a reader wonder why the heck he was doing what he was doing. I had a general idea but really didn’t know why or what was driving him.
I did the same thing for PBOTL based upon the comments that came back from my trusted reader, but those questions have a broader base than the set I’m working on for Merlin in Twilight.
I should have done all this during worldbuilding, but I didn’t know how. I don’t know for sure now, but I have a better feel for what I’m looking for in this character.
I’m with you there. I do what I can ahead of time, but it’s not till I really see the shape of the story that I see what ELSE the villain really needs. Heck, this story wasn’t even supposed to HAVE a villain. The pull of two different cultures and religions in this romantic fantasy was supposed to be more than enough. How could I know her former lover was going to keep cropping up? :O
Even with restraining orders, those former lovers have a way of showing up where they aren’t supposed to.