Writing Tips and Tricks
By Stephanie McCall, author of Fiery Secrets
One
of the toughest things for me as a writer is coming up with a perfect villain.
That is, someone who readers love to hate, but could still be sympathetic toward,
given the right circumstances (for example, if he or she could use their brains
and talent for good rather than evil). To me, the perfect villain is also
someone in whom readers can see examples of what can happen when a life created
in God’s image derails.
When
crafting your own villain (or villainess) how can you make them memorable, even
if that memory makes the reader flinch? Here are a few things I try to keep in
mind:
1.
Be careful with
a villain who has your own baggage. I’ve always heard, “If it hurts, it’ll
probably make a good story.” Giving your hurts a place in fiction can be
cathartic, but tread carefully. For example, you’ve probably never killed
anyone, but maybe you have struggled with a nasty temper. Great—but we don’t
need to see your villain explode in every chapter. Why? Because not everyone
with anger issues becomes a murderer. Represent the baggage as fairly as you
can while still telling the truth.
2.
Love on your
villains.
Remember, the wicked stepmother in Ever
After had a pretty wicked mom herself. The villain in Brandilyn Collins’ Over the Edge grieved his wife, dead
from Lyme disease because physicians didn’t listen. Give the villain a
motivation or non-typical twist.
3.
No redemption?
No sale! No,
the villain doesn’t have to embrace Christ at the end, but readers need to see
potential for redemption, or else the character falls flat. For example, within
Fiery Secrets, readers see that Kyle
has had mentors, a chance at a good marriage, and even a promising beginning to
fatherhood. He chose to throw it all away, but remains redeemable.
4.
Leave some
things to the imagination. In Christian circles, this is often not a big
issue, but sometimes, it is. For example, one lovely inspirational author
disappointed me when a novel of hers contained a graphic near-rape scene.
What’s too graphic will vary from reader to reader and also depends on the
rules of your publisher, editor, or the CBA. However, show as much restraint as
you can, particularly if villain-centered scenes also take place in naturally
horrific settings (i.e., a torture chamber, a concentration camp).
How about you? What baggage have you liked or not liked in a
villain? What motivational twists have
you enjoyed in a villain? Can you think
of a villain whom you would be interested in working with to mentor them
towards redemption? What is your
personal comfort level with graphic scenes?
“Fiery Secrets” by Stephanie McCall.
Release date:
July 2, 2013.
Trade Paperback
Retail $14.99
ISBN 978-1-938708-16-9
Amazon Kindle
$3.99
ISBN 978-1-938708-17-6
Barnes &
Noble Nook $3.99
ISBN 978-1-938708-17-6
Author Bio:
Stephanie McCall is an English teacher
with two Master of Arts degrees from Western Carolina University, one of which
has a professional writing concentration. She also has a B.A. in Religious
Studies. She lives in North Carolina with her parents and younger brother,
where she enjoys reading, writing (and discussing her writing), and
participating in Bible studies, prison ministry, and her church’s drama team.
She also plans to adopt a cat in the near future. Her favorite Scripture is
Jeremiah 29:11
As is often said, no one is 100% good and no one is 100% bad. Create a well rounded character and your villain will have some saving grace, even if it's only that he likes animals. Thanks for reminding us.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your interview with Stephanie McCall. I agree it's hard to come up with a villan who is likeable sometimes...but I think watching him mature to come to realize the importance of God in his life is a reader's delight! Stephanie's book, Fiery Secrets, sounds like a good read. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJames you're absolutely correct! The real problem is we can't be good enough by ourselves, so God sent a Savior. Yet, there is some good in everyone. Even Al Capone used to go to orphanages and bring the children a gift on Christmas. But our own righteousness is like filthy rags when it comes to going to heaven. 5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, Diane. We really have to have a likeable main character, but most all the villain's in the books I read are mean, sometimes ugly, and disgusting. Because the novels I read are Christian, however, some of them are changed and become new creatures, as the Bible speaks about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, everyone! I agree that villains who do embrace Christ at the end of the story can be extremely compelling, especially since readers then get to see how that villain is going to reconcile his or her new faith with the fallout of whatever his or her old lifestyle involved. I generally stay away from having villains convert because I have read a lot of saccharine conversion scenes. I also feel like some villains are so "comfortable with" their lifestyles that it would realistically take some time for those "scales" to fall. Yet, as I said, redemption is always in the realm of possibility, and this does include very sudden conversions, though that's not my preference. I'm playing with the idea of a villain's in media res conversion for a project down the road.
ReplyDelete