You placed me in my room
through a wall when punched with doom,
and on the floor I lie
with pain and marks of gloom.
I woke to tick tock tick
on a ground of cold dank brick,
A clock it caught my eye
with a face of blood and grit.
In the heat my heart it froze
when horror it did grow,
the gush and ooze of red
from the time piece it did flow.
By L. M. Montes
When you’re in a competition, you give it your all, everything you’ve got. You may be nervous at first before you start because you want to win. You don’t want to lose. Then your mom, dad, or friend says, “Just do your best. That’s all you can do. That’s all anyone can do.” In your mind, losing is losing, not winning. But…..in your villains mind, losing is winning.
What do I mean by this? Remember in the previous post (Villains Part VI) I said villains take pleasure in the protagonist’s pain. Well, yes. If burning everything down so your main character will lose everything but gives your villain pleasure in that main character’s loss, then the destruction of all is worth it to them. Go for the gusto with your villain’s actions. Have your villain throw ‘fuel on the fire’ (so to speak) as many times as it takes to cause destruction.
Ultimately, what is the reason behind the importance of making a great evil villain? Readers who continue turning the pages of your story all the way through to the end.
Watching someone open a gift, listening to your favorite music, a day at the beach, or even a walk in the woods; might give you pleasure. Now, normally, activities like the this would. But for villains in your stories, what gives them pleasure is none of the above. Oh No. They get pleasure from the pain of others. To your villain, other peoples’ pain is climactic, exhilarating, and releases the feel good chemicals inside their brain. They thrive on seeing others’ hurt and to the point where they have to continue in their hurtful behavior so they can continue to feel that pleasure.
Types of pain they inflict can be:
When it comes to dreaming up ways your villain could possibly hurt your main character, think outside the box. Be creative about what you want them to do. What makes your villain’s actions different than others you have read about in other books. Mold them. Make their pain causing actions unique.
First Person POV: The story is told from the story teller’s point of view and uses the pronoun ‘I’, ‘us’, ‘our’, or ‘ourselves’. It can also be narrated by the protagonist/main character, witness, or side character.
Third Person POV: The story is told from outside the story and the narrator refers to the characters by name or as ‘he/she/they’ and also ‘him/her/them’. Types of third person include:
For a stronger point of view that pulls the reader into the story, use verbs that create action directly (note the bold faced words in the examples above). When you do this, emotions are created at the same time, which is felt by the reader and pulls them in even further. Now your reader is hooked. They want to know how the story is going to play out and change for the better/or worse. Have you ever read a book you can’t put down? Strong point of view is all part of that.
There have been movies about somehow waking up and one day you are a kid again. We know this can’t really happen. It’s only in the movies. But…..what if it did? What if you lived your adult life up until the age of 50 years old. You’re single but have had on and off again relationships over the years. You live in New York City. Then, one night you went to bed and woke up one morning at some point in your past. Let’s say 31 years old. The bed you woke up in was completely different, and the house you woke up in was the house you lived in in London, England, when you were that age.
What’s more disturbing is you don’t know which reality is real. Did you dream your life to 50 and you are still 31? Or are you 50 and having a dream that you went back in time? Both feel lucid, so you are unable to tell. What would you do? How would you react? How would you find out the truth? Would you even want to live your last 19 years all over again?
I know that if I woke tomorrow morning in my room at my dad’s house and it was 9 years earlier, I think I’d jump for joy. The last 9 years of my life have been great since I remarried my husband 9 years ago. I wouldn’t want to trade that for anything. So, yup, I’d want to relive it. And, yes, there are some things I’d do different. I think we all would.
How many times over the course of your life have you played a game with that one person who can’t help cheating to win the game? They are out there. In stories, they most definitely are there. They are called the antagonist, your villain. And they don’t play by the rules. In their minds the law doesn’t apply to them. If they can get what they want by breaking the law, so be it.
Their drive comes from interest in themselves. Their behavior is immoral/amoral. They lie, cheat, steal, deceive, and manipulate. If it puts money in their own pockets, they will take a bribe, blackmail, or do whatever it takes. Whatever the case, they always have ulterior motives.
When creating your villain, think outside the box. What are some creative ways your villain can break the rules to achieve their goal(s)?
Where are you? What does that place look like? What feeling does it convey? Is it essential to the story? Did something significant occur there?
When you are selecting settings for your story, the reader must know where the story is taking place. More importantly, they want to ‘see’ it and ‘feel’ it. You may have just read the previous sentence and said, “Well, duhhh.” I kid you not. There are some writers out there who don’t pay enough attention to their setting. It leaves the reader scratching their head. I’ve read books where I have had to back track because the setting wasn’t paid its due diligence. I don’t know about you, but I picture in my head what I’m reading. It plays out like a movie. If I can’t see it, the story lacks that flow. Once you hook the reader on the first page, you want to keep them.
Writing success can come fast and hard. It can also come slow and steady. Regardless of the speed at which it comes, remain thankful, grateful, and most importantly humble. Keep in mind that you aren’t the only one working for that success. There are other people on your team who work to get you that success you are striving for. So, in a nutshell, it is not all about you.
You might be thinking, ‘Wait, I’m the only one working toward my success. I’m the one writing the stories that people like.’ Well, yes and no. Yes, without your stories, articles, or blog posts, etc, there wouldn’t be a career. But, let’s not forget, there are people along the way who help to get you where you are going. There are supportive family members who stay quiet so you can write (if you’re married with kids or just you and the spouse). If you’re single this alone time will be easier to come by. There are others who help you to promote your book/work, social media plays a large role, editors, beta readers, those who hire you to write for them, and the list goes on.
How can you remain humble? Thank people from your heart. Appreciate what they do for you by doing for them. Above all else…..give thanks to God. Without Him we are nothing.
Years ago, I had this “friend” who, when I first met her, appeared to be very nice. I’ll call her Gina for purposes of this story (It’s not her real name). She invited me to her house. We talked and shared information like pre-teen girls usually do. We had a lot of fun…..at first. Then the blowback came. One day she started telling all the other girls in our class all the information I shared with her. I’m not the only one she did this too. She would apologize and gain my trust again then turn around and manipulate the situation to her advantage. From that point forward, she began pitting all of us against one another. She was so good at trickery and conniving that she was never suspected of anything. This story could go on and on but for purposes of this blog, I’ll just leave this story here, LOL. This went on for two years (7th and 8th grade). During my 8th grade year I stopped hanging around her and that group of girls all together. She didn’t make it easy on my though.
I can honestly say that Gina is the perfect example of a story villain. They can not be trusted with anything whatsoever. This doesn’t mean they won’t try to gain one’s trust. They will because they are masters at knowing how to do that. Keep in mind, villains have very high social IQ’s and so they know how to manipulate people and situations. Ultimately, gaining the advantage and keeping it in any situation that serves themselves is what their goal is.
People are naturally trusting, so use this to your advantage when plotting your story. Here again, the villain will exploit the trust of others to obtain the advantage. And, YES, they are ALWAYS looking for ways to back stab anyone, this means adversaries and allies alike.
Our love, a ruby crown
On high that soars in the breeze,
Grows aloft,
But no one ever sees.
Through pink cotton mist
With rubies above so adorned,
Walk with me
For our future there is born.
On eagles’ wings we fly
Our souls locked with love
For today, today
Our love carries us high above.
Time’s window of love, everlasting,
Passes fleet footed then gone in half minute’s time,
Hurry, hasten with me
Or remain ever repentant.
The joyful village of our hearts,
Beyond the beauty glistens,
Stay and venture to long lost gifts,
For which only you are smitten.
by L. M. Montes
from The Triunix of Time (book 1 in the Time Series)
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 