Tag: antagonists

Mastering Conflict—Hook Readers & Never Let Them Go

We should strive to never ever leave a logical spot to slip in a bookmark. No, we want to torture our readers and keep them up all night and sleep-deprived. We do this with conflict.

Anatomy of a Legendary Villain

If a villain is wanting to rule, control, destroy, etc. they should have a really good/plausible/sympathetic reason for doing so. In fact, when we do a great job at creating the villain, our audience will struggle with who to root for.

The Bookpocalypse–What to Do When You Realize Your Story Might Be DEAD

Characters were talking to each other with no conflict, no scene goal. Melodrama filled in the gaps. Characters were psychologically inconsistent and half I would have recommended seek therapy and get medication. Their emotions were all over, namely to manufacture tension that couldn’t be created any other way (because no core story problem/antagonist).

The Single Largest Cause of Writer's Block–Might Not Be What You Believe

When I initially began writing fiction, I was shocked how terrible I was at it. Oh, page to page, the writing was lovely. But as a whole? I kept creating mess after mess, a blob with no internal structure that made sense. To make matters worse, I would hit about 30-40, 000 words an hit a WALL. I was paralyzed with no idea how the story should progress.

This, then led to editing and reediting the beginning until I was just ready to throw myself in traffic.

DON'T TALK ABOUT IT—Drive the Flaw to the Surface for Great Fiction

This can be easier when the plot problem is clearer. In murder mysteries, the goal is to find the killer. In thrillers? Locate the terrorists and stop the bomb. But what about the more existential stuff? This is where a lot of writers can get lost and end up navel-gazing instead of writing great fiction.