Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer.
I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging!
Article Roundup: Villains
No story would be complete without its villain! In fact, the strength of a story’s antagonist frequently directly influences the strength of an overall story. Stronger, more complex, and interesting bad guys make for stronger, more complex, and more interesting stories. Make sense? After all, if the villain is predictable and pathetic then it won’t be much of a struggle to overcome them.
Our stories need conflict, struggle, and tension in them. That’s what make them stories.
Sometimes I get carried away giving my main characters interesting backstories, cool talents, and snarky senses of humor and I forget that my antagonist also needs fleshed out motivations and goals.
So that’s what we’re up to today! Taking a little time devoted to our villains and making them stronger. Here are 4 articles on creating good villains… and by “good” I mean very very bad 😉
- 5 Tips For Writing Superbad Villains– The Creative Penn
- This article starts off digging into a villain’s worldview and motivation, touching on important considerations to building a strong antagonist that isn’t simply a cliche.
- How To Create A Villain Readers Won’t Forget: 6 Tips– Now Novel
- Here we look at our villain’s motivation more and also examine their history and how they may not have always been the bad guy.
- 6 Terror Tactics For Really Scary Villains– Sacha Black
- Creepiness galore can be found here! This article looks at how to really give our antagonists that extra punch that makes them truly frightening.
- Creating The Perfect Villain: A 6-Step Master Plan– Fiction University
- I really enjoyed going through the steps in the article when considering how to strengthen my villains and how to really show their villain-ness. Plus the tips come in acrostic format! So bonus points for sure.
Speaking of bonuses, here’s an extra article for you about villains. This article looks at how sometimes blurring the lines between good and evil can lead to a strengthening of theme and make things more interesting. Plus things are rarely black and white in real life! So it’s a good thing to be thinking about when we’re creating our antagonists.
- The Case For Blurring The Lines Between Good And Evil– Better Novel Project
Book Spotlight: Dr Seuss’s ABC Book– Dr Seuss
Whether you have young children or not, Dr Seuss’s ABC Book is an enjoyable read and a reminder of how to have fun with words. And as writers we should be all about having fun with words, right?
In this children’s book, Dr Seuss has given us a frolicking adventure through the alphabet filled with humorous pictures and imaginative action. Aunt Annie has an alligator! Rosy’s riding on a red rhinoceros! Ten tired turtles are on a tuttle-tuttle tree! Dr Seuss is the word master we all can aspire to be 🙂
Sometimes maybe we take being a writer too seriously. And it is certainly hard work! No stories, Dr Seuss’s included, come about by accident.
Yet this book is a wonderful reminder that there is joy in reading! Which is a wonderful reminder of why we write.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to recognize the masterful work that Dr Seuss exhibits with his use of meter, rhyme, and generous alliteration. Every word is chosen with care and they come together to create something greater than themselves. As proof, I’ve now read this book countless times with my two little girls and I still enjoy it so it’s obviously doing something right!
So if you have a moment, find a copy of this picture book and read it aloud. (It really is meant to be read aloud!) And whether or not you’re a Seuss fan yourself, use this book as a reminder to have some fun with your own writing and with your own words today 🙂
Recipe of the Month: Rhubarb- Berry Jam
Have you been wondering what to do with the season’s crop of rhubarb? I’ve been the thankful recipient of lots of fresh rhubarb from our landlords which has led me to some experimenting with ways to use it. There are lots of fun options! Probably my favorite recipe so far (and one of the easiest which always gets a gold star in my book) is this rhubarb and berry jam that uses strawberry Jello to get that classic “strawberry rhubarb” combo without all of the work. I see lots of PB&J in my future this summer because this stuff is delicious! Plus I feel very accomplished and fancy making my own jam 😉
PS: Feel free to share any of your favorite rhubarb (or other fresh produce) recipes below! I’m always looking for new things to try.
Self Care Homework: Sunshine!
How do I love thee, sunshine? Let me count the ways… <3
All too easy I get too comfortable with my routines and busyness and I forget to get outside. Yet summertime and sunshine is here! This month as part of our self care, I challenge every one of us (myself included!) to get outside for at least a few moments every day.
Let’s walk, run, sit, frolic, play on a playground… it doesn’t matter what we’re doing but let’s soak in the fresh air. The great outdoors is good for us! The change of scenery is helpful in keeping our brains active, the movement and fresh air keeps our bodies healthy, and the sunshine is good for our souls <3
Writing Prompt: Succinct Summarizing
Can you write a summary of your current work in progress in three sentences? How about in one sentence? Can you boil it down to less than a dozen words?
By forcing ourselves to be succinct we are forcing ourselves to be precise in our descriptions and really think about what we are saying. Many people can ramble on for an hour about a story but in order to communicate our story swiftly we must truly understand what it is about.
Bonus round: What is the core of your story in three words?
Cuteness Quota: Red Panda <3
Quote:
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C. S. Lewis
Happy writing to you all! I hope your month has been fabulous and full of joy.
I’m always looking for feedback and ways to make this site helpful to you, so if you have any writing questions you’d like me to tackle next or topics to focus on, please let me know below in the comments! I’d love to hear from you 🙂
