Drama: May 31, 2023 Issue [#11994]
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 This week: Unusual Villains
  Edited by: NaNoKit Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

How do you like your villains? Do you favour the traditional, or prefer something more unusual?

This week's Drama Newsletter is all about the Big Bad.

NaNoKit Author Icon


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Are you as tired of stereotypical villains as I am? The kind of villain who’s either amazingly beautiful or super ugly, with bad skin, and bad teeth, and absolutely zero redeeming qualities? I like my heroes to have depth. Character. People are more than just the one thing, and each of us has both good and bad inside of us. The same ought to go for villains. It may be a comforting notion that you can somehow tell if someone’s evil, because just look at them, but that’s not how the world works. Nor is it all that interesting.

That’s not to say that I’ve never enjoyed a story with a stereotypical villain. Lord Voldemort is pretty stereotypical after all – when we meet him he hardly looks human, and for all his power and all of his intelligence he somehow fails to understand the power of love, and friendship, and loyalty. His backstory is pretty interesting, but the Voldemort in Harry Potter’s time isn’t as frightening a character – in my opinion, of course – as Dolores Umbridge, with her overly-sweet kitten decorations and the way that she wielded the bureaucratic power of an increasingly corrupt Ministry of Magic. She feels more real, somehow. There are always those who will rise in the midst of chaos – people eager to tread on the rights of others, devoid of empathy and ready to commit the kind of deeds most people with intact morals would shy away from. History tells the tales of those Umbridges. I’m afraid that the future will contain many more.

George R. R. Martin knows how to write a good villain. His novels offer a variety of villain types, from the terrifying, no-doubt-about-it full-on evil characters like Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton, to the scheming, manipulative Petyr Baelish, all the way to characters you wouldn’t readily class as a villain, or ones you’re not entirely sure about. Varys is such a character. For most of the story, it seems uncertain who he truly serves. And what about Tyrion Lannister? He is one of my favourite characters, but Martin calls him a villain. It is difficult for me to see TV series Tyrion in such a light – he schemes, yes, and commits some terrible deeds, but considering the life he’s led, who he’s surrounded by and the way things are in Westeros, I can understand why he does the things he does and, well, he doesn’t seem like a bad person as such. He can even be kind. Book Tyrion is heading down a darker path, and where he’ll end up we may never know. That depends on whether we’ll ever get to read the final books.

I love an unusual villain, though, and Terry Pratchett was a master of writing those. He managed, for example, to make music the villain in one novel (Soul Music), and it’s brilliant. Other villains include the Ankh-Morpork United football team, Holy Wood and the Auditors of Reality. As Pratchett often showed, to write a good villain you must first understand humanity. You have to know what makes people tick. Humanity is multifaceted. We’re capable of wisdom and great folly, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, compassion and pettiness. We’ll twitch curtains, vote against our own interest, yet when disaster strikes many will go out of their way to help those in need. Ankh-Morpork, one of the main settings of the Discworld novels, is ruled by a dictator called Lord Vetinari. He’s a highly intelligent man, a trained assassin, and he understands the people in his city-state well enough to know that what they want most of all is for everything to stay the same as they’ve always known it. His family motto is ‘Si non confectus, non reficiat’ – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’d say that’s pretty accurate.

It can be tempting to go down the traditional route when writing your villains. I admit, it can even be fun. I’ve written a stereotypical villain or two; sometimes I just want a proper Big Bad. There is a joy, though, in developing someone more complex, more layered, and these layers can open doors to new possibilities for your storyline. There’s something utterly satisfying about creating a unique, memorable character; someone who makes a lasting impression on your readers. Such a character is worth the extra effort. Who knows, they may even land you a bestseller. The world needs more original stories.

Happy writing!

NaNoKit Author Icon


Editor's Picks

Some quick, end-of-the-month challenges:

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The Bard's Hall Contest Open in new Window. (13+)
NOVEMBER: Comedy... Thanksgiving with the Family
#981150 by StephBee Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
The Prompt Me Contest Open in new Window. (13+)
Weekly winners will have a chance to win the monthly MB give-away!
#2000519 by Cubby Author IconMail Icon


FORUM
The Writer's Cramp Open in new Window. (13+)
Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 10K GPS!
#333655 by Sophurky Author IconMail Icon


Daily Flash Fiction Challenge Open in new Window. (13+)
Enter your story of 300 words or less.
#896794 by Arakun the twisted raccoon Author IconMail Icon


Some fun activities:

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The Tavern ~ Sit for a while and chat Open in new Window. (18+)
Feel free to share your opinion, ask questions, post your writing to get more attention.
#2295582 by Creeper Of The Realm Author IconMail Icon


SURVEY
ADOPT A MONSTER! Open in new Window. (13+)
Calling all Momsters and Popsters . . . loving monsters need homes! Adopt one today!
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Siesta Fiesta: Halloween Spooktacular Open in new Window. (E)
Monsters & ghouls have taken over the Siesta Fiesta! Help Juan escape the nightmare!
#2293711 by .Jeremy. Author IconMail Icon


And don't forget:

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What a Character! : Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Create a memorable character using the given prompt for huge prizes!
#1679316 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon


 
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Ask & Answer

The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in! *Smile*

In next month's newsletter, this section will contain a little challenge, so keep your eye out for it!

Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,

The Drama Newsletter Team



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