 Mystery: August 22, 2018 Issue [#9068] |
  Mystery
This week: Sensible Villainy Edited by: Jeff  
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"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the
fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
-- Albert Einstein
Trivia of the Week: The Scarlet Pimpernel was the best known work of Emma Orczy (Baroness Orczy), a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. Her full name, however, was Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozalia Maria Jozefa Borbala "Emmuska" Orczy de Orci... try fitting that on the cover of a novel! 
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SENSIBLE VILLAINY
Have you ever read one of those stories where you're learning about why the villain is doing what he or she is doing and you just kind of scratch your head and ask, why? I've been reading a lot of self-published fiction in recent years and one of the most common problems I've noticed is when a villain doesn't seem to have any logical or understandable reason for doing what he or she is doing. And that goes for both small-scale, local villains, and large-scale, worldwide villains. James Bond is frequently saving the world from men with grand plans; Auric Goldfinger, for example, wants to irradiate the gold supply in Fort Knox to make his own gold reserves significantly more valuable. And at the other end of the spectrum, you have stories like The Departed where the goal of the villainous mob boss is to ascertain the identity of the mole inside their own criminal organization in Boston before the mole they have inside the police department gets outed. In either circumstance, there's a clear logic and objective to the villain's plans.
Some of the stories I've read recently have no such logic or clear objective. The bad guy is just a bad guy because he does bad things, even if those bad things have no rhyme or reason. This is particularly prevalent in the serial killer sub-genre where the characterization of the villain seems to be little more than, "He's a crazy serial killer. That's all there is to it." There are even stories where a villain is bent on large-scale world domination, but for what purpose? Well, the story doesn't always tell us. No matter what the motive of ultimate objective of the villain, it has to make sense within the context of the story. To have a villain with a nonsensical or ill-defined goal is to have an antagonist who the audience will have difficulty understanding and won't be as motivated to root against.
When you're creating villains, make sure there's a sensibility to their needs and goals. It's sometimes said that the villain is the hero of their own story, and that can be a great frame to test the character motivations for your antagonist. If you can't figure out how your bad guy sees his plan working to his own advantage, favor, quest for power, etc., it might be worth taking a second look and making sure that's an intentional choice rather than an accidental oversight. Villains need the same care and attention as protagonists, so their motivations and intentions should be sensible to them at least, enough that an outside observer can at least understand them even if they don't agree with them.
Villains are fun characters to create. They can be larger than life, dramatic, and the kind of characters your reader loves to root against (or for, depending on the story!). Make sure you give them a fully-realized motivation so your reader will appreciate the place they're coming from.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Terrance Godwin was the richest man in town. In-fact, he owned the most of it. And not only was he considered the richest man in town, but one of the richest men in the country and the world.
To the world at-large, he was a construction magnate and philanthropist. He owned real estate all over town and he owned big shopping centres, hotels and penthouse apartment buildings in pretty much any major city you can name.
The construction elevator rattled its way up the cold temporary shaft to the eighth floor of his latest project. A new office building that breezed its way through the planning permission process the same way that the cold wind blew through the windowless floor. All put through with a smiling face as he visited sick children in the local hospital, shook hands with the elderly in the nursing homes and proclaimed how many local jobs were going to be created.
All a damn facade.
EXCERPT: They ran, the three of them. They ran stumbling now, their breaths coming out in gasps, but they still ran on. Through the forest, draped in thick curtains of fog, they raced. Any other time they would have never entered the forest, but this was no ordinary scenario. They were stories about this forest, but they were forgotten in the moment. The fog made obstacles jump out of nowhere, a tree suddenly appearing in their path, a rock, not there before, suddenly tripping a foot. The fog was both comforting and unwanted. The fog made fantasies of safety have less opposition, but it also made the fear more tangible. With no evidence to support it, how could you harbor wishes of safety?
EXCERPT: Rain lashed against the passenger window as Olivia stared at her own pitiful reflection. Her hair was a mess of ginger curls, held back by a simple green headband. Her brown eyes were tinged red, and puffy from crying. She instinctively fixed the collar of her turtleneck to cover up the large birthmark on her neck.
Beyond the window was the gray sky, full of dark clouds that trapped the sunlight. The rain fell upon the miles of empty fields as the car slipped further away from civilization. Olivia shifted, displacing the seatbelt that was making her shoulder uncomfortable. Speaking of uncomfortable...
| | RED [13+] #2165386
A short story written for the Show, Don't Tell Contest. Who is the mysterious RED?
by Choconuts Roasting  |
EXCERPT: The clock struck twelve, pulling Joe out of his slumbers. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he yawned and stretched, cracking his back bones into place.
With a glance around the room, he remembered he needed to put some washing on this morning. All he had were the boxers he was wearing and the paisley-patterned robe he bought online in an attempt to blend in with the revered writers of his youth. Oh well, it’s not like I’ll see anyone, he thought as he grabbed the robe and became ‘Joe The Freelancer.’
EXCERPT: "I still think it's peculiar that you're having a business meeting at a house on a Saturday evening," said Maggie. "What am I supposed to do?"
"I think it's strange too, but as I said, you don't say no to William Harris and Edward Griffon. Especially while I'm still trying to find the right job," Henry replied. He was facing the long narrow mirror, hung on a wall in their bedroom. He had been trying on different ties for close to half an hour. He couldn't seem to find one to fit the occasion. He was a stickler for detail, and it was important that he look both fashionable and professional.
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Feedback from "Mystery Newsletter (July 25, 2018)" about cultural differences:
🎼 RRodgersWrites 🎶  writes: "Thanks so much for the interesting letter above. It was a good read. Also, I was draw in as soon as I saw and read the Trivia Fact. I have a sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew in Thailand. I will send this interesting fact to them! Great points about the important of culture and the radical differences (and miscommunications) that exist out there."
Thanks for taking the time to read and send in feedback for my newsletter! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 
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