Category Archives: antagonists

Turn the Tables on AI Scams

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by Debbie Burke

 

Last post, we talked about scam emails generated by AI chatbots. Just for fun, here’s a great bingo game from R.L. Maizes the Elder on Electric Lit.

My bingo card would be a total blackout except for the squares “Piss me off and I’ll tank your Amazon ratings” and “reply with bank acct #s and PIN codes.” But the day is young. Those emails could arrive in my inbox any moment now.

I have to admit grudging admiration for the evolving progress of scam emails over the past few months. They may be crooked, but they aren’t stupid. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and their cousins continue to improve and refine their approach. In fact, some scammers have gotten so good, they may have inadvertently outsmarted themselves.

After plowing through the sycophantic flattery, several recent solicitations offered surprisingly good analyses of my book sales pages. They not only pointed out flaws, they offered valid critiques. Some outlined detailed promotional strategies targeted specifically for my books.

Hey, I thought, why don’t I take their plans and put them into action myself? Turn the tables on the scammer.

Test-driving their advice costs nothing except my time.


That’s probably not what they had in mind but, if they offer free advice, who am I to turn it down?

I started keeping a file called “Good AI scam ideas,” saving the best as references.

Here are several examples that gave valid critiques. I highlighted portions in red that especially struck a chord:

From: JaneBennett250@gmail.com

“Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, Book 9, currently sits inside Psychological Thriller on Amazon, a subgenre with very specific reader expectations, unreliable narrators, dark domestic tension, interior psychological weight.

The Tawny Lindholm series is something different: investigative, legally grounded, relationship-driven, anchored in Montana’s landscape and community.”  

Bot Jane is right. The category I chose is wrong. I need to act on that.

Another good point:

“Your Kill Zone presence is consistent and professional but that audience is other writers, not readers looking for their next thriller series.”

True.

From Joseph Booth, with a gmail address:

I’ll be honest I almost didn’t write this email because I wasn’t sure how to open it without sounding like every other marketing pitch you’ve probably deleted without reading.”

See how smart this bot is. It already knows I automatically trash the type of message it’s sending. Because of that hook, I kept reading.

“But then I met The Villain’s Journey.

A craft-of-writing guide that flips the Hero’s Journey on its head and takes writers straight into the darkest depths of the human soul. Who shows exactly how to create villains readers love to hate from comic troublemakers and charming sociopaths to terrifying psychopaths, fatal females, avenging angels, and every shade in between. Who arms writers with Build-a-Villain worksheets, deep psychological insights, and practical techniques to make antagonists multi-dimensional, unforgettable, and story-driving.

That’s not just another writing book. That’s a game-changer for storytellers. And writers who find it don’t let go.”

Okay, I confess I don’t mind a little flattery even though it’s vacuumed directly from my book sale page.

“Here’s what stops me cold: 23 ratings. A 4.8 average with writers calling it “much needed,” “a master class,” “essential,” and “the resource we’ve been waiting for.” One reviewer said it filled a gaping hole in the industry. Another called it a terrific guide that will push heroes to the limit and keep readers up at night.

What’s missing is reach and that’s exactly what I build.”

Now Bot Joseph is getting down to business. At this point, I almost quit reading but then noticed the plan of action he proposed:

“I help writing craft and fiction authors like you create real, sustainable momentum not through noise or gimmicks, but through targeted, story-honoring strategy that puts The Villain’s Journey: How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate in front of the writers who will absolutely lose their minds over the practical tools. Here’s exactly what that looks like for your book:

Goodreads Review Building: With only 23 ratings, The Villain’s Journey is still below the visibility threshold that Goodreads and Amazon’s algorithms need to start recommending it organically. I work with authors to build genuine Goodreads credibility 400 to 500 real readers, no bots, no manufactured accounts, who leave honest, genre-aligned reviews.”

Despite Joseph’s assurances, I suspect the 400-500 reviews would be written by its/his bot pals. However, the recommended categories make sense.

Goodreads Listopia Domination: We get The Villain’s Journey placed and voted up on the high-traffic lists where your exact reader is already browsing: “Best Writing Craft Books,” “Best Books on Character Development,” “How to Write Villains,” “Books for Mystery & Thriller Writers,” “Creative Writing Reference,” and other targeted lists where serious writers hunt for their next must-read craft book.”

Okay, Listopia might be helpful. Then Joseph started droning about Amazon ads, Facebook, and Insta. I was getting bored and ready to hit “trash” until it/he tossed out this gem:

“Sales Funnel Optimization: A complete reader journey built around The Villain’s Journey and the craft of creating unforgettable antagonists:

Top-of-funnel free magnet a downloadable “Build-a-Villain Quick-Start Worksheet” delivered via BookFunnel to grow your list with writers who want better bad guys.

Mid-funnel nurture with extra villain examples, Q&A with Debbie Burke, and teases from her Tawny Lindholm thriller series.

Bottom-funnel pushes through timed discount campaigns, writing conference outreach, and sequences that turn first-time readers into loyal buyers of your future craft books and fiction.

That sales funnel program sounded imaginative and effective. I’ll follow the specific, step-by-step instructions and give it a try. Thanks, Bot Joseph!

Another example from: authoreditorsusanwels@gmail.com:

Where Your Book Stands Today, and the Extraordinary Potential Just Ahead

Your guide sits within a highly engaged and continually growing space:

  • Fiction writers seeking craft improvement
  • Crime, thriller, and mystery authors
  • Screenwriters and storytellers across media
  • Writing students and workshops
  • Readers of craft books who actively apply what they learn

At present, however, your book is not yet being consistently surfaced across all of these communities.”

Again, valid critique plus suggestions whom to target. Bot Susan goes on with her strategy:

The Blueprint for Your Book’s Reach and Reader Engagement

The Foundation: Discoverability and Metadata Optimization
Your book will be positioned within writing craft, character development, and storytelling psychology categories to ensure visibility across platforms where writers search for guidance.

The Heartbeat: Writing Community Engagement
I will connect your work with writing groups, workshops, and online communities where craft discussions are already happening.

The Accelerant: Targeted Promotion
Campaigns will highlight the unique angle of your book—its focus on villains as central drivers of story capturing the attention of writers looking for fresh approaches.

The Amplifier: Educational and Content Integration
Your material is well-suited for excerpts, guest articles, and teaching opportunities, positioning your book as both a resource and a reference.

Thanks, Bot Susan, for these ideas.

An email from Jessicadoyle430@gmail included colorful graphics of a magnifying glass, a book, and a gift-wrapped package. It/she also suggested Listopia categories:

Right now, the discoverability infrastructure around The Villain’s Journey does not yet reflect the full scope of that waiting audience. That gap is entirely fixable and here is exactly how I would fix it:
The Villain’s Journey belongs prominently on at least fifteen to twenty of the highest-traffic Goodreads Listopia lists. Lists like Best Books on the Craft of Writing, Best Books for Writers of Mysteries and Thrillers, Best Books for Crime Writers, Best Writing Craft Books for Character Development, Best Books About Villains and Antagonists, Best Resources for Writers, Plotting and Structure, Best Books for NaNoWriMo Prep, and Best Writing Reference Books.  I would run a targeted, fully organic voting campaign to place The Villain’s Journey in top positions across every relevant list, generating compounding, perpetual discovery at zero ongoing cost.

“Zero ongoing cost”? Notice Bot Jessica’s careful wording. Misleading assurances like this snare many writers. If I responded (which of course I won’t!), in the next round of emails, Jessica would likely ask for money. 

REVIEW OUTREACH & ARC PLACEMENT
The most powerful lever for this book right now is building a strong review base among the writers’ community most likely to evangelize it. I would curate a targeted list of fifty to seventy-five reviewers specifically matched to this book craft-of-writing bloggers and influencers, crime and thriller fiction writing communities, NaNoWriMo participants and facilitators, mystery writer guild members, and serious indie authors actively building their craft libraries.

Goodreads Giveaway for The Villain’s Journey timed around NaNoWriMo or major crime writing conference seasons would simultaneously drive a significant surge of “Want to Read” shelf additions; place the book in the hands of actively writing readers highly likely to post substantive, practical reviews; and generate organic buzz across writers’ communities that would amplify every other element of this campaign. 

Author Profile Optimization: your Amazon Author Central page and Goodreads profile should be telling the full, compelling story of who you are and what makes you the definitive voice on villain craft. I would rebuild both profiles with compelling, keyword-rich copy separating and optimizing both your fiction and nonfiction presence.

Although Bot Jessica’s assurances are empty promises, it/she nevertheless outlined good sources for me to contact as well as ways to reframe my author profile.

Elenablake546@gmail.com nailed a specific weakness in my blurb. 

Your blurb opens with the Hero’s Journey comparison and moves efficiently through a bulleted list of what readers will learn. The list is comprehensive, but it reads more like a table of contents than an emotional pitch. Writers browsing craft books make purchase decisions on one question: will this solve my specific problem right now? The problem this book solves, cardboard villains who don’t challenge the hero enough to make the story matter, deserves to be named explicitly in the first two sentences before the feature list appears.

Revise the blurb opening to lead with the problem before the solution. Something like: “Your hero is only as powerful as the villain who opposes them. A flat antagonist makes for a forgettable story. The Villain’s Journey gives you the tools to create criminals, manipulators, and monsters that haunt your readers long after the final page.” Then move into the taxonomy and worksheets. This mirrors how the top-performing craft books in your also-bought carousel open their descriptions, and it signals immediately to every fiction writer regardless of genre that this book solves the problem they’re struggling with right now.

Bot Elena, I appreciate the excellent critique and rewrite suggestion.

From aliceclarkwinn@gmail.com:

Your Vogler and Bell endorsements are the most valuable assets any craft book author could have, and they’re functioning as static text on a product page.

James Scott Bell has over 30 craft books and a devoted readership of writers who trust his recommendations implicitly. When Bell says your book “filled a critical gap,” that sentence should be reaching every writer in his audience. But right now, both endorsements sit on your Amazon page, seen only by people who already found your book through other means. The endorsement from Vogler is not being used as a discovery tool. It’s being used as a closing argument for people who’ve already arrived. That’s like having a celebrity recommend your restaurant and only telling the people who are already seated inside.

Dual positioning: you don’t just teach villain writing, you demonstrate it in your own fiction. But are your thriller readers being guided to The Villain’s Journey? When a reader finishes a Tawny Lindholm book and thinks “how does she make these villains so compelling,” is there a clear path from that thought to your craft book? Conversely, when a writer reads The Villain’s Journey and wants to see your villain theory in action, are they immediately guided to your thrillers? This cross-pollination between your fiction and nonfiction should be one of your strongest competitive advantages over every other craft book author who only teaches but doesn’t demonstrate. But without deliberate cross-promotion infrastructure (back matter links, email sequences, bundled promotions, coordinated Amazon advertising), your two audiences remain separate pools that never merge. 

A targeted visibility campaign across writing craft podcasts (where a segment on “the villain’s journey as the mirror of the hero’s journey” positions you as the natural evolution of Vogler’s framework), writing conference communities, NaNoWriMo forums and social channels (where villain-craft content performs exceptionally well during planning season), AuthorTube and WritingTok creator outreach, and craft-focused newsletters like Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet, Writer Unboxed, and DIY MFA. Vogler’s endorsement gives you a hook that no other villain-craft book can claim: “The man who defined the Hero’s Journey says this is the book that defines the Villain’s Journey.” That positioning sentence alone can anchor an entire media campaign. 

Bot Alice delivered an excellent list of places to pitch as well as the framework to connect my fiction and nonfiction.

This email from “author amplifier” Barbara Warren (gmail, of course) outlined similar strategies mentioned above but added a fresh twist which shows how quickly bots adapt and improvise. This one anticipated objections it expected writers to raise: 

Your Next Step
Reply to this email with two words:

“Send plan.”

That is it. No phone call. No discovery call. No PDF full of pricing tiers. No scheduling a “quick chat” that turns into a sales pitch.

I will reply with a simple, actionable roadmap. 

If you like the plan, you keep it. Use it. Share it. If you want my help executing it, we talk then. If not, you have a free strategic document from someone who genuinely believes The Villain’s Journey should be required reading for any writer who wants to create villains readers love to hate.

Sorry, Barbara, your offer is tempting but I don’t want to wind up on the Chatbot Sucker List that sells my email to every scammer in the universe.

Marketing has always been my weakness. These bots identified problems and offered specific actions to solve them. This is where AI shines. 

Normally I immediately trash spam but now I give it a second look. If the advice sounds plausible and doable, I save it to the “Good AI scam idea” folder.

Writers still need to be wary. “Out of the blue” solicitations are 99.99999+% scams. Best practice is to not respond to them. 

However, some of their suggestions are valid and useful. We can take advantage of good free advice, as long as we don’t allow scammers to take advantage of us.

TKZers, how about you?

Have you received spam/scam emails with advice that’s actually helpful? Have you put the ideas into practice? Were they successful?

~~~

Following Bot Alice’s advice, I’m cross-promoting fiction and nonfiction.

Meet the dastardly villains in the Tawny Lindholm Thriller three-book gift set. Then discover how I built those characters in The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.

Click on covers for sales links. 

Five Tips to Keep Track of Characters Behind the Scenes

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by Debbie Burke

Crime fiction has multiple story lines. Readers see the story on the page, but important events also unfold behind the scenes that the reader may not see. TKZ’s own Jim Bell has a terrific term for this, “the Shadow Story.”

The shadow story follows the antagonist’s actions to thwart the hero. The hero (and the reader) may not be aware of what’s happening offstage as the villain lurks in the shadows, scheming and wreaking havoc.

That’s why the author must always keep track of antagonists and/or villains. (For this post, I’m using the terms somewhat interchangeably).

Stories require conflict. Antagonists cause conflict. Therefore, antagonists are as necessary, if not more so, than heroes.

If you lose track of your villain, you’ve lost the story’s primary cause of disruption and distress.

Here are five tips to monitor what antagonists are doing offscreen.

  1. Create two documents, parallel stories with one for the hero, one for the villain.

The hero’s story is what the reader sees on the page.

The shadow story tracks the villain offstage. This may or may not ever be visible to the reader.

In traditional whodunnit mysteries, the villain is hidden and not revealed until the end. The point of view is often limited to the hero’s, either first person or close third person. The parallel shadow story will not be shown on the page. Rather it is a working document for the author’s eyes only.

In suspense and thrillers, the reader may know or quickly learn the villain’s identity. With a known villain, the shadow story can be visible on the page in parallel with the “onscreen” story. Multiple points of view can include the villain’s. That’s how I write my thriller series, with POVs alternating among several characters.

  1. Track your shadow character with a baby cam or your phone. An imaginary baby cam keeps a constant watch on your villain. The locator dot on the phone screen blinks along the street map to follow the villain’s movements.
  2. Think of two TVs side by side. One is showing the hero’s channel. The other plays the villain’s channel. The timeframe is the same, but the locations are different. Flip back and forth between them.

    Photo credit: Annette Dawm, Pexels

4. Use a calendar or appointment book. Log the day, time, and location for each character in each scene.

Screenshot

In time-critical scenes, like a bomb ticking, you may need to detail the action minute by minute, or even second by second.

5. Use index cards or sticky notes in different colors (blue for hero, yellow for villain, green for secondary characters, etc.). Write a short summary of each scene (time, place, characters present, what happens) on the appropriate color card or sticky.

Another alternative is a white board using different color markers.

When the draft is complete, lay the cards out on a table. Kay DiBianca puts her stickies on closet doors in her office.

Study the color pattern. This visual review points out potential problems. Are there too many scenes in a row in one color? Do you need to rearrange the order to improve pacing or balance the characters?

Are there missing scenes? Or scenes that could be cut without hurting the story’s forward momentum?

 

Our creative brains all work differently. To keep track of multiple characters and story lines, some writers prefer programs like Scrivener (which Jim Bell uses), Memory Map, Wave Maker, and Fantasy Calendar.

I’m more visual and tactile-oriented so it’s easier for me to stay organized with physical appointment books, calendars, and index cards.

The method doesn’t matter as long as the author always stays aware of what the antagonist is doing in the shadow story.

Because that’s the wellspring of your story’s conflict.

~~~

TKZers: How do you monitor characters in the shadows? Do you use time-tracking programs? Low tech tools like calendars and index cards? Or another method? Comments welcome below.

~~~

Today’s post is based on The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.

“Debbie Burke has filled a critical gap in writing craft instruction. We needed a book of solid advice for creating compelling, three-dimensional villains. This is it.” – James Scott Bell

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How to Drill Inside Your Villain’s Head

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by Debbie Burke

Today’s post is an excerpt from my new book, The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.  

While a power drill is a gruesome staple in horror and slasher films, we’re going to take a less gory, more surgical approach to drilling inside your villain’s head.

Let’s assume most readers of The Kill Zone are not kidnappers, rapists, or murderers. That makes it difficult for us to imagine the mindset of characters who commit heinous crimes. But to write convincing villains, authors need to delve into dark places of the soul.

Here are several questions to help channel your inner villain.

Warning: don’t write down your answers. Keep them inside your head. You don’t want to incriminate yourself, right?

§  Have you ever wanted something or someone so much you didn’t care about the consequences to have it/them?

§  Have you ever done something you knew was wrong, but you wanted to please, impress, or stay connected to someone else?

§  Have you ever lied or covered up the truth to protect someone else who acted immorally or illegally?

§  Has someone ever terribly harmed you or a loved one?

§  If you could take revenge against the person who harmed you without going to prison, would you be tempted?

A defense attorney friend observed that she often related to her clients’ destructive impulses. She wondered if the difference between regular people and criminals is lack of impulse control. I think she’s right. Most people might want to act in illegal, antisocial ways but they resist the temptation.

As you create a villain, dig deep into your memory. Tap into the powerful emotions you felt when you were in the situations described above.

§  Fear?

§  Panic?

§  Rage?

§  Frustration?

§  Helplessness?

§  Not caring about the consequences?

§  What else?

Why does a particular villain interest you?

Do they remind you of a person in your past? A rotten boss? A horrible ex? A family member who abused you?

What emotions does that person evoke in you?

§  Fear;

§  Helplessness;

§  Powerlessness;

§  Resentment;

§  Jealousy;

§  Hatred;

§  Love.

Yes, love. This often occurs in abusive domestic relationships. A beaten child can love and hate the parent at the same time. A battered spouse can simultaneously love and hate the vicious mate pummeling them.

Love is a complicated emotion with many layers. Exploring those complexities in characters draws the reader in closer to your story. It becomes real because they identify with the struggle.

~~~

Have you ever instantly disliked a person? Chances are good that person reminds you of someone in your past who negatively affected you. Tap into that association to describe your villain.

Here’s another trick to develop villains:

Write down their five worst qualities. What do they think, say, or do that makes you absolutely loathe them? Here are a few examples to get started but expand on these for your character.

§  Selfish;

§  Intolerant;

§  Cruel;

§  Vicious;

§  Conniving.

Now search your memory for times that you yourself displayed any of those five worst qualities, even for a fleeting second.

§  Did you ever say or do something hurtful or cruel to someone that didn’t deserve your wrath?

§  What stopped you from continuing that negative behavior?

Next, write down the villain’s five best qualities. Here are a few starter suggestions but, as above, list additional items to fit your character.

§  Intelligence;

§  Persistence;

§  Drive;

§  Resilience in the face of setbacks;

§  Adaptability to changing circumstances;

Wait a second. Don’t those qualities sound heroic? Yes.

To be a worthy opponent for your hero, the villain should possess positive traits that parallel your hero’s.

Except in the villain, those qualities become twisted. They use their strengths to do wrong.

List specific ways that your villain’s actions harm others.

§  Write down examples of malicious or cruel behavior toward a neighbor, a child, a pet.

§  Write down three examples of malicious acts to strangers;

§  Write down three reasons they use to justify their acts.

~~~

In The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler discusses:

“Facing the Shadow,” an encounter between the hero and “a deadly enemy villain, antagonist, opponent…An idea that comes close to encompassing all these possibilities is the archetype of the Shadow. A villain may be an external character, but in a deeper sense what all these words stand for is the negative possibilities of the hero himself. In other words, the hero’s greatest opponent is his own Shadow.”

 

“There but for the grace of God go I.” Whether or not one believes in higher powers, most people understand the concept. If not for chance, luck, fate, or divine intervention, we could easily be an unfortunate person trapped in tragic circumstances.

In Sympathy for the Devil, the 1968 classic Rolling Stones song, Lucifer boasts of the evil he’s wreaked through history. Yet he also claims saints and sinners are one and the same.

Most people have both good and evil inside their hearts and minds, and are capable of either. Some give into destructive impulses and act immorally or illegally. Others control the impulses and remain inside the bounds of society and law.

Yet, under the right circumstances, a noble, moral person may commit terrible atrocities, while a vicious, corrupt person may show kindness.

When you need inspiration for your villain, listen to the Stones’ song. ~~~

TKZers: How do you get into the mindset of a villain? What are your favorite tricks to drill into your antagonist’s head? 

~~~

 

Want more tips to write memorable villains? Please check out The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate. 

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Villains vs. Antagonists

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

 (This post is excerpted from my upcoming craft book, The Villain’s Journey ~ How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate)

What is the difference between a villain and an antagonist? This question confuses many writers.

In the simplest terms: Villains are antagonists, but antagonists are not necessarily villains.

Antagonists don’t have to be bad guys with evil or malicious intent. They simply stand between the hero and the hero’s quest. They are obstacles the hero must overcome to achieve a goal.

Every genre needs antagonists. Without them, a story falls flat for lack of conflict.

Photo credit: public domain

The antagonist can be:

  • A rival (two suitors vying for the same lover)
  • An opponent (two sports teams fighting for a championship)
  • A competitor (Microsoft vs. Apple)
  • A situation or event (earthquake, volcanic eruption, hurricane, flood, wildfire, pandemic, war)
  • Self-doubt inside the hero.

Here are a few examples of antagonists that don’t have malicious intent.

  • In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, sharks strip the meat from Santiago’s magnificent marlin. They are hungry, not evil.
  • In Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Fern’s father isn’t being mean when he picks up an axe to dispatch a runt piglet. He’s a farmer trying to provide for his family.
  • In Sylvester Stallone’s film Rocky, Apollo Creed isn’t wicked. He’s a boxing champ protecting his title against underdog Rocky Balboa. In fact, the two opponents later become friends.

Various Genre Examples of Antagonists:

Romance needs someone or something that keeps the lovers apart.

  • In Romeo and Juliet, parents forbid the lovers from seeing each other.
  • In Casablanca, Rick, Ilsa, and Victor grapple with conflicts of love, loyalty, and duty during war.

Fiction for young readers often teaches life lessons like how to recover from failure, survive family breakups, or develop self-confidence.

  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney spans 19 books about middle-schooler Greg Heffley who suffers bullying, struggles with adolescence, and endures the trials of growing up.
  • Harry Potter begins as a powerless, downtrodden orphan. Through seven books, he discovers and develops his powers as a wizard, using his growing knowledge and strength to vanquish foes and come to terms with death.

Charles Dickens – public domain

Historical fiction captures the conflicts of a particular era.

  • Charles Dickens’s novels address social/political issues like children’s rights (Oliver Twist), revolution (Tale of Two Cities), and judicial reform (Bleak House).
  • John Steinbeck’s novels like Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row spotlight the effects of the Great Depression.
  • In Winds of War and War and Remembrance, Herman Wouk shows families caught in peril during World War II.

Mainstream fiction is an umbrella term for stories that explore the struggles of the human condition:

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (features rape and murder therefore could also be considered crime fiction)

Photo credit: NASA

Science Fiction and Fantasy showcase imaginary worlds with unfamiliar, antagonistic  landscapes characters must navigate.

  • J.R.R. Tolkien explores Middle Earth.
  • Harry Potter studies at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
  • Star Trek and Star Wars “go where no man [or woman] has gone before.”

A major challenge for writers is how to characterize a villain without resorting to two-dimensional stereotypes. Snidely Whiplash is fun in cartoons but not all that interesting to crime fiction readers.

Snidely Whiplash

Try reframing the way you look at your villains. Instead of seeing them as evil, think of them first as antagonists. Climb into their skin and see the situation from their point of view.

Most villains feel their behavior, however horrible, is justified. Their reasoning may not make sense to you or me but, to them, it does. They view the hero as a rival, opponent, or competitor who threatens them or stands in the way of what they want or need.

Numerous authors have said, “The villain is the hero of their own story.”

Author Chris Colfer says, “The villain is a victim whose story hasn’t been told.”

Summing up:

Stories require conflict.

Antagonists provide that conflict.

All stories need an antagonist. Not all stories need a villain.

Villains are antagonists, but antagonists are not necessarily villains.

~~~

TKZers: Does your current work in progress have an antagonist or a villain?

As a reader, what do you prefer? Stories with a clearcut villain to boo? Or stories with antagonists who are more difficult to pin down? Or another variation?

~~~

Want to learn more about Debbie Burke’s upcoming book? Click the title for details about The Villain’s Journey ~ How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.