Friday, December 8, 2017

Creating Memorable Villains



I’ve been thinking this week about villains and about what Clive Barker—author behind the Hellraiser stories—once said, that stories are only as good as their villains. As I think back on some of the villains I remember most, I think Clive might have been on to something. The villains who really stick out in my mind include some real classics: The Joker (Batman), Brady Hartsfield (Mr. Mercedes), Darth Vader (Star Wars), Annie Wilkes (Misery), Norman Bates (Psycho), Voldemort (Harry Potter), Scar (The Lion King), Saruman (Lord of the Rings), Khan (Star Trek), and President Snow (The Hunger Games).
The most fascinating characters for me are the ones who demonstrate genuine motivation for the things they do. Think for a moment about your own life. Don’t you truly believe that the personal issues you have to deal with are the most important problems in your world? And you’re absolutely right for thinking that way because, for you, they are. Now take a step back, and understand that everybody feels that way, that their problems are the most important issues going on in the world.
Now carry that same idea over to your story world and the characters inside it. Whether you’re dealing with the hero or the villain or the sidekick or the love interest or the comedy relief or just a temporary walk-on, every character should believe that his issues are the most important ones, and that he’s the true hero of the story. This is especially true for your villain, who believes with all his heart that his needs are the most important needs in the story, and that everything he does to satisfy those needs is the absolute right thing to do. In fact, in the villain’s mind, it’s the hero who is the evil one, the one who must be stopped, because the hero is standing in the way of the villain reaching his goal. And when it comes to reaching our goals or meeting our needs, doesn’t it just infuriate us when someone purposely stands in our way? Doesn’t it always feel like the old geezer in the car ahead of you is driving that slow on purpose, just to piss you off? How dare he! Doesn’t he understand people have places to go and more important things to do with their lives?
To further clarify this idea, let’s look at an example. I’m a total Star Wars geek, have been ever since that Saturday morning in 1977 when I first saw The Millenium Falcon flying across my television screen. So let’s use Darth Vader. Vader didn’t start out as the bad guy. He didn’t wake up one morning and put on his helmet and say to himself, “Let’s go hack down a bunch of little kids today.” In those early days, he was just innocent little pod racing Anakin Skywalker, remember? Then he grew up and fell in love with Padme. And what could be more natural or noble than love? So then Anakin and Padme get married, and then they get pregnant. The only problem is that personal attachments are forbidden under the Jedi code. The Jedi are expected to sacrifice the one to serve the needs of the many. So Anakin has to keep his relationship with Padme a secret, lest the Jedi Council find out and give him the boot.
One night Anakin has a dream, and in this dream he sees Padme die while giving birth to their baby. He believes it’s a vision of the future, and so he goes to speak with Yoda about it. Yoda tells Anakin that death is a natural part of life, and it’s not the Jedi way to disrupt the natural order of the universe. But Anakin loves Padme! He doesn’t want to lose her! If he listens to Yoda, his wife will die, and that’s just not an option. This isn’t the advice he was hoping for, so he goes off to find another way. He speaks with Chancellor Palpatine, who tells Anakin that it is possible to save Padme’s life, but only through the powers of the Dark Side.
Anakin is motivated by good intentions: he loves his wife and wants to save her from dying. It’s a noble cause, one worth fighting for. And he does. Driven by his fear of losing his wife, Anakin does whatever it takes to try and save her. Unfortunately, his actions are contrary to the ways of the Jedi because now he’s sacrificing the needs of the many to accommodate the needs of the one. (Apologies to all you Star Trek fans, but a universe axom is a universal axom!) Why does he do this? Because in Anakin’s mind, his own personal needs are the greatest needs in the whole galaxy. Instead of acting selflessly like a Jedi, he acts selfishly, then rationalizes his behavior because it’s serving his greatest needs. He tried doing the right thing in the beginning—he went to the Jedi first—but they refused to help him. So now he feels he has no other choice. Any other course of action will lead to Padme’s death, and that’s just not going to happen.
We may not agree with everything Anakin does as a result, but we can at least understand why he does it. Maybe we even pity him a little. In my opinion, that’s what makes Darth Vader such an excellent villain, because we can empathize with him. Despite the other questionably goofy characters Lucas created in the prequels, he nailed Vader’s turn to the Dark Side of the Force and created one of the most memorable and convincing villains of all time.
You may be saying to yourself, “But if everyone thinks he’s doing the right thing, how is the hero any better than the villain?” A fair enough question, and here’s the answer: given any set of circumstances and options, the hero will always choose to do what’s right, while the villain will always chooses to do what’s necessary. Heroes understand they always have a choice, and they also understand that every choice has a consequence. They carefully weigh their options and think about the consequences of their actions before deciding what to do next. Villains, on the other hand, are victims who feel like they no longer have a choice. They tried doing things the “sociably acceptable” way before, and it just never worked out for them. The only option they have now is doing whatever it takes to reach their goals, regardless of the consequences that follow.
Your villain’s history and background is a vital component in determining how he will act and why. As you develop your characters, carefully consider what is driving their motivations and goals. Remember that every character feels like he’s doing the right thing based on his own needs and circumstances; every character is the hero of his own story. Keeping this in mind will help you create much stronger and more memorable characters—especially villains.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Books Read in 2017

As I've previously done in the past for anyone interested in seeing what I read myself in my spare time, below are the titles of the books I've read so far this year. With only two months left in 2017, I probably won't get a chance to read any more. Writers of the Future and work are keeping me pretty busy. As usual, I won't say anything about which were good and which were bad; those opinions are always highly subjective -- one man's trash and all that. Looking forward to reading more after the holidays. Have any good stories you'd recommend?

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child – White Fire (audiobook)
Robert Ludlum – The Sigma Protocol (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Deeply Odd (audiobook)
Richard Matheson – I Am Legend (audiobook)
Lincoln Child – The Forgotten Room (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Odd Thomas (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Breathless (audiobook)
Stephen King – Delores Claiborne (audiobook)
Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry – The Tombs (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Forever Odd (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Saint Odd (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Odd Interlude (audiobook)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Book I The Gunslinger (audiobook)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Book III The Waste Lands (audiobook)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Book IV Wizard and Glass (audiobook)
Michael Finkle – The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit (audiobook)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Book V Wolves of the Calla (audiobook)
Stephen King – The Dark Tower Book VI Song of Susannah (book)
Stephen King – End of Watch (audiobook)
Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol (audiobook)
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child – Crimson Shore (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – What the Night Knows (audiobook)
Dean Koontz – Brother Odd (audiobook)
David Baldacci – The Hit (audiobook)
Orson Scott Card – Xenocide (audiobook)

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Progress in 2017

Every once in a while it helps (me, at least) to take a step back and reflect on what I‘ve accomplished so far. It’s nearly the end of another year and I still haven’t published anything in the pro (or even semi-pro, for that matter) markets. 2017 marks my fifth year as a serious writer, which I define as someone who is serious about his writing and is making every effort to break into the professionally published markets. Yes, it’s possible I could have written and published something in a lower market, or perhaps even self-published at least one story by now. But that’s not really what I’m going for. When I finish writing my stories, I send them first to my top pro markets, then to every other pro market I can find. Once they’ve made their way through the pros, I route them through the semi-pro markets. I’m not even considering the vanity press markets; as far as I’m concerned, if my work isn’t good enough for the pros, then it’s not yet at a publishable level. I do have to admit that one of my non-fiction essays titled “Why I Write” was picked up in July at 1888.Center, a literary arts center based in Orange County, California. I didn't get paid for the publication, and it wasn't a fiction story, so I can’t really include it as a credit when I submit to magazines. But it is officially my first published work and that makes me feel pretty good. You can read the essay at 1888.center/morgan-broadhead/.
 

So when I look back on 2017, what exactly have I accomplished this year? Aside from publishing my essay with 1888.Center, I’ve read another 25 novels. Since 2012, when I first started tracking what I read, I’ve gone through 170 novels—that’s about 28 novels each year. Most of these I’ve listened to during my morning and evening commutes to and from the office. But I also read at night in bed or on flights when I have to travel for work. Several I’ve read more than once just because they were that good.
 

To date, I’ve written only fifteen complete stories which, when I look at it, is actually kind of pathetic. I’ve been writing for five years now, so that averages to just three new stories per year. Of course, that total doesn't include any of my daily scribblings or my infrequent blog posts or any of the partially completed stories or ideas I’ve jotted down, which would add another twenty or so potential stories to the count. That’s a terrible track record. And of those fifteen stories I’ve actually finished, five were written just this year. What the heck was I doing the previous four years? Lots of learning and workshops and conventions and practicing, I guess, because it doesn’t seem like I’ve churned out very much content.
 

I started this year with a goal of writing one new story every single month. We’re now done with October and I’ve written five...FIVE! Granted, it's better than none. And it’s a lot more than any previous year. But it’s still far short of my goal. I’ve written about 17,000 words this year. If I were writing flash fiction, that’d be 17 new stories. Unfortunately that’s not what I did. Flash Fiction is tough and I have a hard time compressing that much story into such a tight space. Most of my stories this year began as Flash Fiction, but then quickly grew into short stories. I’ll definitely have to do better in 2018.
 

On a positive note though, four of my five stories this year garnered personal rejections from pro editors or slush readers. A personal rejection means they rejected my story, but liked it enough to pass along a note telling me what they either did or didn’t like about it. When I look at my stories that way, the statistics say that 27% of all the stories I’ve written have received personal feedback from pro editors. That’s actually not so bad. Or looked at another way, editors or slush readers liked 80% of the stories I wrote and submitted this year. Even better. And even though they didn't buy any of them, they like what they saw enough to encourage me to keep sending them more. So the ones who responded positively to my stories are the ones I submit to first whenever I write something new.
 

Speaking of submissions, I started using The Grinder this year to track all my submissions and responses in the markets. Previously, I just used a spreadsheet to track it all. That quickly became a hassle. The Grinder keeps tabs on lots of other cool data that a spreadsheet never could, like average response times, acceptance rates, activity (acceptances and rejections) of different markets over the last thirty days, plus a really great search tool to help me find just the right market for my stories. In 2017, I had 31 different submissions. That’s seven different stories (my five new ones plus two old ones) to eighteen different markets. So my stories are getting out there and people are reading them and responding to me.
 

I also submitted my first story to Writers of the Future since 2012. That was a big step for me. Back then, my stories for third and fourth quarter were both rejected. I felt discouraged as a writer and decided that I didn’t want to submit any more after that. I thought I had a lot of “growing up” to do as a writer. So after a five year hiatus, I wrote and submitted another story. I’m curious to see what Dave Farland, the coordinating judge and first reader for the contest, thinks of my writing now. At the same time, I’m also really nervous. What if my writing hasn’t improved at all in five years? What if I’m rejected again? I have a feeling I’ll be devastated, at least for a little while. Probably I’ll be depressed and decide (again) I’m going to quit writing. That’ll probably last a week or so and then I’ll get over myself and think up something new and get right back to it because, really, I just can’t help myself when it comes to writing.
 

Finally, I’ve made some really great contacts this year in the publishing business. I’ve taken a couple of writing courses and sent some stories to Anna Yeatts over at Flash Fiction Online to be critiqued. I’ve also joined up with other writers (many published, most not) on the Writers of the Future forums. Also, I joined up with Critters, an online critique group, and received lots of useful feedback on my stories that I can use for revisions. I learned all about imaginative story telling from Barbara Baig’s website Where Writers Learn. Barbara also asked if I’d be interested in critiquing a new book she has coming out.
 

I could make a ton of excuses for why I haven’t written more this year: things are busier at work, I have a lot more responsibilities at church, my wife and I are building a new home ourselves (literally). But I can also think of lots of times when I’ve wasted free moments I could have spent writing. In all though, 2017 was a pretty productive year. Sure, it would have been nice to sell a story in the pro markets. But all things considered, of the last five years since I’ve started this journey, it’s like my progress as a writer really took a major leap forward this year. By far, it’s been my most successful and productive year as a writer and I’m excited to see what 2018 brings, especially if I can set some new goals and get my butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard and crank out a ton of new stories.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

2016 Reading List

It was Stephen King who said if you want to be a writer, you have to do two things: write a lot and read a lot. I spend more hours during the day reading than I do writing. But I don't read because I want to be a better writer; I read because I simply enjoy it. I love escaping my mundane cookie-cutter daily routine and going off some place exciting with adventurous people. My primary escape routes are my car during my long work commutes, and my bedroom late at night when I should be sleeping.

Below are the books I read in 2016. Not all were winners and not all were complete losers, but a few turned out to be grand slams. And in the process of reading, yeah, I do learn what good and bad writing looks like so I can either use it or avoid it in my own writing.

Since one man's trash is another man's treasure, I won't tell you which stories were good and which were bad; you'll just have to find that out for yourself. But I will say I never checked anything out from the library that didn't at least look promising.

Admittedly, the list is heavily slanted this year towards Stephen King and David Baldacci. The Baldacci books come from his series of Camel Club adventures and are mostly just fun to read (mostly). And the King books? Well, what can I say -- his escape hatches always swing on well-oiled hinges and the doors are never locked. So without further ado, here are last year's stories in the order I read them:

Hell’s Corner by David Baldacci
The Camel Club by David Baldacci
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Finders Keepers by Stephen King
Revival by Stephen King
Stone Cold by David Baldacci
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
The Last Star by Rick Yancey
Horizon Storms by Kevin J Anderson
Gideon's Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Everything's Eventual Part I by Stephen King
The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis
Dune by Frank Herbert
Under the Dome by Stephen King
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
The Collectors by David Baldacci
On Writing by Stephen King
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King

Creating Memorable Villains

I’ve been thinking this week about villains and about what Clive Barker—author behind the Hellraiser stories—once said, that stories a...