Fiction Writing Tip - Collaborate with Your Villains

If you are stuck in the middle of a manuscript, uncertain where to go next, before you call it a Writer’s Block --- by the way, many writers do not believe there is such a thing --- then it’s time to seek help from your villain. First, you do have a villain, right? It doesn’t need to be a bad person. He just needs to have some *irreconcilable* conflict with your protagonist. It doesn’t even need to be a person. It can be an animal (like a monster), the weather, the society, anything, but it’s most helpful when it’s a person, because humans are the most creative beings, right?

Just think about your villain for a moment. What is he doing now? Is he happy? Most likely not, because your protagonist is somehow in his way. What is he going to do to kill/defeat/deceive your protagonist in order to achieve his goal? If his *biggest* goal has nothing to do with your protagonist, then he’s no longer qualified for a role in the book.

Always keep your villain in your mind, whether your protagonist is celebrating, idling, or talking to others. You don’t need to bring your villain up, but by simply remembering his existence, what you write will read differently. Writing is a subtle thing, in which our subconscious does a lot of work for us, and usually the greatest. A description of your protagonist’s mundane dinner at home will have an ominous atmosphere, if you, the author, know what the villain is up to hundreds of miles away. Try it, and see if it works!