Make Mine Mystery

 

May 5, 2019

I recently collaborated with nine authors to write a short story; each person had to have written at least 6,000 words. This has been one of my greatest experiences in collaborating with a group of people whom I’ve never met before. I was up for the challenge.

The story that I wrote I first considered who would be my villain. It turns out, I liked her best and created a back story to explain why she became a murderer. The book is out for presale, entitled ‘Death Among Us’ and is already up for a book cover award though AllAuthor. If you haven’t looked at their site, I would suggest you give it a try. Below is a bit of a cheat sheet that I use to keep me focused on my objectives and may be helpful to you as well.

Heroes and Villains

First, create a worthy opponent. The villain will be the catalyst for everything you write.

Heroes don’t have to be perfect specimens of bravery. Those protagonists tend to be rather dull. Great heroes emerge from despair, darkness, and the trials they face.

Because these trails will define your hero, it’s a good idea to develop your villain first, as the villain’s motivations will create the crisis for your hero. Introduce your villain with a bang-sending your reader a clear message that this character is the bad guy. Every villain needs to have his morality. If a villain spends part of your novel killing people, you need to give her believable reasons for doing so. Make the reader understand precisely what desperation or belief has driven him to it. To elevate your heroes, you must give them flaws as well. The villain cannot be the only one standing in your hero’s way; a hero’s personality can just as quickly interfere with his quest.

It doesn’t matter what the stakes are in your novel, but they must matter to your protagonist. Your hero doesn’t have to save the wor5ld-perhaps he saves his own family from eviction, or he fights to keep his business from going bankrupt. AS long as you establish what’s important to your hero-ideally, something that your readers can relate to-and help the reader imagine what could happen. You are the one to create the high stakes that matter.

Develop a hero who reflects things that interest you. You’re going to be spending much time with your characters so write what you would like to know more about. Don ’t be afraid to invest your hero with familiar qualities, but prioritize your passions and make sure that both villain and hero emerge from the setting and topics you’ve developed so far. Your characters should have skills that allow them to function in your environment. You’ve chosen to set your novel on the moon? Then make sure your hero or heroine has a space suit or learns to use one.