Page-Turning Heroes and Villains

 

"Not every plot is designed to be a page-turner." I appreciated hearing that statement from Jennifer A. Nielsen at the LDStorymakers conference, where I took her class about Crafting the Page-Turner. There are varying types of emotional rides for different kinds of books. We want the reader to want to read on, but not every scene has to be high on the excitement Richter scale. Phew! Glad to recognize that important detail. Every scene should be a fight scene (not a battle), in that someone struggles to get something they want.

 

Jennifer spoke about the necessary elements of a page-turner, plotting, heroes and villains, the writing part, and questions to ask about your story. All good stuff. Since I can only give you a tease about the class (it's her material for paying attendees, after all), today I'm sharing a few things about page-turning heroes and villains. These characters are more important than the plot.

 

A villain can be a non-person, like a shark, earthquake, or illness. This Antagonist should be more likely to win; it gives us that worry factor. The villain's motivation needs to be stronger than simply because he is crazy or evil for evil's sake. Give her a real motivation where she is more equipped to triumph than the hero.

The hero needs a clear and desperate goal. He wants something and how badly he wants it needs to show. Your hero needs to be smart and proactive. Give her unexpected qualities rather than stereotypical or common ones. Don't make them perfect.

Nielsen says to be cruel to the characters you love--mentally, physically, etc. Beat them up or force them to make tough choices so they can grow. Hmm. Do you think that means the villain should grow along with the hero? Who are some favorite heroes and villains you have enjoyed?

Creating Vivid Villains

My previous post exposed the protagonist from The Seventh City. Today's post follows up with its villain. Meet Japethihah--high priest to Lamanite king, Lamoni. He can be sly, which evolves into deviousness when his status changes. Authors need to know their antagonist every bit as well as they know their hero. My villain is based off Jafar, the royal vizier in Disney's animated movie Aladdin. It doesn't matter if your inspiration comes from a cartoon, magazine image, or real-life person. Arm yourself with knowledge of what they look like, sound like, what they would do and have done. Keep a spreadsheet or some type of notation system.

Each villain needs flaws and strengths just like the main character does. Japethihah's strengths go beyond his respectable position, which crumbles when missionary Ammon comes to preach. The priest exudes confidence and has a gift for speech. He takes matters into his own hands to secure his marriage to the princess. Readers watch him develop from the slimy way he eyes Karlinah to worrying about him as a danger to her.

Villains not only create blocks in the hero's path, they can add a spicy flavor that makes readers love to hate them. They provide contrast next to the good for readers to measure against and they have their own motivations for their choices. Trouble usually starts out slowly and builds as the story progresses. I'm thinking of two main reasons for this: 1) The author may want to keep the reader in suspense longer over revealing the villain, and 2) The clashes presented to the protagonist are meant to show growth along the way. We can't have all the hero's life-altering decisions in the first chapter. Therefore, the villain doesn't do his/her worst until later. 

Do you realize that villains can take other forms than people? Weather, for instance, can play the villain when that scorching desert or killer wave presses upon your protagonist. Without that villain we wouldn't have problems for the hero to overcome. Have fun making them bad! Just make sure that the worst day coincides with where the crisis should fall. 

Do you have a favorite villain that you love to hate?