And the Villain Is...

Obvious Villain

In keeping with the fun I had writing my post on action cliches, Brakes Only Fail On Hills, I decided to share my list of things that try to keep in mind when writing my own villains...

• Don't give him a deformity, scar, or creepy behavior.

How do we know that Dr. Evil is evil before he even speaks? He is bald, has a scar, does that weird pinkie thing, and dresses like a futuristic mortician. 

Misdirection by appearance and behavior is a great device when writing suspense, but make sure it is actually pointing to someone who is NOT the villain.

• Minions are a dead giveaway.

Whether its a creepy friend that does their bidding or a doormat for an assistant, keep the talk of diabolical plans while excitedly rubbing  their hands together to a minimum. 

Particular to suspense...you can't unveil or hint too heavily at the villain or it will spoil the surprise and lose the reader.

• They are caught in a blatant lie.

Photo by Tiago Fernandes.

The heroine sees the villain arguing with a man and later when the man is revealed to be a bad guy, the villain denies it.

This is a great way to add conflict between the OTHER main characters. Misunderstanding clouds the issue and often throws suspicion where it can do some good to further the story.

• Make him gain advantage too soon in the story.

We've all seen Rocky, right? He gets beat down at first, but then a sudden burst of energy/inspiration/verbal backside kicking by his bestie sends him back to win the day.

The problem with letting your villain gain the advantage too quickly is that its the equivalent of putting a blinking red arrow over his head. Keep the story off balance and the reader wondering.

• Your hero is too important to lose.

Really just wanted a reason to post a pic of Jake.

This, I think, is one of the quickest ways to ruin the story. If one of your characters is a wayward prince, the President, the only survivor of his species....the odds are whoever is picking on him is gonna lose and is therefore...the villain.

What are some instances in a mystery, be it book or movie that have given away the villain too soon? How might we as writers keep the reader guessing?

Until next time...Go Write?

Crimson Fish and Other Mystery Musts

A red herring is a device used in mystery writing to throw the MC and ultimately the reader off the trail of the killer for a time. 


Now, you can't have too many of them because eventually your reader will stop trusting you, but   a good mystery does have some wrong turns along the way. 


It makes the maze of clues more interesting to navigate.


A piece of evidence that turns out to be unrelated, some tid bit information that proves irrelevant, a seemingly 'off' character that is actually just strange and not necessarily the killer. 


These are all red herrings that move the story along, create a diversion, but don't completely derail your reader.


The trick is to be subtle. Emphasis can be put on the "red herring cast member" by emphasis on their unusual traits, sketchy behavior, or just by creative description. Not everyone reacts to tragedy in the same way and sometimes lack of behavior can be shown as suspicious.


Whatever you choose to distract the reader, it needs to be adequately explained later in the book. For instance, at the time of a murder a mysterious car slowing and then accelerating past the victim's house may seem like a valid clue...until you learn that the neighbor's son is learning to drive a stick shift and the bizarre behavior has a plausible explanation.


Remember that a good mystery novel has at between 4 and 6 clues dispersed throughout with at least two very strong clues toward the middle and climax of the story. You want to lead your reader inexorably toward the culprit, but not too obviously -- hence a few strategically placed red-herrings.


Since mystery novels are usually highly structured and require a lot of planning, these clues and herrings are normally done in pre-write during the planning and blocking stage of writing. I have heard, however, of writers that actually write the story without knowing themselves who the killer will be...then, when they finally evolve the story to its conclusion, they go back and write in all the clues and red herrings.


However you choose to do it, writing a mystery novel can be an exhilarating ride. No one loves a chase more than I do...so I better get back to my WIP.


Until next time...Go Write!

Photograph by Laurel L. Russwurm