Hello and welcome to my end-of-month newsletter blog post!
You can read last month’s newsletter here.
Also, if you’re looking for a spooky story or two to read on this Halloween 🎃, check these out:
Following the very loose pattern I decided to set, these posts are a chance for me to update you on my writing projects and write a few words about something to do with stories.
This month, I want to talk about well-written villains.
Throughout the years, villains have often been portrayed in various media as 2-dimensional. They’re flat characters and only serve to stand opposed to the protagonist. Think of the Dark Lord on his throne, desiring to consume the world, blotting out all that is good and noble in the land. Think of the supervillain seeking to blow up a major city or do some dastardly deed. Or think of the evil empire, seeking to crush a rebellion and its heroes.
Such villains do little more than advance the plot by giving the protagonist someone to oppose and overcome. And such villains often focus solely on the protagonist because they alone are capable of stopping the villain from carrying out their evil plan.
Don’t get me wrong, villains should be opposed and overcome in stories. And the villain should focus on dealing with the protagonist in some way, shape, or form. Rare is the story where the villain wins and the hero loses. Or where the villain has no idea that the protagonist even exists and is blindsided by them in the final chapter. Rarer still is the story where the hero joins the villain because they made some convincing arguments about their evil plans.
But well-written villains give readers a better picture of reality. Heroism and Villainy are rarely a dichotomous black and white. In real life, they’re more accurately portrayed as gray, because motivationally, heroes and villains are not all good or all bad. There’s a bit ‘o both in them.
Well-written villains are 3-dimensional. They have goals and desires that don’t necessarily serve their evil plans, and they aren’t always focused on finding the protagonist and dealing with them. In other words, well-written villains aren’t merely plot points; whether or not they have a viewpoint through which the reader can understand some of their thoughts and motivations, they’re a part of the story.
It’s my opinion that reading about the hero overcoming such a villain is all the more satisfying.
Here’s a quick breakdown of October and some things to look for in November:
October was, by and large, an editing month. And a big one at that. I was busy getting the second editions of the first two Rose and Ed books ready. I’m happy to say that they’ll be available with new covers and layouts sometime in November, leading up to the release of the third and final book!
Speaking of which… The final edits on the third Rose and Ed book are done! Many thanks to my dear friend, Nic, for making that happen despite the craziness of life. We’ve been working on editing this project since mid-2023, and I started writing the trilogy way back in December 2018. Wow, have the past seven years flown!
What’s left? I need to finalize the layout and double-check everything in the proof to make sure it’s all good to go. After that, you can expect a release announcement post before the end of 2025. Likely in early December. And hey, The Tale of Rose and Ed complete trilogy might make a pretty good Christmas present… Just saying! 😊
Other edits this month included slowly chipping away at Tales of Minz Book IV, which is coming along nicely. More on that in posts to come.
Looking ahead to November, I’ll also be working on revisions to the manuscript I submitted to Northwestern Publishing House, posting a short story from the whimsical world of Minz, and getting ready to release a couple of second editions and a new book before the end of the year!
Until next time,
Al
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