Is it just me, or do the people advertising books and movies need to stop bragging about how dangerous their villains are?

I remember reading the back cover of a movie - I think it was “Fantastic Four” - where they boasted about how they had the deadliest supervillain ever.

I also remember rolling my eyes.

So you’ve got a deadly supervillain - so what? Anyone with two working brain cells to rub together can slap a game-breaking power onto a character and say he’s the scariest. (By the way, I’ve seen supervillains who throw galaxies like shuriken. If you think yours is the deadliest, you’re probably wrong.)

Personally, I’m more interested in complex, entertaining villains who are interesting to watch. Preferably ones who are actual characters, with intriguing personalities and realistic motivations, instead of being pointlessly, one-dimensionally evil. I’m talking about Scorpius from Farscape, several of the Akatsuki members from Naruto, or a character from Puella Magi Madoka Magica whom I can’t name due to spoilers.

I also like the ones who, even if the writers are reluctant to give them an understandable motive produced by a clear backstory, are still thoroughly entertaining. Like the Joker.

What about you? What do you think are the most important ingredients when creating a good villain? I look forward to reading your comments.

Well, the editing is definitely going more smoothly now.

It took me some time to find my voice while writing this one, and of course there's a lot of pressure to get the beginning of a book right so that it catches people's interest. But once I was past that speed bump, I was able to relax, and both writing and editing came more naturally.

While you're waiting for Voice of a Silent Fugitive to be complete, I thought I'd share an interesting infographic I found about the reasons why people abandon books.

Do any of these reasons match yours? Or do you abandon books for other reasons, if at all?

Don't forget to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you!

Well, I guess my earlier post was right: one really does not simply read something one wrote oneself.

Despite my best intentions simply reading Voice of a Silent Fugitive the way any other reader would, I keep on finding myself editing it.

This word could be tweaked, that sentence would make more sense if I turned it backward. If the sentence doesn’t make perfect sense at first glance, and the narrative doesn’t guide my train of thought along a smooth, seamless track, it has to be adjusted.

Maybe being short on sleep actually helps that way. I’ve gotten into a bad habit of not going to bed on time, so the reduced mental capacity probably means that if what I’m writing makes sense to me even when I’m in that state, it’ll be a smooth, easy read for absolutely everybody else.

Or maybe that’s just the delusion that tired people tend to have. I hear people who are short on sleep think they’re doing better at math tests than their rested peers do, when they’re actually doing worse. Heaven help me.
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If nothing else, I should get a really clear, smooth-flowing story out of it. Gotta stay positive.

Have you ever had that experience, where you created something and just couldn’t stop tweaking it? Share your story in the comments below.

Books and movies have a great deal in common. I know I'm always keeping an eye out for things I can learn when I'm watching something good!

This article makes some really good points on that subject - take a moment to check it out.

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/what-star-trek-can-teach-us-by-kristen-lamb/

I thought this article was interesting:

http://writetodone.com/2012/11/02/character-emotion-written-all-over-their-face/ 

What do you think of it? Does it bother you when authors use characters' faces to show their emotions? Do you wish they’d do it more?

Feel free to comment and leave your opinions.