Last week, I wrote a blog on writing anti-heroes, so naturally, this week’s blog had to be on writing villains. Villains are interesting, to say the least. I personally like them, especially if they’re written well, or played by Benedict Cumberbatch.  Side Note: Did you SEE him in Star Trek? It’s been over a decade and god, he was good. But my affinity to Benedict Cumberbatch aside, villains can be fun to write—if you write them correctly. I guess the real challenge with writing villains is just how easy it is to make them cartoony. And this isn’t an uncommon problem or anything. Sometimes, I have a really good hero…

I don’t know about you, but I do love myself a nicely written anti-hero. Seriously. I spent my teens fangirling over Loki and Sherlock. Yes, I am that person. No, I didn’t end up developing  a weirdly parasocial relationship with Tom Hiddleston or Benedict Cumberbatch.  I kind of grew out of it. But it did help me when I started dating in college. Of course, don’t tell that to my mother. As far as she’s concerned, I spent every waking hour pouring over my mechanical engineering coursework, and the only reason I didn’t pick up the phone that one week in May in 2019 is because I was studying for…

Let’s be honest, characters are the beating heart of any story. In fact, writers spend a lot of hours developing their personalities, their motivations, their desires and so on. And that’s great; you should probably know what your characters’ roles will be in your story. But once you’ve figured that out, the crucial next step is to introduce your characters in a way that captivates your audience. From the very first encounter. It doesn’t have to be fantastical. It just needs to be right. Because here’s the thing: just as in real life, first impressions are everything in fiction.  A strong character introduction will not only hook readers but also…