Showing posts with label How to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to. Show all posts

How to Name Your Antogonist


Contributed by Dave Chesson

Is there anything more memorable than a decidedly sinister antagonist?

I’m not talking about ‘realistic’ villains who operate in something of a moral grey area.

Instead, I mean the true villains that leave a strong impression even after the book is finished.

The Voldemorts. The Count Draculas. The Patrick Batemans.

Crafting a character that speaks so strongly of pure evil is a whole different article. Perhaps even a full course. Instead, today, we’ll focus on finding a suitably fiendish name.

Make It Genre Appropriate

Just as there are tropes to adhere to in different genres, there are also expectations regarding names.

It would seem strange if a character in a historical drama set in Elizabethan England had a name like Stacy. Or if a hero in a steampunk story was called Denzel Bladez.

Similarly, the name for your story’s villain should be suitable for the genre you are writing in. So what are some of the ways to apply this idea?

●    Read voraciously within the genre you are writing in to get an idea of naming conventions. You should read within the genre anyway, but pay particular attention to villain’s names. Are there any stylistic themes that emerge? What about conventions of format? For example, all the villains within a historical genre may have a formal title, such as Mr. or Sir, whereas in crime they may go by an alias such as The Raven or The Steel Claw.

●    Get feedback from real readers on what is and isn’t working within a particular genre. Read through reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. Which villains receive praise? Which receive mockery? Learn from these opinions.

●    Feel free to run polls testing several villains names. You can easily create a poll in a Facebook group of relevant readers to see which of several potential names they prefer.

Just as you would with any other element of your story, make sure your villain’s name works for that style of story specifically.

Consider Symbolism

A symbolic name might not be the right choice for every story, but it can work well for certain types.

A symbolic villain name is of course any name that carries a hidden or subtle meaning. These have been used by writers throughout history to add a layer of literary meaning to their villains which wouldn’t exist if the name was merely conventional.

So how can you add a touch of symbolism when naming your villain?

●    Consider examples of other symbolic villains throughout the history of stories. For example, Cruella de Vil isn’t exactly subtle, but it sounds like ‘cruel devil’, does it not?

●    Consider using a name with a different meaning in a foreign language which might not be obvious to all readers but will reward those who take the time to look into it.

●    Consider naming your villain after a famous historical figure. For example, within the TV show ‘Lost’, many of the characters had surnames relating to famous historical figures.

Symbolism should be used subtly. If you can avoid being overly obvious, you can add a layer of reward for your readers who take the time to dig deeper.

Life Is The Best Source Material

Sometimes, drawing upon your own life experience is the best way to come up with a suitably scary name for your villain.

Think back throughout your personal first and second-hand experience. Which names stand out to you as scary?

●    Often, a name on its own won’t be scary. But perhaps you had a sinister teacher whose name and physical traits paired to create a truly horrific combination.

●    Think about evil people you’ve read about in the news. Which of their names seemed appropriately evil for their deeds, and why?

●    Often, the seeming normality of someone’s name adds a sinister edge to their acts. Bret Easton Ellis gave the outwardly respectable Wall Street banker in American Psycho the plain name of Patrick Bateman to devastating effect.

Drawing upon your own life experience gives you not only potential names to consider, but also emotional truth to draw upon when writing your antagonists.
Naming Your Antagonist Final Thoughts
Thanks for checking out my guide on naming your antagonist.

I’d like to open up the discussion.

Which are your favorite villainous monikers throughout literature? What do you think makes them particularly effective?

How did you name your last villain?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Dave Chesson is a self-published author and book marketing obsessive who runs Kindlepreneur. His free time is spent with his family in Franklin, TN and nerding out over the latest sci-fi.

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Tips for Writing Engaging Romance



I asked Romance Author Amber Lea Easton to sizzle up our blog today with some tips on writing romance. This is a growing market with all types of sub-genres, allowing the new to experienced writer to spread their wings and add some love to their book.

With Valentine’s Day only a few days away and lots of inspiration peeking around corners…maybe this little guest post will give you some new manuscript ideas.

Tips for Writing Engaging Romance



By Amber Lea Easton

All novels, regardless of genre, need captivating characters and hooks that pull the readers into the story.  Romance, in particular, is a character driven, highly charged genre.  In all great love stories, there needs to be an emotional connection, not just between the characters, but between them and the readers as well.  How do we novelists write engaging/believable romance without being cliché, crass or cheesy?  After all, emotion can go over-the-top if we’re not careful. 

 Flawed characters.  No one is perfect, even if the hero looks like a Greek God and makes you drool.  In order for the reader to connect, there must be a vulnerability that makes the character human.  Why root for someone if we think they’re superficial or mean?  

Attraction.  You may think that’s easy to write, but it isn’t.  Saying, “wow, he’s hot” is lame. Think about it...when you’re attracted to someone, don’t you have a physical reaction?  When I write attraction, I don’t tell the readers I show them through nonverbal cues.  In Riptide, when Lauren first interacts with Noah, I write, “little earthquakes of desire rocked through her until she thought she’d fall off the stool.”  For attraction to jump off the page, the reader needs to feel what’s happening, imagine being on that stool and talking with that man.  Non-verbal physical reactions are key to engaging the reader in this area, which we all know is a key element of any romance novel. 

Conflict. Nothing worth having comes easily, isn’t that the saying? Even though there is the attraction, there needs to be a conflict to overcome whether it’s trust issues, betrayal, or, because I write suspense, a life and death situation.  Even though I have the suspense in my novels that provides a natural plot conflict, there are still human conflicts that need to be worked out to make the characters believable.  We all have baggage--past heartbreaks, abandonment issues and what not--so the characters need those as well.

Sexual tension and sex.  The sex needs to come at a natural time in the evolution of the relationship, just like in real life. Now this timing varies from story to story depending on character development, but the readers truly need to be saying, “will they ever just rip each other’s clothes off already” before I give them satisfaction.  Writing sexual tension is fun...prolonging the actual act, building up to it...not only do the readers shift in the chairs with anticipation but so do the characters, which makes it all that much more rewarding when the sex scenes finally happen. 

Engaging romance readers is all about tugging at their heartstrings and making the characters as believable as possible.  We all want to be rooting for the happy ending and smiling when we turn the last page.  



Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published fiction and nonfiction author. For twenty years, she's worked in the fields of journalism and advertising with a brief detour into the financial industry.  Although she holds a BA in Communications & Journalism, she is a perpetual student of life who enjoys taking courses on a wide variety of subjects when time allows.  Smart is sexy, according to Easton, which is why she writes about strong female characters who have their flaws and challenges, but who ultimately persevere.

Easton currently lives with her two teenagers in the Colorado Rocky Mountains where she gives thanks daily for the gorgeous view outside her window. She finds inspiration from traveling, the people she meets, nature and life’s twists and turns. At the end of the day, as long as she's writing, she considers herself to be simply "a lucky lady liv'n the dream."


The World of Ink Network is touring author Amber Lea Easton’s contemporary romantic suspense (adventure) novel, Riptide throughout February and March 2013. You can find out more about Amber Lea Easton, Riptide and her World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/a2azncg

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com

 
Visit Amber at:
Twitter - @MtnMoxieGirl

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