Snidely Whiplash, Villain

Truly evil -- that's what an effective villain is supposed to be. And that--I have realized--is another area I need to develop. Plot is based on conflict--the good versus the bad, for example.

I'm still reading Plot and Structure, and the author James Scott Bell paraphrases Alfred Hitchcock on page 53: "The strength of a suspense story is equal to the strength of the villain." I've known for quite some time that I haven't fleshed out my villain (the red-bearded Savino) as well as I need to do. I suspect that's why my plot rambles and drags--the villain driving my plot is riding a tricycle. 

Can you picture Smaug riding a tricycle around the Great Hall of Thrain, chasing the burglar Bilbo Baggins? Or the White Witch ruling Narnia from a little red wagon pulled by a dwarf riding a bike with training wheels? Or Darth Vader racing after Luke SkyWalker in a pink Barbie PowerWheels with foot pedals?

There shouldn't be any sugar-coating for a villain. We all know that, and yet creating a truly evil villain requires work--thought, discussion about evil intent, the creation of backstory. Why is my villain so evil? I think I don't know because I'm too lazy or too afraid to dwell that long on evil intent.

Sometime ago, my son Caleb and I were discussing an article on comic books. The author of the article asserted that to create a really good story, the comic book hero (e.g. Spiderman) needs to be equally matched in strength and ability with the villain (Dr. Octopus). It's struggle that makes the story interesting, and if opponents are not equally matched, the game between them suffers. The difference between the two, the article explained, is that the hero is moral, while the villain is not (good versus evil).

I mentioned to Caleb that in my experience in life, most people I've met are a mix of good and bad. Often even the people who fall squarely in the bad category still have some element of conscience that can be evoked in certain circumstances. It was my thought that complex characters are more interesting, that characters who grow and change (and are thus a bit more unpredictable) capture readers' attention. Take Snape, for example (in the Harry Potter series).

At that point, my son was rolling his eyes. "Mom, I know you. You're going to try to redeem the villain in your book, aren't you?"

Well, the writers of Despicable Me did just that, didn't they? But no, I know better than to try something that complicated. Who do I think I am? J.K. Rowling? Snape often played the role of an under-villain. Redeeming the under-villain is one thing. Redeeming the real villain is quite another. There's simply no redemption for someone like Voldemort, and J.K. Rowling knew that. Yes, questions about hamartiology and soteriology arise. Is there such a thing as an unpardonable sin? Haman, Judas Iscariot, Goliath--is the blood of Jesus Christ efficacious to save even them? These topics may be debated in seminary, but in classic story-telling, I'm guessing there's a hands-down NO response.... not if you want a good story.

So my villain needs a make-over, a make-over suitable for a children's novel. Hmmm. I should send him to school. The red-bearded Savino needs a mentor. Maybe I need to re-read Wormwood's letters to Screwtape before I try to write Savino's resume.

Plot and Structure

Yesterday, I started re-reading a book that I had bought years ago: Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. I bought the book because I fail miserably in the areas of plot and structure. I find characters, setting, and dialogue much easier to write.

I could try to make all kinds of excuses for why I never got past chapter two of the Plot and Structure (full-time job, laundry, time with the grandchildren, and so on). The busy-ness of life makes such a wonderfully legitimate reason for almost anything, doesn't it? Ha! But it doesn't write books, or sell them either.

So I started reading the book again. Ideas and encouragement are indeed helpful: 

• I realized that I need to take some of the backstory from Penny and the Seer's Ballad (the first children's adventure novel that I started working on) and infuse it into the introduction so that the dilemma draws in the reader. 
• I figured out that my style tends to be more literary; I tend to focus on setting and character more than action. No wonder I've let myself get side-tracked writing backstory for my fantasy land: Legends from the Land of Hoi. Hopefully, the seven short stories I've finished will come in useful sometime in the future.
• Surprise! I learned that to keep readers, I need to move the story along much faster. That fact spread woefully across my son's face when I button-holed him over the holidays and asked him to read the plot summary for the sequel Penny and the Song of Seven. The good thing is that his reaction made me pick Plot and Structure off the shelf again.

Time will tell whether I can persist in reading about how to plot without becoming overwhelmed with all the things that I need to change. Hopefully, you'll hear more from me!

David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. (1 Samuel 30.6 KJV)

David is a character--a writer--who's always amazed me. In the throes of adversity and despair, he calls out to God regularly. In distress, he cries so vividly that I feel his agony despite the millennia that divide our souls. David experienced plenty of trouble, some clearly of his own making.

Yet hard on the heels of his suffering, he turns without failing to look outside himself, to remember God. That ability to encourage himself, to find strength in the character of God (in His lovingkindness and forgiveness) buoys David's spirit. He dares to hope. His confidence grows so strong that he inspires others (in Psalm 130, David accomplishes the transformation of heart in eight short verses).

Oh, how I wish I possessed the unfailing ability to turn my thoughts to God! Too many times my thoughts stick to me. I bemoan the fact that my writing doesn't catch the eye of an editor or snag the heart of an audience. I despair that I've never really been published (not by a publisher who would actually pay for my work, that is). I, I, I....

As if I am the point of my writing career! And that, you see, is the problem. I am stuck on myself--certainly not very attractive. I need to be like David, who was stuck on God--the Ancient of Days who's infinitely fascinating and so full of goodness and grace that people can't help but wonder at Him or about Him.

Trusting God, as David did, doesn't come naturally. The act of trusting involves the submission of will, of my will to God's. Jesus talked about the simple trust of a child (Mark 10:14-15), and for me, that brings to mind a hymn I learned in my childhood, when my family attended a Missouri Synod Lutheran church.

The little white chapel was relegated to the three-to-five-year-olds. Heavy curtains sectioned off the room into six little classrooms. The light gray curtains with white flowers woven into the pattern did little to muffle the sounds of nearby teachers. I don't remember much about the classes, but afterward, the teachers swept the curtains aside, and we'd meet as a group.

The group leader was a lovely white-haired woman with a round, smiling face. She taught us a hymn, and we'd sing it together. I sang it easily back then. I sang with my whole heart, possibly even at the top of my lungs (as little kids are wont to do):

I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
Trusting only Thee....

Here's the tune:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQDajJsW30 (the music)


Teach me, Lord, to make much of You!