 Mystery: January 24, 2024 Issue [#12378] |
This week: What’s my motivation? Edited by: Carol St.Ann  
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| We’ve all heard the cliche method-actor’s line, “What’s my motivation?” But it’s no joke, especially when developing a character worth his or her salt. |
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Have you ever had your villain fall flat on his or her face?
Has anyone told you your villain lacked passion or logic?
Has anyone ever complained that your villain’s reasoning doesn’t make sense?
Let’s get to it.
Before you can create a mystery, you must know the why.
I don’t know how you develop your villain and his or her reason for doing the things they do, but I write a full blown detailed backstory for my villains. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t create a novel, detailing my villain’s childhood or high school years or whatever, but I do create, at the very least, a bullet list of what things happened to this individual that gave rise to the ability to commit whatever dastardly deed incited the story. To create the monster he or she became. Or to create the justification he or she holds true.
Investing the time and effort at crafting this has made a profound difference for me, and I suggest it as a method for anyone who might be stuck with characters who are somewhat flat.
Start with something simple within the character’s personal history and let it flow toward the trauma or injury that turned him or her into someone capable of the thing or things they now have done and do.
When writing your story, now that you know your villain so well, the actions, movements, tics, spoken words will develop organically into a full bodied believable character who will keep your readers enthralled.
Happy writing until we meet again!
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One Last Thing!
Remember to nominate great mysteries and great mystery contests and how-tos!
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If you’ve got a mystery in your head:
Try out your mystery chops here:
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Flesh out your mystery story here:
A Few Good Reads:
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| How much attention do you give your characters’ backstories? |
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