A List Of Moral Questions To Developing A Villainous Character

A list of moral questions to developing a villainous character

Is mercy a sign of weakness in your eyes?

What is your primary motivation or value that drives your actions?

Are there any principles you refuse to compromise on, even in your pursuit of power?

Do you believe lying is justified if it serves your goals?

How do you manipulate others to achieve your ends?

Would you betray an ally to further your plans?

Do you believe in justice, or do you see it as a tool to manipulate others?

Would you sacrifice yourself for a cause or ambition?

Would you destroy something beautiful or innocent to achieve your goals?

If you had to choose between your ambition and the life of someone you care about, what would you do?

Do you feel any responsibility towards society, or do you act solely for your gain?

How do you justify your actions to yourself and others?

Can you forgive someone who has wronged you, or do you seek revenge?

How long do you hold grudges, and what actions might provoke them?

Do you respect any form of authority, or do you see yourself as the ultimate power?

These questions can help you delve into the psyche of your villain.

Writing Weapons (4): Clubs, Maces, Axes, Slings and Arrows

Clubs & Maces

Maces are refined versions of clubs, usually made from steel and flanged or spiked.

Perfect for smashing and plate armour and for crushing skulls.

When used on horseback, the rider uses continuous swining motion and leans to the side to hit.

Type of Fight Scene: gritty, historical fiction, smashing armour

Typical user: brawny male with broad shoulders nad bulging biceps

Mostly used in: historical fiction - Stone Age to Middle Ages

Main Action: smash, crush, bludgeon, batter

Main motion: downwards

Typical injury: crushed bones, crushed skull

Strategy for lethal fight: crush skull

Disadvantages: heavy, need to get closer to the opponent

Batle Axes

Used by a peasant or lumberjack

Special battle axes are bigger and heavier, with longer handles

A weapons for attack rather than defence, good at cleaving through armour

Can break through enemy shields and kill a charging horse.

They require intense training, so users are highly skilled elite soldiers, often aristocrats.

Types of Fight Scene: gritty, brutal, battles, attack, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, cutting through armour

Typical User: tall brawny male with broad shoulders and bulging biceps, courageous, elite soldier, Viking, Saxon

Mostly Used In: European Dark Ages to Middle Ages

Main Action: cleave, hack, chop, cut, split

Main Motion: downwards

Typical Injury: severed large limbs, split skulls, cleaved torsos

Strategy for Lethal Fight: severe the arm which holds the sword or the shield, or cleave torso from top to bottom, or cut off a lef then split the skull

Disadvantages: big and heavy

Bows and Arrows

They are weapons of mass use. Hundred of arrows are shot at the enemy to inflict as mcuh damagne as possible from a distance.

In the middle of the battle and for close combat, they're useless.

Castles were designed for the use of bows and arrows, with narrow windows called 'archer slits'. The top of the outer walls were desgined so archers could shoot while remaining under cover.

Arrows are relateively cheap and quickly to produce. Tips an be metal or sharpened stone, wood, bone, glass splinters, etc.

Pieces of feather at the end help the arrows fly better, but knowing which part of the feather to attach how and where is much -treasured knowledge.

Characters can learn the basics of archery can be done quickly at an emergency. However, to be really good it takes years of practice.

Most important skill is to be able to shoot many arrows in quick succession.

Stone Slings

Stone slings are cheap to make - it only takes a piece of leather, string and ammunition are simply pebbls lying around.

This makes it good for low-tech historical periods and for characters of all ages and physical capacities.

Doesn't require great physical strength, but a lot of practice is required to achieve accuracy.

Different cultures have different techniques for holding and releasing, none of which includes the continuous frantic whirling around beloved by moview makers. Rotatin is usually done once or twice, or not at all.

(1) the slinger hooks the end of the sling over her fingers (2) holds the hand above the shoulder so the sling's bag with the stone in it hangs down behind her shoulder. (3) flings it straight forward.

Blunders to Avoid

Depicting an axeman as an unkilled brute who chops blindly.

Battles where the archers shoot when sword fighters are already engaged in close fighting

Get to Know Your Character #3

What is the most painful memory they have tried to forget, and how did they cope with the emotional scar?

What is the one thing they wish they could tell their past self?

What is the biggest lie they have ever told, and what motivated them to deceive?

What is the most significant sacrifice they have made for someone else? Did they regret it?

How does their personality change when they're under extreme stress or pressure?

What is the one thing they fear losing more than anything else?

How does their personality change when they're in a new environment or surrounded by strangers?

What is the most significant secret they keep from others, and how do they justify keeping it hidden?

What is the most important object or memento they own? Does it hold sentimental value?

What is the one thing they wish they could learn or master?

See my previous post for more:

Happy writing ❤

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Wdym writing isn't fun. I get to daydream about my lil guys in my head. I can make them kiss and snap them like twigs.

Here's to the people who can't get the words on the page. The people who are too tired after all life throws at them to write. The people who are blocked. The people who are burnt out. The people who can't write because of physical or mental illnesses. The people who don't know why they can't write. And the people struggling with all those other things that get in the way of writing and make it seem or be impossible.

You're still a writer, you're still an artist. And you matter. This world is better since you're in it. Thank you for wanting to write, even if you can't right now. I hope you and your words find each other soon.

genuinely stunned at the fantastic choice for Percy not to pray to his absent and unknown father—like he did in the books—but to his mother.

the show is really taking us to one of riordan’s central theses straight off the bat.

parenthood isn’t about power and legacy and the recognition of shared blood.

It’s about the incredible act of showing up for your child—again and again and a-fucking-gain. That’s how you inspire respect. That’s how you become a child’s patron and beloved god.