NEW PARIS BOOK IN PROGRESS IN 2024: HERO AND VILLAIN – Blog # 13.
I’ve talked about the main character in my emerging new Paris Book in terms of being the hero. So, if there is a hero, there must be at least one villain, one archenemy, one rival. Who is the villain in my story?
Is the villain one of the three dragons I mentioned in Blog # 3 – the pandemic, Brexit, andeveryday life in Paris? Or is my villain one of the threats I mentioned in Blog # 2?
What or who wants to stop my hero?
The pandemic is not a person; Brexit is not a person; and difficult times in Paris is not a person. Is my villain a thing or a person?
Could the villain be the dark side of my hero? Everyone has a dark side, right? What, you ask, is the dark side? It’s the side of someone that is unpleasant, bad, evil, selfish, destructive, negative, cruel, or harmful. Again, is my villain a thing or a person?
Is the villain in my story a friend in disguise – a frenemy? Hmmm – a villain right in front of the hero’s nose! Mon Dieu! (That’s French for My God!) A real person!
If my hero is strong, do I need a strong villain? A strong villain that is an actual person?
If my hero has a villain, does she overcome her own villain? Or does someone come to the aid of my hero to defeat the villain? A hero’s hero? Is that possible? Well, yes, there are many well-known stories where the hero has a guide, or several guides, or even an army of guides. Someone to watch over the hero, like a loyal companion helping and influencing the hero. Yes, an influencer!
King Arthur had Merlin the Magician to help fight against the villain Sir Mordred. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz had the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion to help fight against the villain Glinda the Wicked Witch of the West. Sherlock Holmes had Dr Watson to help fight against every criminal villain in London. Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest had a roomful of mental institute patients to help fight against the villain Head Nurse Ratched.
I could so easily have a guide in my story to help the hero fight against the hero’s villain. Something to think about!
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Photographer: Martina Nicolls
