Pro tip: your villain's motivation doesn't need a tragic backstory

I spent 3 months outlining a novel where every bad guy had some sad childhood event, then a beta reader asked why the antagonist couldn't just want power for its own sake. That question made me realize I was padding my plot with excuses instead of letting characters be messy, and now my prompts feel way sharper. Anyone else default to trauma as a shortcut for depth?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.