EPISODE · Jul 19, 2024 · 27 MIN
Episode 122 - Getting inside a villain's mind.
from Essential Guide to Writing a Novel · host James Thayer
We aren't villains, and we likely don't have the background and personality of a villain. How can we get inside the mind of a villain for our story, so the villain engages the reader? Here are techniques to do so. Also, big and small things in a novel should be foreshadowed. I'll mention why and how to use foreshadowing to give clues and red herrings to the reader, focusing on small things we might otherwise forget to tie up. Also, here are my favorite funny titles of novels.Here is a 20-episode master class on fiction writing—a start-to-finish course covering plot, characters, dialogue, scenes, sentence-level craft, and much more. Each episode is focused and about 30 minutes. The full class—all 20 episodes—is available now for a one-time price of forty-nine dollars. If you want structured, concise guidance, click the Buy the Master Class link in the show notes to get started.Support the showBuy the master class.
What this episode covers
We aren't villains, and we likely don't have the background and personality of a villain. How can we get inside the mind of a villain for our story, so the villain engages the reader? Here are techniques to do so. Also, big and small things in a novel should be foreshadowed. I'll mention why and how to use foreshadowing to give clues and red herrings to the reader, focusing on small things we might otherwise forget to tie up. Also, here are my favorite funny titl...
NOW PLAYING
Episode 122 - Getting inside a villain's mind.
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m