Dark and Scary Thoughts…
I’m expanding on a paranormal right now. And, I’ve been toying with the idea of including my villain’s POV. The thing is he’s a serial-killer. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit daunted by the prospect of portraying such a character from the inside out. My hero, the heroine, maybe even a secondary character or two, I jump right in their heads. It’s a piece of cake.
But, a serial-killer? It’s not like I am one, so how do I capture the essence of his psychosis? How do I get into his head?
He needs to be vile and yet, people have to kind of “get” him. And, since this particular character has been insisting he’s got thoughts to share, I’ve had to set my insecurities aside and just write.
I’ve completed my first scene from his POV and well, I don’t know if I should be pleased or just creeped out that that was inside MY head! Gahhh! I really like the scene. And, the few people I’ve let read it have loved it, saying it made them a little queasy! Yay! I love when I can invoke such base reactions with my writing.
I’m having fun with this. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next!
Now, having stepped out of my comfort zone to write this scene, I started to wonder how I did it. How did I come up with such a…a sick scene? It’s not like I have thoughts like this just floating around in my head. So, how did I capture my villain’s thoughts so well? I think it has a lot to do with empathy. Not for the villain, but for the victims.
When I’m writing a scene like this, I’m kind of in both the villain’s and the victim’s heads. I focus on what I need to accomplish with the scene. In this case, the villain’s extreme anger over missing his opportunity with the heroine. I thought of things that would scare the crap out of me if some psycho killer had reached such a boiling point. Then, I wrote it.
So, I realized something about myself with this project. Well, a couple of things really. First, I can tap into some pretty gruesome ideas. And second, it isn’t really about getting into the serial-killer’s head, but being able to empathize with his victims.
Tell me about the scariest villain you’ve read or written about.
~Sandy :-)
PS
I’ve already posted a link to the fabulous slide show my husband put together, but realized not all of you go to my site before coming here. So, I figured I’d post the link here too.
2007 RWA National Conference ~ Dallas, TX
As usual, my husband did an amazing job with the slide show. I can take an all right picture, but he makes them look like I really know what I’m doing. LOL.
Also, this Thursday marks my first Workshop here at Sandra’s Goings On. Be sure to stop by for World Building with Nalini Singh. It doesn’t matter if you write or not. This should be a very interesting post.
But, a serial-killer? It’s not like I am one, so how do I capture the essence of his psychosis? How do I get into his head?
He needs to be vile and yet, people have to kind of “get” him. And, since this particular character has been insisting he’s got thoughts to share, I’ve had to set my insecurities aside and just write.
I’ve completed my first scene from his POV and well, I don’t know if I should be pleased or just creeped out that that was inside MY head! Gahhh! I really like the scene. And, the few people I’ve let read it have loved it, saying it made them a little queasy! Yay! I love when I can invoke such base reactions with my writing.
I’m having fun with this. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next!
Now, having stepped out of my comfort zone to write this scene, I started to wonder how I did it. How did I come up with such a…a sick scene? It’s not like I have thoughts like this just floating around in my head. So, how did I capture my villain’s thoughts so well? I think it has a lot to do with empathy. Not for the villain, but for the victims.
When I’m writing a scene like this, I’m kind of in both the villain’s and the victim’s heads. I focus on what I need to accomplish with the scene. In this case, the villain’s extreme anger over missing his opportunity with the heroine. I thought of things that would scare the crap out of me if some psycho killer had reached such a boiling point. Then, I wrote it.
So, I realized something about myself with this project. Well, a couple of things really. First, I can tap into some pretty gruesome ideas. And second, it isn’t really about getting into the serial-killer’s head, but being able to empathize with his victims.
Tell me about the scariest villain you’ve read or written about.
~Sandy :-)
PS
I’ve already posted a link to the fabulous slide show my husband put together, but realized not all of you go to my site before coming here. So, I figured I’d post the link here too.
2007 RWA National Conference ~ Dallas, TX
As usual, my husband did an amazing job with the slide show. I can take an all right picture, but he makes them look like I really know what I’m doing. LOL.
Also, this Thursday marks my first Workshop here at Sandra’s Goings On. Be sure to stop by for World Building with Nalini Singh. It doesn’t matter if you write or not. This should be a very interesting post.
Labels: Nalini Singh, Pictures, RWA National Conference, Writing
posted by Sandra Barkevich at 9/03/2007 12:26:00 PM
2 Comments:
Sandra, interesting post about writing villain's point of view. I don't get into the villain's head in either Claiming the Courtesan or Untouched. Although of course, I play with the old gothic theme of villain/hero as the same man in my first book. And actually, probably in my second, now I think about it. The villain in Untouched however is a really baaaaaaad dude. Seriously scary and he has two awful sidekicks. But they're all seen from the hero or heroine's point of view.
Thanks, Anna. :-) Since you know I am a total Anna Campbell Fangirl, I am soooo looking forward to reading all of your next stories. You can really do baaaaad. The villain in Claiming the Courtesan was very chilling. Can't wait to see what you think is worse. LOL!
Sandy :-)
Sandra Barkevich - Romance Author
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