I’m still plugging along, tortoise-style. This scene that has given me fits for a month is finally starting to take shape one little nugget at a time. And it’s had me thinking a lot about villains—not only remembering how to spell it (why do I always want to put the i before the a?) but also how to write a good one. And I feel like this is important. I know the effect I want this scene to have, but accomplishing it is easier said than done.

When I read for fun, I don’t like to ruin it with analyses, but every so often, something strikes me, my writer senses start tingling, and I pay attention. This happened last summer when I read Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. I thought how she wrote the Darkling as a villain was brilliant, and I paid attention. He was an enigma from the beginning—bad guy? good guy? Should I be rooting for him to be Alina’s best partner, or should I be #TeamMal?? It took me a while to figure it out, but I realized it was the contrast in the Darkling’s character that played so well. He was kind, protective, passionate, and almost perfect—until he wasn’t.

I realized there’s a difference between scary and chilling. Scary is obvious from the get-go. It’s black and white; it leaves no questions. Chilling involves layers of deception, false fronts, and a gradual revelation of cruelty. It involves questions and ambiguity; it lays a trap.

In my story, I think Niki/Eris is scary, but Nyx needs to be chilling. This is what I’m working on.

🥶