villains in literature

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villains in literature

The negative trait thesaurus

a writer's guide to character flaws
"Crafting likable, interesting characters is a balancing act, and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult. Not only does a well-drawn protagonist need positive attributes to help him succeed, he must also have flaws that humanize him and give him something to overcome. The same is true of villains and the rest of the story's supporting cast. So how can writers figure out which flaws best fit their characters? Which negative traits will create personality clashes and conflict while making success difficult? Nothing adds complexity like character flaws. Inside the Negative Trait Thesaurus you'll find a vast collection of flaws to explore when building a character's personality, advice on building layered and memorable characters from the ground up, an in-depth look at backstory, emotional wounds, and how pain twists a character's view of himself, and his world, influencing behavior and decision making, a flaw-centric exploration of character arc, relationships, motivation, and basic needs, tips on how to best show a character's flaws to readers while avoiding common pitfalls, and downloadable tools to aid writers in character creation."--.
Cover image of The negative trait thesaurus

The power of the dark side

creating great villains, dangerous situations, & dramatic conflict
2008

The science of supervillains

2005
Explores the true science that underlies some of the greatest comic book supervillains of all time, examining the limits of science, the laws of nature, and the future of technology in relation to the foes.

The dark man

2013
Presents an illustrated version of Stephen King's poem "The Dark Man.".

The Oxford book of villains

1992
Anthology of the most infamous villains real and imagined found in literature from Caligula to Al Capone.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Bloom's modern critical interpretations
2010

Villainology

fabulous lives of the big, the bad, and the wicked
2007
The authors profile a number of villains in both popular culture and in fiction including the Wicked Witch of the West, Attila the Hun, the Wolf, Billy the Kid, the Invisible Man, Al Capone, and various characters from Shakespeare's plays.
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