Author: Sami Abrams

Excuse me, Mr. Bad Guy. Why?

Post author By Sami Abrams
Post date November 17, 2020
No Comments on Excuse me, Mr. Bad Guy. Why?

There’s nothing better than a creepy villain.

A deranged killer on the loose terrorizing your hero and heroine.

A madman who won’t back off.

A serial killer stalking his next victim.

Take your pick. The bad guy (or girl) can make or break a story. The antagonist isn’t a prop but a main character whose development is often overlooked.

Villains are fun to write. Yet, as writers, we tend to focus on the protagonists, creating elaborate backstories for our beloved couple. However, by doing so, we miss an important detail while we think up new ways to threaten our hero or heroine. We painstakingly figure out the goal, motivation, and conflict, or maybe the wound, lie, and fear of our main characters, but we miss the ever so important reason why our villain does what he or she does.

Does your villain have a backstory explaining the reason he or she has become a killer? We cannot forget to focus on the why.

The serial killer was neglected by his mother, and now he hunts and kills women he perceives to neglect their children. He transfers his feelings to these women to exact revenge on his mother.

Or the arsonist’s business partner finds out he’s dealing drugs through their company. He kills his partner and sets fire to cover up the crime and destroy the body. The hero or heroine unknowingly sees the bad guy, causing the arsonist to eliminate the witness.

Maybe the stalker was rejected by his high school sweetheart, and he is determined to exert power over any woman that reminds him of his first love.

Don’t shortchange your villain. Give him or her a solid backstory. And in the process of discovering the why, don’t forget to create weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the villain. By doing so, we can make the bad guy or girl human in the reader’s eye. This allows your reader to connect with your killer in a love/hate relationship or to feel sorry for the poor chump who’s out to wreak havoc on your hero and heroine.

So, go ahead, interview your bad guy. Discover your villain’s secret from his or her past? Find out what makes him tick. Make him or her human.

Remember, villains, are important people too.

What method do you use to create a villain that your readers love to hate?

Sami Abrams grew up hating to read. It wasn’t until her 30’s that she found authors that captured her attention. Now, most evenings you can find her engrossed in a Romantic Suspense. In her opinion, a crime and a little romance is the recipe for a great story.

Sami has finaled 15 times in writing contests, including receiving first place in American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis Contest in 2019 and Faith Hope and Love’s Touched By Love Awards in 2018. She lives in Northern California, but she will always be a Kansas girl at heart. She has a love of sports, family, and travel. However, a cabin at Lake Tahoe writing her next story is definitely at the top of her list.

Visit Sami at:

Website: Samiaabrams.com
Facebook Author page: samiaabrams
Twitter: @samiaabrams
Instagram: samiaabrams

Tags antagonists, backstory, complex characters, creating villains, mystery writing, villains

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Identity Crisis

Let’s talk villains. One of my favorite topics!

The creeper. The serial killer. The diabolical mastermind. The psychotic killer. And villains with a skewed sense of justice.

Does your bad guy (or girl) really know who he or she is?

Thanks to a friend’s advice, I have a list of ways that my antagonist can attempt to kill my hero or heroine. I simply go down the list and pick my favorites for that story. Yes, I am that devious. LOL! However, I’ve learned that I can’t pick at random. I must make thoughtful choices.

Whether you love them or hate them, villains must be true to who you’ve created them to be. Do you know who they are and what they want?

Not long ago, I received feedback from an editor. She liked the overall plot of the story and my writing, but my villain had issues. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I had more to fix then just my bad guy. However, the villain, he’s the one who had an identity crisis. I soon discovered what I had done. I’d chosen a villain, even mapped out what he wanted, but I hadn’t put myself in his head.

When writing your antagonist, think like the character you’ve created. If he’s a serial killer that strangles his victims, is he suddenly going to shoot someone? If he is trying to kill a witness, is he going to ransack the victim’s home when he or she isn’t there?

Stay true to the personality and motivation of your antagonist.

Crawl into your villain’s head. Yes, it can be a creepy place. But ask yourself, how would I eliminate my prey? Put yourself in his shoes.

I’m an arsonist. I’m going to burn down buildings, not run someone off the road and shoot at them.

I’m a serial killer who’s a sniper. I’m going to shoot my victims from a distance, not sneak into their home and attempt to strangle them.

I poison people. I might track my victim’s movements so I can sneak poison into their water bottle at the gym, or coffee at work, etc. But I’m not going to hit my hero or heroine over the head with a lead pipe.

Don’t let your antagonist have an identity crisis. Always make the crime match your villain.

What type of villain is your favorite? And how do you keep him or her from having an identity crisis?

Visit Sami at:

Website: Samiaabrams.com

Facebook Author page: samiaabrams

Twitter: @samiaabrams

Instagram: samiaabrams

Tags character development, character-building, mystery writing, villains

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Contests—Pretty or Prickly

Post author By Sami Abrams
Post date May 17, 2020
No Comments on Contests—Pretty or Prickly

Your opening scene has edge-of-your-seat tension, your characters are witty and full of life, the description of your setting is amazing, and your villain has just the right amount of evil. Your manuscript is perfect. Now, it’s time to win a contest and become an award-winning author. Right?

Unfortunately, new writers can be unaware that contests are prickly little things. Kind of like a cactus. Standing on a sidewalk admiring a cactus garden can be an amazing thing. All the beautiful shapes and blossoms. But as we all know, they are pretty from a distance, but up-close they can be brutal.

Many writers submit to contests and have their hopes and dreams trampled on when they don’t win or the comments received are disheartening. We’ve all heard it said that you need a thick skin to be a writer. There is no doubt about that, but part of the contest world is how you view it. Pretty or prickly. So, the question is, should you enter contests? It all depends on your purpose.

I’ve entered multiple contests. Some I’ve won, others I didn’t make the finals. And that was with the same manuscript. That can be frustrating to say the least. But I’ve learned a lot over the last few years.

Enter a contest for feedback, not to win. Being a finalist or winning is an added bonus, but it’s the judges’ feedback that will help your writing.

Enter in the appropriate category. Suspense authors usually judge suspense. Therefore, you are getting feedback from someone who’s in the publishing trenches of your genre. Who better to give suggestions on your suspense elements than someone who writes suspense?

Not all judges will like your writing. Similar to when we read novels, we have our favorite authors and authors that we just don’t care for. Judges are like that too. Don’t get discouraged if your entry comes back marked up by the red pen of death. Read through the comments and pick and choose what is important. However, if two judges tell you the same thing—It’s probably important.

Don’t take it personally. Yes, your manuscript is your baby, but the judges aren’t insulting you. They are trying to help improve your chances of becoming published.

I highly recommend contests. They can be a great learning tool. But check your reasons for entering before hitting send. That way you won’t be disappointed with the results.

It takes courage to put your book baby out there. So, breath deep and go for it.

What’s your biggest fear or best advice about entering a contest?