This is one of my favorite exercises. In it, you’re going to interview your villain, acting as both interviewer and interviewee. The purpose is two-fold: 1) to help you better know your villain, and 2) to help you identify missing pieces of your story.
Get ready. You’re going to engage your active imagination.
First, find a quiet, comfortable place to do your interview. I also recommend working with a pad and pen rather than a computer. Once you’re settled, take a deep breath, close your eyes, get yourself really centered, and… relax.
When you’re ready, open your eyes, set a timer for five minutes, and now, acting as if you are the anonymous interviewer, ask your villain, “So, what happened?” You could be asking about the ending or some part of the story you need to work on.
Now change hats and write down your answer from the perspective of your villain or obstacle. Your answer could start with something like “Well, what happened was … ” and then continue from there.
For instance, if you were Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs, you might write, “Well, what happened was, I fell in love with a beautiful FBI agent and things worked out very well. I helped her, and in a kind of poetic justice I helped her catch the bad guy, and then she helped me escape.”
Have fun!
Here’s to Your Successful Writing!
