Fi Phillips

Working on my second novel, something strange happened that I hadn't accounted for in my chapter plan. The villain insisted on being seen (well, one of the villains). I initially had planned to hint at him and his cohorts but no, he wasn't happy with that. Steven Pressfield's post, The Second Act Belongs to the Villain is about just this topic, keeping "the antagonist front-and-center in the middle of your story". Have a look.

Writing the second book of my children's fantasy trilogy, it's become clear that my 'villain', and that individual's motivations, is going to weigh heavily on how this and the final book shape up. Steven Pressfield discusses how to let your antagonist or the concept of antagonism mould your novel, especially genre choice in Go Dark .