I was all set. Excited, even. I had a brilliant story brewing in my mind—folklore from my province, no less! I could see my protagonists already, larger than life, practically leaping off the page. Then I sat down to write... and nothing happened.
That’s when I realized I had developed the dreaded writer’s block. Oh, the irony—so many ideas, yet not a single word seemed to fit. What was my block, you ask? It boiled down to two surprisingly tricky issues:
1. My protagonists were awesome (naturally), but the villains? Well, I had no idea what drove them. What was their purpose, their motivations? I needed more than just "evil for the sake of evil." It felt like staring at an empty abyss, waiting for my villains to give me something to work with.
2. Then there was the big existential question: how much of me should I put into this story? Every time I thought I had a direction, I hesitated. Is this my story or just fiction? How much of "me" was too much? Suddenly, my once exciting tale felt like an awkward conversation with myself.
So here I am, staring at my notes, pondering, questioning, and rethinking. Writer’s block is a beast, but it’s also a strange invitation to dive deeper. Maybe the villains will reveal themselves once I stop overthinking—or maybe I’ll just have to embrace the chaos a little longer. Either way, the story isn’t over yet.
Update: A few nights ago, I found myself rewatching *Attack on Titan*—one of the most mind-blowingly complex stories ever written. While taking in the chaos of that world, it struck me: the "villains" in this series aren’t what they seem. They’re just characters whose views on what's right directly oppose the protagonists'. Is that enough to make them evil?
This got me thinking about my own story. Maybe I’ve been looking at my villains all wrong. Instead of trying to conjure up some classic evil mastermind, maybe I just need to understand their perspective. After all, from where they're standing, they’re the heroes of their own story. Their motivations aren’t about being "bad"; they’re just rooted in beliefs or experiences that clash with my protagonists’ goals.
So maybe, just maybe, my villains aren’t the problem. It’s how I’ve been framing them.
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Check out this snarky/funny t-shirt design I found on Creative Fabrica (affiliate link included).
