I have indeed. Rodmilla was my favorite character, and the good news is they didn't spend a lot of time on her backstory. Otherwise, they would have ruined her. Very true! People do tend to project, especially on pets for some reason. Please note that I've emphasized the "sob story" part. I'm not necessarily arguing against backstory. There's a trend that readers have to sympathize with the villain somehow, and I don't necessarily agree with that. It can be done extremely well, but most of the time it falls flat imo. So, that was a long-winded way of saying I mostly agree. Also, awesome to find someone who, I assume, likes Ever After.

You're channeling some John Milton here. I don't think it was his intention (he was a staunch Puritan), but he made his characterization of Satan relatable to the point that he got fussed at for it-and thus the antihero was born.

I've never watched it, but Hannibal's reputation precedes him.

Those are few and far between anymore sadly. Those that are tend not to be any good. Everyone is told that all villains must have a good sob-story to be believable. Thus, no one knows how to write a villain who is just downright evil.

Ok, this is a little research project. I had an idea for a villain in my novel. If you've been reading my installments in the critique forum, you have met her already-Fuamnach (Fum-na). *spoiler* She's a clinical narcissist who is driven by jealousy to do some very "mean" things to one of my mcs. However, after doing some research (long before I came to Christian Writers), I thought that maybe she would make a great antagonist, but not a good villain. So, I created another, henchmen and all. This villain is more of a problem for the other mc. He's not about "world" domination, but does want to rule over a very specific island west of Britain...anything to regain his long lost throne, stolen from him by an mc's grandmother. The thing is, I'm not sure that my villain is convincing enough. I've watched too many movies, and read too many books, where the villain is on a world domination spree (often in a cliché way), but fails to inspire anything more than a yawn...I'm looking at you Malekith! So, I would like your opinions please, and any advice you have to offer, on "good" villains. I would like a list of some book/movie villains that did their job and frightened you (no more than 5 please). Next to each villain, explain why you found them/their plan convincing and/or scary. If it's because they hit on a phobia of yours, add a little more explanation as to why. In other words, please don't say something like "Pennywise: because I'm scared of clowns". I'm looking for more detail. I.e.: "Pennywise-I'm afraid of clowns, and the fact that this one eats kids terrifies me." I'll start the list just to give you an idea of what I'm looking for: In no particular order: 1. Maleficent (animated): She's a smooth sorceress that can turn into a dragon. She's not above theatrics, but she's deadly serious too. Also, she's downright evil. No sob story mussing the background. Imo, sometime it's ok for a villain to just be evil. 2. Darth Vader: All in all, he's not a real villain (IMO), but his costume, his breathing, and his presence is enough to convey that one would be stupid to mess with him. His cool response to force choking an imperial, "I find your lack of faith disturbing", adds to it. He doesn't even have to touch people to kill them! 3. Nazgul: They are single minded, ghostly, mysterious...and downright terrifying. 4. The One Ring: This gets me every time I watch/read lotr. The ring has a lot of similarities with sin--tempting (especially with the lie that the bearer has control), corrupting even the best of men, seemingly insignificant, powerful, death dealing, not an entity that can be reasoned with, but an unstoppable force, and the key that unlocks greater evil. I always feel bad for Sméagol when he jumps to his death to take it. He was unable to break free. A terrible thought! Thanks in advance for your help! The floor is yours!

Hate that for you Jared. Will be praying!

Welcome and congrats on the book!

Well, here's the thing. Fashion then didn't change near as much as it does today, and yes, a lot of it mirrored fashion overseas for the upper-class. Try typing in "War of 1812 fashion". It looks like it resembles more of the Regency Era style of England. You might be able to narrow your results that way. You could also take a look at online reenactment retailors like this one: https://www.smoke-fire.com/product-category/clothing/war-of-1812-clothing/ They take a lot of care to make sure everything is accurate. Hope that helps!

Awesome Zee! Happy for you!

Stark scale 2, 4, 5, and 8.

Confusion

Count me in.

China

I can't say for certain yet, being a fledgling and all, but I'm somewhere in between a plotter and pantser. I sketch a loose outline, have a few solid scenes planned out ahead of time, but so far it's all linked with "off-the-cuff" threads. I may have missed it @suspensewriter, but what where did you say you fall?

Welcome to Middle Earth Jared! Have fun!