That Girl Who Wrote A Book

      You've made us love your characters, you've put them through hell, and they're finally coming out the other end . . . or are they? It's time to talk about the end of your story!     First things first, you've have to decide whether you want this to be a stand alone novel, or if you'd like to leave it open for a sequel or series. Secondly, you need to determine whether you're a good person or an evil person, and by that I mean are you gonna give us a happy ending or a sad one.      If you've chosen happy ending for a stand alone novel, congratulations you're a good person! You've also chosen what may be the easiest, but also one of the hardest options. It's easy because all you have to do is wrap it up and put a bow on top. Make sure your characters are fulfilled, the BBEG is defeated, and maybe even give us a glimpse what they go on to do. But it's also one of the hardest options because you and your readers have to say goodbye to t...

      The villain of your story is arguably the most important character-- even more important than the protagonist. A good villain will challenge your other characters. A great villain will drive your story.      When characterizing your bad guy,  not only do you have to define why they are the way they are, but you also have to make them reasonable. You can't just give your villain a tragic backstory and call it a day, because oftentimes that's not what makes a villain a villain. There has to be some deeper reason behind it. You have to design a character with such depth that your readers can understand them. You know you've done your job well when your readers begin to sympathize with them.     Take Draco Malfoy for example. He bullies Harry Potter and all of his friends, and just generally isn't a good person. But for some reason, fans of the Harry Potter series love Draco, and some even prefer him over the other characters. That's becaus...