The Evil Writer Award

Before I do anything else, I must say that I love the topic and title of this tag!  Now, let’s get down to business….

The Rules:
• Give all credit to the Evil Overlord and genius, Kate, for creating this award.
• Give a smaller amount of credit to the Evil Writer who tagged you (which means fall on your hands and knees and thank me for nominating you).• Tag at least two people

Right- as mentioned above, credit to Kate for this great idea!  Thanks also to Lucy Agnes @ Tanglewebs and Fairyrings.  No, I am not about to fall on hands and knees, it is beneath me to grovel like that.

Before we begin, here’s a disclaimer:  I actually see myself more as an anti-hero than a villain. There is a method to my madness, a cause behind my cruelty.  I believe in ‘tough love’. If it takes fire and brimstone to bring my characters into their own, then so be it.  With that in mind, let us continue.

How many characters do you typically kill per book? And how many people have you killed in real life, dear? Do you… feel any remorse about this? I’m concerned about you.

It depends, really.  I once wrote a MG story where two died off-screen.  There was also a battle, and an entire village demolished, but there was no certain number of casualties.

I wrote another story in which I immediately destroy an entire ship’s crew- save for one small survivor- and at least two are already dead before the story even starts.  A young couple loses their first baby, but that is only mentioned.  Later on I throw in a battle, and a literal back-stabbing.

As for my WIP with Kinn and Rieve, at least five are likely to be dead at the end of the story.

Those are for my stories already underway, or in editing.  I’m not counting my seedling stories (which are still subject to change), or my children’s stories (which are clean).
Do I feel remorse?  Every time.

Do you prefer to use weapons of mass destruction like explosions and famine and world war or more personal torture like killing family and friends and pets?

Many of my stories do include explosions.  Some stories include several.    But even with all that I realise there is more impact in something small and close to home.  Yes, I have even gone after close friends and dear family members.  I haven’t targeted pets…thus far….

Are you more like Loki, who perpetrates great evil with a creepy grin, or… give me a minute… Darth Vader, who secretly weeps inside his… fake head, whilst destroying the world?

Darth Vader, maybe?  I do my writing with a dark mask.  But my asthma doesn’t bother me much these days, which is a blessing.

If you do see me grinning, however, it would be wise to run.

What is the most dastardly crime you have ever committed as a writer?

I should really be jailed for my early writings.  The plots alone condemn me, but then the horrendous grammar and the spelling mistakes also need to be taken into consideration.

Or do you mean what is the worst crime I ever committed against a character?  Well, there is one character I have who is shipwrecked, orphaned, ostracized, has his leg broken, is condemned as a traitor (twice), banished, attacked by pirates (thrice), and abandoned.  I waffled over simply killing him in the end, but finally settled on something worse better.

What kind of chocolate do you most like to devour as you burn things? White, milk, semisweet, or dark? Bonus points if you are so evil you find unsweetened cacao palatable!

I don’t like my chocolate sweet, *shudder*.  I like it dark and bitter!

What is your villainous title? You may not have “Evil Overlord” because that one’s mine.

How about ‘Canadian Killer’?  I apologise to my victims.

*stabs* ‘Sorry…’

 

Which of your characters would actually be a match for you if you were to duke it out one on one?

I do what I can to avoid ‘duking it out’.  I leave that sort of thing to others within my employ. I’m the brains of the operation, not the muscles.

Which character, in all the many books you have undoubtedly written, is most likely to be your Archnemesis?

There is a certain character from my Rieve and Kinn story that comes to mind:  10D, Rieve’s robotic co-pilot.  Now, I don’t really like robots to begin with.  But then I added an extra pair of limbs to 10D’s back, giving it a somewhat insect- or worse, arachnid- appearance.  It can climb any structure with speed and agility, like a metallic weaponized monkey.  In short, I created my own worst nightmare.

  “Sweet victory.”  Kinn chuckled.

The automaton turned its head 180 degrees to look at her.  The light in its electronic eyes seemed almost sentient.

“Not quite.” It said.

 

Do you wear a cape? Face paint? A mask? Special underpants? Or do you hide in plain sight… like Moriarty? Give me details!

I do my best to keep up the ‘innocent nerd’ cover.

How do you react when you have to kill off a character that is dear to you? Do you laugh evilly out loud? Do you chuckle under your breath and quickly glance around for your next victim? Do you go and weep in a corner for a month because you just lost a best friend? Or do you just shrug indifferently?

It’s rough, having to kill a character.   I will even try and find a way to keep them alive.  Sometimes there are characters that come in, and right off the bat I like them…but I automatically know that they are already doomed.  So I try to fit as much meaning in their life and death as I can.

I may be hesitant, sad even, to actually write down the death.  But after a bit I resign myself and go ahead.

….Although I must admit that I get a certain thrill by the thought that perhaps, one day, someone will read about the character’s death and that it will make them think, make them feel- and better yet, cry.

 

If you had to choose a fictional villain (from book, movies, etc.) to sum up your villainous style as an evil writer, who would it be? Why?

Although he’s more antagonist than villain, I’m going to say Inspector Javert.  I do my damage out of a sense of justice, or duty.  But I’m shaken when the thought of mercy starts to take hold.

 

Now, another villainous writer- going by the chilling title of Sunshine and Rainbows- has added a few more questions to this tag.  I just couldn’t resist.

 

Do you believe in killing off main characters, or are they your smol precious babies whom you cannot even fathom laying a hand (or steel-tipped ax) upon? (#wimpyevilwriter)

Just because they are main characters doesn’t mean they’re safe.  Ask Beowulf.  Ask Hamlet.  Have I ever killed off one of my own main characters?  Sorry, that information is classified.

Have you ever chickened out of your evilness and tried to resurrect a fallen character whom you have already brutally murdered? Or do you–as they say–let the sleeping skeleton lie?

Alright, I admit it.  There have been times when I’ve tried to kill off a character, but something just didn’t work (and I felt sorry for them and missed them), so I went back to re-write the scenes.

When murdering a character, do you often describe it in cringe-worthy detail, or do you prefer to say “SPLAT! He’s dead”, and be done with it? (Bonus Question: have you ever actually said “SPLAT! He’s dead” in one of your writing projects?)

I try to go lightly on the gory side of it- but I don’t mind describing the poise of the weapon before the moment of death and the reactions of other characters afterward.  I believe it has more impact.

And no, I’ve never said “Splat! He’s dead,” in any of my writing projects.  It would ruin the mood.  I’m trying to be dramatic here.

 

This time I tag all of my writer colleagues.

Here are the questions:

—-

How many characters do you typically kill per book? And how many people have you killed in real life, dear? Do you… feel any remorse about this? I’m concerned about you.

Do you prefer to use weapons of mass destruction like explosions and famine and world war or more personal torture like killing family and friends and pets?
Are you more like Loki, who perpetrates great evil with a creepy grin, or… give me a minute… Darth Vader, who secretly weeps inside his… fake head, whilst destroying the world?

What is the most dastardly crime you have ever committed as a writer?

What kind of chocolate do you most like to devour as you burn things? White, milk, semisweet, or dark? Bonus points if you are so evil you find unsweetened cacao palatable!

What is your villainous title? You may not have “Evil Overlord” because that one’s mine.

Which of your characters would actually be a match for you if you were to duke it out one on one?

Which character, in all the many books you have undoubtedly written, is most likely to be your Archnemesis?

Do you wear a cape? Face paint? A mask? Special underpants? Or do you hide in plain sight… like Moriarty? Give me details!

How do you react when you have to kill off a character that is dear to you? Do you laugh evilly out loud? Do you chuckle under your breath and quickly glance around for your next victim? Do you go and weep in a corner for a month because you just lost a best friend? Or do you just shrug indifferently?

If you had to choose a fictional villain (from book, movies, etc.) to sum up your villainous style as an evil writer, who would it be? Why?