Villains:

“Rescue me from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.  They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s the poison of vipers is on their lips.  …

I love David. (This is from Psalm 140).  He calls it like he sees it – “stir up war” and “poison of vipers”

“Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet.  Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path.”

What are Villains? 

I believe a villain is anyone or anything that seeks to destroy another person’s confidence, goals and even their hope. 

A villain chews at a person’s competence, raining upon them doubt, stirring up their fears and leaves them helpless. 

A villain, really, can be anything – a past nightmare coming to life, a physical limitation, a natural disaster, an animal (remember Cujo?) and most importantly a personal attack from someone intent on hurting you.  It can be circumstances, or even….yourself.  Yes, I am so often my own worst enemy, my own personal villain.  I set up goals for myself, and when I don’t reach them (thanks to all the other goals I set up) I rain down doubt and frustration, disappointment on myself. I set my own traps to failure when I schedule in too many things, or set my bar so high it’s unreachable.  I even sharpen my tongue against myself…yes, you know what I’m talking about. 

All these elements can be used as villains in your story – something we’ll be talking about this week here at MBT.  We’ll talk about the 4 components of a great villain (regardless of type) and give ideas of how to work these components into a story.  And – to help us use examples from your favorite villains, stop by and leave a comment – who is your “favorite villain?”   We’ll choose one person from the list of comments to win a copy of Finding Stefanie.

But, until tomorrow, I’d like to leave you with this – again, from David…

“Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war (hint: he’s given you everything you need to conquer the villain!) my fingers for battle.  He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples (read: VILLIANS!) under me. 

Your villains – both external and internal – can’t defeat you.  Because you have God on your side.

As we prepare for this week at MBT – think:  what villains do I have in my story, and how do they instill fear and doubt and chip away at my hero/heroine’s competence.  And don’t forget to tell us who your favorite villains are! 

Also – we only have two openings left for Mini Book Therapy so if you were thinking f working with Rachel or I to get your conference proposal in shape before the ACFW conference in September, let us know before the door closes on Sept 1^st.

May you see God giving you VICTORY today!