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Revenge is a common plot in stories. It usually takes the form of the villain wrongs the protagonist, which causes the protagonist to want revenge on the villain. Usually, the villain will take something or kill the protagonist’s loved one. Distraught, the hero will then hone their skills, before setting out to defeat the villain once and for all, thus getting their revenge.

I’ve always found this plot to be rather destructive. The hero isn’t saving the day because it’s the right thing to do, but simply because they want revenge. It’s common for these protagonists to be portrayed as single-minded and willing to ignore others’ plights, just to get want they want.

So, why would anyone write a protagonist like that? One word: conflict. Conflict is what makes a story. Without it, what’s the point? My favorite example is “Mary walked to the store, bought some milk, and walked home.” Not a very interesting story. But, if I changed it to, “Mary walked to the store, bought some milk, and was abducted by aliens on her way home,” then suddenly the reader will be interested. How did Mary wind up on the spaceship? What will the aliens do to her? Will she ever get home? Add in revenge and now it’s a tense story of Mary trying to get revenge on the aliens for kidnapping her, while also trying to escape back home.

Revenge is not my favorite way of adding conflict, especially for a main character, but I think it’s fine for a side character. Why? Because if you give it to a main character, they’ll be obsessed with it for the whole story. I’ve seen it happen in plenty of books. But for a side character, you don’t have to worry about revenge for the whole story. Sure it’s there, but it’s usually mentioned less frequently for a side character.

On a positive note for a revenge plot, it does give the author a built in character arc. If their goal is to help the protagonist learn that there are more important things then revenge, the author can have them help others. Let’s say Steve wants revenge on Bob for murdering his wife. During the story, Steve can encounter a widow, who’s at the mercy of some lesser bad guys, who are trying to mug her. Feeling compassion toward the widow because she reminds him of his late wife, Steve can step in and defend her, thus opening him up to character development that isn’t all about revenge. Sprinkle in moments like these, so Steve becomes a better person by the end, and you have the makings of a great revenge-style story.

Revenge is one of the most common plots. It’s in Eragon, Star Wars, and even Harry Potter. Eragon wants revenge against his uncle’s killers, Luke wants revenge against his aunt and uncle’s killers, and Sirius wants revenge against Peter Pettigrew for James and Lily’s murders. Eragon, Luke, and Sirius all want revenge against their loved ones’ murderers, but all three learn that there’s more to life than revenge. They all grew and changed into better characters and people by the end. Exactly what I love to see in my heroes by the end of their stories.

Being an author is always full of unique challenges. That’s one of the reasons why it’s the best job in the world. There’s so much juggling you have to do. You have to make sure your characters are complex, human, and consistent. You have to create an interesting setting. Your plot has to hook people in, so they’ll actually want to read your work. Then, you have to combine all those elements, plus the ones I didn’t mention. If it all goes well, it should make for an amazing story. But there’s no challenge quite like beginning a story.

I’ll admit that beginning a story is a weakness for me. It’s why Silver Crescent took so long to come out. I must have restarted it at least a dozen times. I’m struggling a bit with the opening of Silver Storm now, but I’m trying the same strategy as Silver Crescent. Just keep writing. Once I get to the editing process, I can work on improving the story, especially the opening.

I think the reason starting a story is so difficult is because the opening sets the tone for the entire book. If your beginning is lackluster, it might drive potential readers away. Don’t get me wrong, the whole book should be good, but the opening has more pressure on it, in my opinion. I once read a book with an incredible beginning, but once I was a few chapters in, I realized that wasn’t much in the way of plot. It felt like a chore to read. I got to the end, hoping it would get better. It didn’t. That author knew the power of a good beginning, at least.

A book is the sum of its parts. Everything has to work together in harmony for the story to be good. Plot, characters, setting, all need to be good to justify to the reader why they’re spending their time reading and not doing anything else. But the reader may never get to see the quality of your writing if your opening doesn’t draw them in. Don’t focus on the beginning at the expanse of the rest of the story, but don’t ignore the power of a good opening, either.

In celebration of Silver Crescent coming out this week (Tuesday, May 6th), I would like to announce the title of book three, Silver Storm. Penelope, Mag, and Artie must come together once again as they take on their toughest challenge yet: defeating the golden dragon.

Presenting the official cover of Silver Crescent. Sequel to Silver Rose.

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to let you know that I have a release date for Silver Crescent. It will be available in May 2025. I hope you’ll all enjoy reading it!

In my last blog, I explained that I was almost finished with Silver Crescent. Well, I can finally tell you that I am indeed done! I read through it one final time and I liked it. I think I fixed all the typos and closed all the plot holes. I finished on January 16th and applied for the copyright on January 20th. Now, I have to wait three to nine months for the copyright to go through. I also need to get the cover designed, the pages formatted, a Library of Congress Control Number, and the ISBN. After I have all that completed, my book can be released. Thank you, everyone, for your patience and support while I wrote Silver Crescent!