In a post on Writer’s Digest, Kit Mayquist offers 5 tips for writing a revenge story that slowly puts the pieces together for a final, satisfying climax.
“Oh, sweet revenge. There’s nothing like a well-executed plan to get the blood pumping and the pages turning,” Mayquist writes. “But the thing with revenge stories is that unless all the pieces are there, a protagonist’s final hour of execution isn’t going to feel as rewarding (or hard hitting) as you might have hoped.”
These tips include:
- Consider the Environment. “The need for revenge doesn’t just happen,” Myquist explains. “Generally speaking, the structure or circumstances a protagonist lives in might be more of a motivating factor than any cruelty or deed their foe could have done.”
- Revenge Isn’t a Straight Line. “Part of the appeal of a revenge story is because it can be this messy thing, fueled by emotions that often lead to impulsivity and irrational thinking. “Emotions are powerful and complex things and can make a protagonist inconsistent and illogical; they can lead to forgetfulness or not considering something vital to the execution of their plot.”
- Who’s on Your Side. “Try to consider who in the protagonist’s world is aware of what’s going on, and who isn’t.”
- Build on What Makes You Angry. “Start with the darkest moment…the point at which emotions are at their peak and everything is wrong, sad, people are crying, dying, and things are just all-around awful.”
- The How. “It’s important to have a reason for how your protagonist chooses the method that they do. Maybe it’s connected to their skills or their job, or maybe they just use what is available. Either way, there should be a reason that a protagonist chooses the method of revenge that they do, and it should be connected to the context of the story and their own character as much as possible.”
