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J.M. Barrie

How to create a great villain

September 16, 2024 by Nathan Bransford

Bleak painting of two old men

Bill Sikes. Lady MacBeth. Captain Ahab. The Wormwoods. Long John Silver. Sauron. Iago. The best villains in literature send a shiver down our spine and make our blood pressure rise. Why do some villains have such a hold on us while others feel like weak sauce? Let me first say that not every novel needs […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, J.M. Barrie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shakespeare

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

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How to Write A Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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