I’m grateful for…

Villains. I love my antagonists. They know what they want, and they get it done. Their resourcefulness and cunning makes narratives stronger.

These larger-than-life entities would just as quickly topple a royal family using shadow magic as they would dismantle a Jedi Order.

Good and evil can be vivid. As vivid as tree lines turning gold in autumn. As vivid as the kiss of winter lingering on the knuckles of Kings.

I’m grateful for villains. I’m grateful, because by the end of the story, we know exactly who the enemy is. Morally grey characters become stark contrasts. The evil basically climbs off the page.

I’m grateful for villains, because they shape my narratives. They are my sidelong teachers observed at a distance. How well I know a villain is how well I know myself.

Am I evil? Am I flawed? Am I thirsty for power, revenge, and envy? Maybe I, too, want to topple empires? Maybe I, too, want my rivals to suffer? Maybe I, too, want absolute control?

I am. And I do. I, too, am the villain.