Creating Creatures for Speculative Worlds

E. J. Wenstrom, @EJWenstrom

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: The creatures that inhabit our novels should make sense and feel as real as our worlds. E.J. Wenstrom shares tips on how to create creatures that enhance our story.

E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures. When she isn’t writing fiction, E J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the FANTASY+GIRL Podcast.

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Take it away EJ…

What The Well-Dressed Villain Is Wearing These Days

By Bonnie Randall

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor) 

I admit I am bad at this. I have a terrible tendency to craft stock, cardboard bad guys—one of the things I am most critical of in my own writing. So it is in the spirit of the old adage ‘those who can’t do, teach’ that I am sharing the following traits which, as an observer, I’ve found to be the most authentic ‘clothing’ a villain can wear:

1. A Flawless Face

At first blush this one will seem like a cliché—the gorgeous villain—but bear with me through a little psychology behind it. Many villains have narcissistic natures; self-absorbed, grandiose, prideful and propelled by an astonishing level of arrogance. So egocentric that they are devoid of the capacity for empathy and compassion that would otherwise make them fully human.

7 Keys to Creating Bloodcurdling Monsters

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author)

JH: Laurence joins the faculty this month, so you'll find his thoughts on writing and publishing the second Tuesday of every month. Please help me give him a warm welcome.

Science fiction, fantasy and horror stories are full of monsters. But one of the toughest jobs a writer has is coming up with creatures that are new and interesting.

When I sat down to write my new urban fantasy novel, A Kiss Before Doomsday, I knew that the bad guys would be undead creatures. But today's readers have seen countless undead foes. How do you put a brand-new spin on such an old idea?