How to teach your child to write a novel: Lesson 3: Villain

Junior Secret Noveling Club

You are reading part four of a ten part series that shows you how to teach your elementary-age child to write a novel, and in the process become a wiser, more thoughtful reader of books written by others. Check out the preparation, the genre lesson, and the hero lesson, then come back here for lesson three, Villains.

Greeting:

When you start your meeting, say your oath, and send the secret handshake around the table. Ask your students who their favorite villain is! I hope no one said the word "Voldemort." Hehehe.

Warm Up:

Write three sentences using as many Ts as possible. The t can come anywhere in the word. Give everyone a chance to read their sentences aloud an giggle (or titter).

Villain Lesson:

Start the discussion with some questions. Ask the children to give an example of a villain. Ask why we need villains in stories. Ask what a story would be like without a villain? Take some well-known stories and give examples of the villains we find there: Snow White, Cinderella, The Incredibles, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood.

Maybe you're getting some answers like “The villain gives the hero someone to fight” or “the villain makes the story more interesting.” Next tell a story with an obvious villain, like “The Jungle Wolf.” Go here for the version I tell aloud: The Jungle Wolf. The Jungle Wolf is a good story to tell alound in a class, because it repeats, and the students can take over telling it after a while. What purpose does the Jungle Wolf serve, in the story? What does he represent? What does the red flower represent? Then ask the students what the story would be like without the villain. Can anyone retell the story of the Jungle Wolf without the Jungle Wolf? My guess is that it would come out something like this: A little girl went and gathered some flowers in the woods. Not a very interesting story! Without the villain (danger) there would be no obstacle to the girl collecting the flowers (freedom). Try taking the villains out of some other stories and see what you come up with. Lead the students to understand that without a villain, there’s no conflict, there’s no problem for the hero, and the hero can just get what he/she wants immediately.

The true purpose of a villain is not to be evil, not to be wrong, but to provide conflict, to stop the hero from getting what he wants. Which leads us to our next question: Are there any stories that don’t have a villain? Think about some of these stories: Lady and the Tramp, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Balto, Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables. The villain of a story doesn’t have to be a mean person with a pointy mustache. It could be the weather, a volcano, a character’s own self-doubt, or anything that gets in his way.

One final point to make about villains: Just like there’s nothing very interesting about a hero who is too perfect (Superman without Kryptonite), there’s also nothing very interesting about a villain who’s too perfectly evil. A villain with no redeeming quality, no endearing good side, no sympathetic backstory, is not going to create a juicy, complicated conflict for you. The story will take place where the hero has flaws and the villain has his good points. The scenes you imagine happening will arise from these cracks in the armor too. Hero has a fear of heights? I guarantee he’ll have to cross a rope bridge. Villain have a soft spot for dogs? I guarantee he’ll have to choose between saving his dog and executing his evil plan. Think of Indiana Jones and snakes. It’s always about the snakes!

Now it’s time to fill out your villain worksheet, and paint your villain. When your villain is created and you’ve drawn and painted a picture of him/her, then you can have your badge.

Here is your link to download the PDF of the villain worksheet: Villain Worksheet.

Grammar Wrap-Up:

Talk about verbs — action verbs! Discuss using specific verbs rather than general ones. How many other ways can you find to say “running”?

Verb Hunt:

Choose a blank page in your notebook and then take a walk outside collecting as many verbs as you can from what you see there. Don’t forget the ones you’re doing — looking, listening, writing, leaning, thinking, etc. Even a completely stationary tree has all kinds of verbs associated with it. See who can find the most!

Homework:

Write down 10 sports, and then write a verb associated with each sport.