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Evil Warlord List as Writing Tool
Tuesday, January 14, 2003Peter's Evil Overlord List isn't just funny, it's useful. Every cliche that you can boil out of Star Wars, James Bond movies, Conan...the list is as long as my arm. Longer, actually. If you want to write a book with a person in an evil warlord like position, it would be quite sensible (and entertaining) to read over the list, and try and "beat" it. Filled with useful ideas, such as "I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such." (#9) or "I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman footsoldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set." (#21) a list like this could help you create more inventive characters, because it'll help you avoid all the general cliches. True, it'll also make it harder than heck for yor heroes to beat him/her, but at least the journey will be exciting. And, if you were curious, I have fallen from my pinnacle of nine at preds and eds, to 12. I *liked* being at nine, though. I mean, someone who's pretty much an unknown getting that high? That's really nifty. I'll try and be quiet about it until the 21st, when the polls officially close...and I'll give you a run down on who won, and where my groups and such ended up at. If you want to see the results yourself, please go to http://www.critters.org/predpoll/tally.html Permalink Cindy scribed this at 10:44 AM 0 comments |