creative writing about revenge

How to Write Revenge Stories That Thrill and Satisfy Your Readers

by Joslyn Chase | 0 comments

A heinous murder. A jilted lover. An angry hero determined to get justice. Revenge stories are a vital part of the human experience. Let's take a look at how to write revenge stories of your own.

Willa Cather famously said, “There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”

I don’t know if the number is really two, three, or ninety-seven, but her point that humans keep doing the same things over and over throughout history is sound. We act, strangely enough, according to human nature and our stories reflect that. Consequently, there are patterns that recur time and again in the stories humans write and read, because that’s what resonates in our souls.

I’ve long been a believer that, as writers, we should concern ourselves less with finding a story that’s never been told before, and more with expressing our story ideas with our own unique voices and perspectives. That’s what makes it ours, and that’s what will draw readers to our version of a story pattern they’ve surely read before.

A dish best served cold

One of the oldest story patterns is the revenge story. Revenge is visceral—it grabs us by the gut, sending feelers deep into the bed of our emotions. We hate to see a grave injustice go unpunished and most of us, as law-abiding as we may be, can get behind a little vigilante action in our fiction. We itch to see the scales balanced, the savagely maligned victim avenged.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is probably the most famous example of the revenge plot, and makes use of some of its stock devices—the ghost crying out for vengeance, the feigned madness, the play-within-a-play, and the ultimate carnage that results—but the Bard was not the first, or the last, to use this pattern. He simply wrote it in a way that made it undeniably his.

If you’ve got an idea for a revenge story, and want to write it in such a way as to make it undeniably yours, I’m here to help.

Assemble your cast

You’ll need a hero . Make your protagonist a basically good person who’s forced to take justice into his own hands when the law fails to provide satisfaction. Take care to round your character and make him real and likeable because you’ll want the reader firmly in his corner.

You’ll need a villain . The antagonist is the character who committed the unpunished act. Keep in mind the range of crimes that might apply and the fact that it may be real or imagined. Maybe the hero is placing the blame on the wrong culprit. Maybe the hero has bought into a false portrayal of the situation. There are all kinds of twists you could throw into the works to cast a different light on the story.

You’ll need a victim . The victim’s purpose is to arouse our sympathies and ire. The hero could double as the victim, as in The Count of Monte Cristo, or it may be a family member, love interest, or even someone the hero barely knows but whose situation inspires him to action. However, you must give the hero a personal stake of some sort, an emotional tie to the victim.

Behold, a heinous crime

The more monstrous the central act—murder, rape, torture, and so on—the more justified your hero is in seeking out and dispensing revenge. And it strikes a nice balance if the punishment fits the crime: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

The desire to overstep those bounds may eat at your hero, may comprise his inner struggle, but if he can exercise a degree of restraint in administering the proper punishment, he’ll gain reader respect and provide a nice catharsis—that final release of tension that leads to reader satisfaction.

Typically, you want to start by firing up your audience with a portrayal of the crime. You present happy people, going about their own business, whose lives are interrupted and forever changed by the commission of a shocking crime that goes unpunished.

In some cases, the crime occurs before the story begins. Done right (as Shakespeare did in Hamlet ) this can work, but it’s a safer bet to actually dramatize it for your reader and let her experience the pain and indignities first hand. This allows the reader to form an emotional bond with your characters, getting good and outraged, wanting revenge as much as your hero does.

The hero may try to go through official channels, such as the police, but these efforts fail and he realizes that if there’s to be any justice administered, he must do it himself.

This is the planning and preparing stage of the story. The hero researches, trains, tracks down the antagonist, or whatever needs to be done to put his plan into action. If your story involves multiple villains who need to be dealt with, as in The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville, your hero may start dishing out revenge during this phase.

To add even more conflict, you may introduce a third party who is trying to stop your hero from exacting revenge—a law enforcement official, family member, or religious personality, perhaps.

Phase Three

This is where the confrontation happens, when your hero and the villain go head to head. If your protagonist has been dealing out serial revenge to a list of offenders, this is the final confrontation and involves the most important villain.

This is your hero’s moment of triumph! Or his ultimate failure. Readers will be most satisfied, of course, if your hero prevails in dispensing the requisite justice, but there are instances where failure is called for at the end. If this is the case, keep in mind that it doesn’t release you from the responsibility of providing satisfaction for your readers.

Think of the movie Braveheart. In the end, William Wallace is viciously executed, drawn and quartered, but he goes to his death with such dignity and courage that it drives home the point of the movie and delivers a fitting conclusion that viewers can live with.

Usually, though, it’s best to conclude the story with a sense of mission accomplished.

A twist ending to die for, or not

Sometimes it’s possible and fitting to build right up to the point of revenge, that culminating moment the protagonist and reader has anxiously been waiting for, and then let your hero reach an epiphany that drives home an aching truth: vengeance will not call back the original crime, undo the damage, or restore the hero’s world. It will only serve to inflict further damage on those who are left.

Though our hearts sometimes rage with a desire for revenge, deep down we know it can’t bring real or lasting relief. We strengthen our families and enrich our societies when we go beyond the “eye for an eye” mentality and remember the injunction to forgive seventy times seven.

Never easy and never neat, it can nevertheless provide a heart-rending and satisfying ending to a revenge story, and is certainly an option you can consider.

The lighter side of revenge

Most often, revenge stories involve horrific crimes and violent reprisals, but the patterns of revenge can also be used to write comedy or other types of lighter fare. The same basic tenets apply, but violence doesn’t usually rear its ugly head. For instance, The Sting , where con men are beaten at their own game, is a revenge story. Other examples include John Tucker Must Die, 9 To 5, and The First Wives Club.

Everyone loves a well-told tale of revenge with a cleansing cathartic ending. Why not try your hand at writing one?

How about you? What’s your favorite book or movie revenge story? Have you ever thought about writing your own? Tell us about it in the comments .

Check out Joslyn's newest Riley Forte Suspense Thriller novel Staccato Passage here ! 

Today we’re going to practice patterns of revenge to get the hang of the three phases and how they work together. First, choose the tone you’re going for—dark crime, comedy, sting—and come up with a suitable crime to kick off your story. Write it down.

Sketch out rough details for your hero, villain, victim, and possibly a third party character who tries to stop the hero from accomplishing her vengeance. Brainstorm ideas for phase two—the planning and preparation for the revenge—and phase three—the confrontation. Write all these things down and expand on them for fifteen minutes .

When you are finished, you’ll have an outline for a revenge story. Post it in the Pro Practice Workshop and be sure to give feedback for your fellow writers. Then go write the story!

Joslyn Chase

Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, prickling with suspense and chewing their fingernails to the nub, is a good day for Joslyn. Pick up her latest thriller, Staccato Passage , an explosive read that will keep you turning pages to the end. No Rest: 14 Tales of Chilling Suspense , Joslyn's collection of short suspense, is available for free at joslynchase.com .

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30 Writing Prompts About Revenge

Do you ever get that feeling?

You know, the one where someone does you dirty and all you can think about is payback?

Yeah, revenge. It’s a juicy topic, full of anger, betrayal, and that oh-so-satisfying “evening the score” bit.

But hold on, is revenge just pure rage, or is there more to it?

We’re gonna peel back the layers and explore why people plot revenge in the first place. Maybe it’s just primal instinct, or maybe there’s some deep-seated psychology driving this whole thing.

Get ready to dive into a world of raw feelings, tough choices, and classic tales of getting even.

We’ve got some writing prompts to spark your creativity, whether you’re a wordsmith looking for inspiration or just someone curious about the twists and turns of the human mind.

These prompts will make you think, squirm, and maybe even learn a little something along the way.

Writing Prompts About Revenge

Sibling Rivalry Turned Deadly : Siblings Sarah and Jason have been competitive since childhood. Growing up, the two constantly tried to outdo one another, be it in academics, sports, or social popularity. As they matured, Sarah’s envy spiraled after Jason received a multimillion-dollar inheritance from a distant relative. In an unexpected twist, she plots an elaborate scheme to discredit and sabotage Jason’s life, pushing the boundaries of familial love.

The Jilted Lover’s Manuscript : Rebecca, a successful author, discovers her partner’s affair with her best friend. Betrayed and broken, she uses her talent to craft a bestselling novel that thinly veils the sordid details of the affair, twisting the narrative in her favor. Determined to expose them, her book becomes a cathartic journey of revenge, casting her ex and friend as the immoral villains.

A Vow Across Generations : In 1947, Eliza’s family was wronged by the prominent Whitman family, leading to their eventual ruin. Now, decades later, Eliza’s granddaughter discovers old letters detailing this betrayal. Fueled by a desire to right the past’s wrongs, she starts a strategic game to take down the now-powerful Whitman empire.

The Anonymous Blogger’s Expose : Corporate executive Thomas has built his empire through manipulation and underhanded deals. An unknown figure starts a blog detailing all of Thomas’s secrets, and with each post, the empire teeters closer to destruction. Behind the keyboard, a betrayed former employee meticulously plans each revelation, ensuring Thomas pays for his treachery.

The Stolen Masterpiece : Lina, a passionate artist, has her groundbreaking painting stolen just before her debut exhibition, and it is credited to a renowned artist instead. Heartbroken but determined, Lina infiltrates the elite art world. She crafts a plan to publicly reclaim her work, unmasking the thief and the corrupt system that enables them.

In the Wake of an Accident : After her daughter is left paralyzed from a hit-and-run, Maria discovers the culprit is a wealthy celebrity who used their influence to escape justice. Battling the disparity of power and wealth, Maria meticulously gathers evidence, vowing to bring the star down and ensure justice is served.

Betrayal in the Heart of Espionage : Secret agents Lydia and Mark were once a formidable duo, until Mark betrayed Lydia during a critical mission, resulting in her imprisonment. Years later, Lydia escapes, but instead of seeking immediate revenge, she plays a long game. She infiltrates Mark’s personal and professional life, aiming to dismantle everything he holds dear, piece by piece.

From Patient to Predator : Dr. Hannah is renowned for her groundbreaking medical treatments. However, when one of her experimental procedures goes wrong, leaving a patient, Alex, with irreversible side effects, she covers it up. Discovering the truth, Alex devises a calculated plan to expose and discredit the doctor who ruined his life, turning from a trusting patient to a vengeful adversary.

The Shadow Behind the Throne : In a contemporary kingdom, Princess Eleanor is sidelined from the throne due to a scandal orchestrated by her ambitious cousin, Victor. Exiled but not defeated, Eleanor cultivates allies from beyond the kingdom’s borders. Determined to reclaim her birthright, she masterminds a plot to unseat Victor and expose his treacheries to the world.

Whispers from the Walls : Upon moving into a historic mansion, Ava uncovers the diary of a woman betrayed by her husband and his mistress in the 1800s. The diary details the woman’s unfulfilled quest for revenge. Intrigued and empathetic, Ava takes it upon herself to right this past injustice. Using the diary as her guide, she tracks the descendants of the betrayers, aiming to ensure karma isn’t overdue.

A Symphony of Revenge : Maestro Ruben is known for his genius in music but also for stealing compositions from his students. Elara, one of his protégés, watches as her masterpiece is claimed by Ruben and wins worldwide acclaim. Embracing her genius, she composes a new “cursed” symphony, designed to ruin the Maestro when he inevitably claims it as his own.

The Secret Ingredient : Renowned chef Damien stole his most famous dishes from Clara, a lesser-known culinary talent. Heartbroken but determined, Clara opens a rival restaurant across town. With each dish, she reveals the stories of their shared past, leading to a culinary showdown that serves revenge on a silver platter.

Echoes of War : Two war veterans, Aidan and Blake, return from the battlefield with contrasting reputations. Blake, hailed as a hero, had secretly betrayed his comrades, leading to a massacre, while Aidan, the sole survivor, is mistakenly branded a deserter. Haunted by memories and the quest for truth, Aidan embarks on a journey to reveal Blake’s true colors and vindicate himself.

The Deceptive Facade of Charity : Philanthropist Morgan LeClaire is celebrated for her generosity. However, Bianca, a journalist, discovers Morgan’s funds come from exploiting vulnerable communities. Risking everything, Bianca delves deeper, aiming to expose the hypocrisy of a woman who profits from pain while posing as a savior.

Lost in the Pages : In a small town, librarian Nora finds out her colleague Beth has plagiarized a story Nora wrote as a young girl, leading to Beth’s successful writing career. Determined to rewrite her own narrative, Nora crafts a new story filled with clues and secrets, drawing Beth into a real-life mystery with revenge at its core.

The Green-Eyed Anchor : News anchor Julian, out of jealousy, spreads a fabricated scandal about his co-anchor, Isabelle, leading to her downfall. Unbeknownst to Julian, Isabelle uncovers the truth and instead of confronting him, starts leaking his personal indiscretions and secrets through anonymous tips. As the world watches, Julian’s life unravels live on air, orchestrated by the colleague he once betrayed.

The Silent Partner : In a thriving tech startup, software engineer Marla discovers that her partner, Keith, has been removing her contributions from their joint projects and labeling them as his own. Instead of leaving, Marla secretly develops an innovative software, embedding a trigger she controls. When Keith inevitably claims it, Marla holds the power to make or break the company’s future at her fingertips.

From the Depths : After a tragic boating accident caused by the negligence of a wealthy boat owner, a father, Gregory, loses his only child. The boat owner manages to escape any legal consequences due to his connections. Desperate and consumed by grief, Gregory becomes an avenger from the shadows, slowly dismantling the boat owner’s lavish lifestyle and reputation.

Shadows in the Ballroom : During a high-society gala, heiress Helena overhears a group of socialites mocking her late mother. To unmask their hypocrisy, Helena throws a series of events, manipulating circumstances to reveal their darkest secrets. As the elites play her dangerous games, the ballroom becomes a stage for revenge, where masks of deception fall one by one.

The Forgotten Apprentice : In the world of magic and illusion, magician Arthur steals a revolutionary trick from his apprentice, Lara, becoming the star of the magic community. Lara, under a new identity, starts performing a series of unexplainable illusions, gaining mysterious fame. Challenging Arthur to a magical duel, she aims to expose him and reclaim her stolen spotlight.

A Toast to the Past : Years after high school, Mira attends a reunion only to confront painful memories of bullying led by a now-successful entrepreneur, Calvin. Using her own success and connections, Mira orchestrates business deals that seem too good for Calvin to pass up. Yet, each deal is a trap, leading him closer to a professional and personal downfall crafted by a ghost from his past.

Twins Divided : Identical twins, Sophie and Clara, once shared everything until Clara betrayed Sophie in pursuit of a love interest. Clara’s life flourishes while Sophie’s shatters. Years later, using their identical appearance, Sophie begins to impersonate Clara, making choices that jeopardize Clara’s perfect life. In a twisted game of identity, Sophie seeks to reclaim what she believes was stolen from her.

Behind the Silver Screen : Rising actress Elodie gets a breakthrough role, but soon after, a series of leaked scandals ruins her reputation. Suspicious of the timely leaks, she investigates, discovering her manager, out of envy and spite, orchestrated her downfall. Determined to regain control, Elodie plots a comeback, using the media and her acting skills to turn the narrative and spotlight onto her scheming manager.

The Disgraced Scientist’s Redemption : Dr. Lyle, after unveiling a groundbreaking environmental solution, is falsely accused of fabricating his research by a rival scientist, Dr. Rhea. Blacklisted from the scientific community, Lyle goes undercover, gathering undeniable evidence of his findings. With a new discovery that can change the world, Lyle plans a public demonstration, aiming to vindicate himself and expose Rhea’s deception to the world.

The Echoing Mines : After whistleblowing on unsafe practices at a coal mine, Ethan loses his job and is shunned in his small town, where the mine is the main employer. His family’s history is deeply intertwined with the mine’s legacy. In a bid for justice, Ethan starts secretly documenting the mine’s ongoing violations, planning to expose the truth in a way the town cannot ignore.

Scents of Betrayal : In the competitive world of perfumery, Isolde has a unique ability to create mesmerizing fragrances. When her mentor, Celeste, steals her most captivating scent and gains global acclaim, Isolde is left in obscurity. Plotting a fragrant revenge, she crafts a perfume that’s irresistible but has a hidden, sinister effect, intending to offer it to Celeste for her next big launch.

Among the Vines : Julia inherits a vineyard that’s on the brink of bankruptcy due to her late father’s business partner’s mismanagement and embezzlement. Discovering his deceit, she doesn’t confront him immediately. Instead, under the guise of naivety, Julia lures him into a business venture designed to entrap him and restore her family’s legacy and honor.

Lost Voices of the Opera : Once the star of the opera, Isabella’s voice was sabotaged by a jealous understudy, resulting in a disastrous performance and the end of her career. Years later, with a masked identity, she becomes the mysterious patron of a rising star. Guiding this protégé to the pinnacle of success, Isabella orchestrates a grand performance to unmask her betrayer from the shadows.

The Masquerade of Time : In a town where age is wealth, an age-altering elixir is the most sought-after commodity. Eleanor, the elixir’s creator, is betrayed by her lover who commercializes the elixir for his gain, leaving her aging rapidly and impoverished. Armed with one last dose and knowledge of its true power, Eleanor plots a grand masquerade ball, aiming to reverse her fate and age her betrayers.

Bridges and Battlefields : In a war-torn country, two childhood friends, Leo and Adrian, find themselves on opposing sides. Adrian, now a high-ranking officer, betrays Leo, leading to the capture and torture of Leo’s comrades. Escaping captivity, Leo becomes a ghostly saboteur, targeting Adrian’s operations, turning their personal feud into a strategic game of cat and mouse amidst the chaos of war.

Founder and Chief Content Curator @ Digital Phrases

I'm a writer, words are my superpower, and storytelling is my kryptonite.

The 10 KEY Building Blocks to Writing Revenge Stories

Revenge stories are a popular sub-genre almost guaranteed to satisfy an audience. They’re typically a visceral and cathartic response to injustice and consequently something that elicits easy emotion. We love to follow a journey of change and retribution and revenge stories provide us with these essential elements.

Writing revenge – defined as the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrongdoing suffered at their hands – can be particularly fun, dark, and, as with writing anything, challenging.

There are multiple puzzle pieces that need to slot together and aspects that need to interweave and complement one another to be a success. So, we’ve broken down ten key elements of revenge stories that can help form the basis of a compelling plot and do your writing justice.

Table of Contents

Revenge in different genres, kill bill: vol 1, anti-heroes, taken and easy empathy, 5. injustice, justifying revenge, 7. antagonists, 8. conflict, lessons learned.

Genre and target audience will impact how you approach any plot.

Revenge stories have a well-established formula, but that doesn’t mean you have to rigidly follow typical conventions. One of the great advantages of writing revenge is that you can adapt it in many different ways and use it in a majority of genres.

First, decide the direction you’re intending to take your revenge story.

Usually, revenge is a sub-section of the thriller genre. This is because revenge stories often include a crime being committed. John Wick , for instance, is a straight-up neo-noir crime thriller.

• The structure is as you would expect; it’s a largely linear narrative with a strong cause-and-effect relationship between each scene.
• For example, John’s refusal to sell his car subsequently leads to the retaliation of a theft and the killing of his puppy. These events trigger John to seek vengeance.

However, this doesn’t mean you can only write a thriller to successfully employ the theme of revenge. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a horrible crime taking place to incite vengeance. And there doesn’t always have to be a long and bloodied road leading towards a big bad villain .

Netflix’s dark comedy film, Do Revenge , is a biting social satire .

• It focuses on two female protagonists insistent on getting revenge against high-school peers who have wronged them.
• Whilst the wrong-doings to Drea and Eleanor aren’t the darkest of crimes, there is still enough substance to understand and recognize their anger.
• The comedic aspects also benefit the film. They allow the audience to enjoy being swept up in the dishonesty and deceit.

In Scream , Billy Loomis’s motive stems from him wanting revenge.

• Sidney’s mother had an affair with his father, which caused Billy’s mother to abandon him.
• Of course, there is way more to unpack from that. But the revenge-killing of Maureen incites the bloodbath.
• Furthermore, Scream 2 a lso uses themes of vengeance. Mrs Loomis’ reveal as one of the killers explains her motive of avenging the death of her son.

Notice how revenge is used differently in the films.

• It is overtly the main driving force for the plot and protagonists in John Wick and Do Revenge .
• Whereas, in the Scream films, it takes more of a back seat; used as a twist, connecting subplots and characters within the overall franchise, and explaining motives.
• Additionally, Do Revenge and Scream are very self-aware about their genre, allowing for a little more risk and teasing of tropes.

So if you have a general idea sketched out but you’re not entirely sure where you want it to go, or what genre you should place it in, this is the perfect opportunity to get creative.

You could, for instance, try writing a brief breakdown of your plot in the style of different genres. Explore your story’s potential by experimenting with the ideas that genre-bending can squeeze out.

Probably the most commonly recognized tale of revenge is Shakespeare’s Hamlet .

Revenge stories almost always begin with a disruption to the natural balance – a shocking, tragic crime or injustice that throws the protagonist ’s life into disarray. The fallout of the crime is a place you can start in revenge writing.

• Hamlet , for example, begins after his father’s murder, but still deals with the upheaval this has caused.
• If you intend to elicit a deeper reaction from the audience and further justify the need for vengeance, it may be more effective for the crime to be witnessed on screen (à la John Wick’s puppy being murdered).

Let’s look at a popular revenge film example and its plot.

Tarantino is renowned for his non-linear narratives. But the opening sequence of Kill Bill: Vol 1 follows the classic establishing of a revenge plot. It’s barely three minutes long but it immediately aligns the audience with The Bride and sets up the plot of the film.

• The first image on-screen is the quote “Revenge is a dish best served cold”. This immediately signifies what the film is going to be about.
• There’s a close-up of our protagonist, The Bride, lying on the ground in her wedding dress, bloodied, bruised and breathing heavily. We are also introduced to the villain, Bill.  
• At the end of the scene, The Bride reveals she is pregnant with Bill’s child, seconds before he shoots her.
• The plot situates The Bride, and her unborn child, as the victims. Subsequently, we follow her in a story of retribution and redemption as she seeks vengeance against those responsible for leaving her to die and the assumed death of her unborn child.

Witnessing the crime, and how it impacts the main protagonist , will certainly make it easier for the audience to understand the revenge motive. It’s important to get them to feel something, make them as outraged as the hero, and connect them emotionally wherever you can.

3. Protagonist

The protagonists in revenge stories help drive the narrative. But when you’re writing a character hell-bent on seeking revenge, it can’t be their only storyline. Don’t fall into the trap of making them completely one-dimensional in this respect.

• What kind of personality do they have? What’s important to them? What does their quest for vengeance put at risk?
• Look at your protagonist’s motivation. What is fuelling it?
• Are they a master strategist always several steps ahead? Or are they a bit of a loose cannon, more focused on getting revenge than the execution?
• Get to the root of your character’s emotions. The age-old advice of writing what you know still applies. Whilst you might have fantasized about getting revenge on somebody, you (most likely) haven’t actually done it. Still, you can see what would lead to a person committing an act of revenge; anger, grief, heartbreak, humiliation.
• Think about a time you’ve felt intensely about something. Look inward and tap into the strength of those emotions. They will guide you.

Your main character doesn’t have to be a perfect hero. In revenge stories, they’re going to get their hands dirty. So explore the varying degrees of morality within this.

Your characters should and will have flaws. They’ll make choices that aren’t necessarily good and honourable; ones which might force them to operate in a morally grey area.

Anti-heroes are particularly interesting characters. What’s so charming about Villanelle in Killing Eve and Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders that makes audiences flock toward them?

• Which of their (or any anti-hero’s) qualities stick out to you?
• What are their good parts? What are their flaws? How do these balance out?
• Where do they draw the line? What can this tell you about which boundaries to push?

Certainly lean into the darker aspects of your characters. But still demonstrate their human side and seek to flesh out their world, what drives them and what circumstances influence them. As long as people can understand your character’s choices or at least where they might be coming from, they will continue rooting for them.

Ideally, the revenge should be multi-faceted and complex, rather than just a straight-up tit-for-tat exchange. Explore your protagonist ‘s deepest motivations, backstory and nuance and you will find a revenge story that feels altogether more original and interesting.

The victims in revenge stories typically elicit sympathy from the audience.

• It usually means that, if they are not the protagonist themselves, they are close to the character in some way. It could be a family member, friend or romantic partner.
• The important thing is that there’s a personal stake, something that forces the main character to act. There should be an emotional and meaningful tie-in, a connection that justifies the journey of vengeance.

In John Wick , for example, it’s the murder of his puppy Daisy that sparks his revenge journey.

• The audience understands why this makes him snap – she’s the final gift he received from his late wife. So this weaves in not just one, but two grief plots.
• In addition, the film establishes Daisy as, essentially, the last thing he has left to live for.
• This situates him as a man with nothing to lose. The audience aligns with John and can fathom why he takes the actions he does.

Audiences want to feel that the victim was badly wronged and deserves to be avenged. This usually means the victim is a largely innocent person. Perhaps it’s even a misunderstanding, or an accident – a wrong place, wrong time scenario – that has led them to need vengeance.

Taken is a well-known example of this. In the first film, the motivation for the arc of Liam Neeson’s character, Bryan, rests on the abduction of his daughter Kim.

• Her kidnapping scene is terrifying because it plays into one of every parent’s worst fears.
• The audience is almost immediately on side. We don’t care what he does to get her back, we root for Bryan and Kim the entire time.

Not to mention, we get that epic line.

“I will hunt you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

It’s also worth noting that your victim doesn’t always have to be completely clean. Don’t be afraid to add complexity and nuance into the mix. This will typically lead to more interesting and original characters after all.

It’s important to keep challenging how we automatically label and determine people’s worth based on stereotypes. Your victim can be authentically human and still be undeserving of whatever horrible fate is handed to them. 

Injustice is the inciting incident in revenge stories. It sets off the chain of events.

• If you want to begin with the fallout of the crime, but are eager to establish a deeper connection between your main character and victim, you could implement this through a non-linear narrative (for example, using flashbacks).
• People don’t like to see injustice go unpunished. So use it to align the audience with your main character. Their feelings will be heightened when something directly impacts the protagonist.
• If the victim is the protagonist, spend time on the effect of the incident. Daisy the puppy may be the catalyst that sparks John Wick into action, but he is also a victim himself of robbery and a man marred by grief.
• Is the main character forced to take justice into their own hands? If they don’t do something, will the villain strike again?

Since revenge tends to go outside the limits of the law, if your character resorts to vigilante status, show they have tried at least to go through traditional means, but are left with no choice but to go elsewhere.

Injustice is a powerful motivator for any audience to understand. However, the more you’ve justified your protagonist ‘s desire and means for revenge as the only solution to their problem, the more the audience will be on board and the more likely they’ll be to enjoy the journey.

Motive is one of the most important ingredients in writing revenge stories. The reason for revenge must be well thought out.

• Motive will drive your protagonist. So ensure that it makes sense and fits your character.
• It can determine how the audience will interact with the storyline. A strong motive will make it easier for them to follow along with the suspension of disbelief.
• If the main character’s motivation does not carry much weight, it will be harder to connect and root for them.
• Don’t neglect the antagonist either – what’s their reasoning behind what they did?

Your audience needs a motive to know that the protagonist ‘s quest for revenge is justified. It perhaps isn’t quite as important if you have a morally bad character. However, we still need to recognize why they feel a certain way towards something – even if we don’t agree with the actions being taken.

Contrastingly, if you’re writing the hero archetype , their vengeance shouldn’t go overboard. If their behaviour and punishment make them worse than the antagonist , you might start to lose audience support. By all means, that scenario could potentially work with an anti-hero, or perhaps if the intended journey is the hero losing themselves and becoming like the villain .

Furthermore, the quest for revenge typically needs to be about more than just the action at hand. If revenge is the tip of the iceberg, what lies beneath?

Motive allows Carrie White to remain the victim in Carrie , despite her murder spree.

• The antagonists are still her abusive mother and school bullies. The novel and film demonstrate how these people destroyed her life in emotional and physical ways.
• Therefore, her motive builds tension in the narrative. It establishes that she wasn’t getting revenge for something small or petty; it was years of unjustified torment until she eventually snapped.

If you’re going for a more unsettling approach and purposely want to remain vague, you could omit motive to heighten suspense. Keep the audience partially in the dark for a while and have them guess the reasons for revenge and why it has impacted the protagonist so much. Do be wary though that it can be much harder to connect with these characters. And often vagueness can act as a mask for a weak motivation.

An interesting and arguably successful example of this technique in a revenge and redemption film is Bullet Train .

• We aren’t offered a lot of information. The protagonist is a former assassin assigned to retrieve a case on a train.
• We’re also introduced to a man seeking revenge for his son being pushed off a building, and several other mysterious characters/antagonists, many of whom are pulling strings behind the scenes in their own revenge plots.
• As the movie unfolds, we realize how each individual story interweaves. True motives and the ultimate revenge plot eventually take shape.

In this instance, withholding motives to develop the bigger picture works and benefits the story. This is partly because the multitude of different arcs makes the motive of revenge bigger than the sum of its parts.

A fundamental rule of any dramatic writing is having conflict. Your protagonist will need an opposition to assign blame on and want to punish. When writing revenge stories, the antagonist is usually the person who orchestrated or committed the original act.

So, who are they and what’s their motive?

• Are they inherently evil? Make sure you don’t lean too hard into a caricature moustache-twirling villain.
• Can you explore a multi-layered, complex antagonist? Not one reduced to being one-dimensional and perhaps even one not entirely deserving of revenge.
• You could take it another step further – maybe they weren’t unjustified in their actions, for example?

Antagonists don’t have to be the villain of the story by default – the same way protagonists aren’t always the automatic hero. The initial desire for revenge might be easily justified, only for the plot to reveal more complexity as it goes on.

As a whole, the antagonist ‘s credibility is key in making the revenge feel engaging in the first place. If they seem two-dimensional then it’s likely the revenge itself will seem two-dimensional. In this way, the antagonist ‘s depth is just as important as the protagonist ‘s. What are the stakes for the revenge and what is the motivation? The strength of the antagonist ‘s characterisation will provide convincing answers to these questions.

Revenge is not an easy task to achieve. Therefore, there must be a persuasive level of obstacles and conflict for the protagonist to achieve their revenge:

• What are the obstacles on this journey? The narrative needs these to raise the stakes, build tension and propel the story further.
• Let the protagonist encounter problems. Show them navigating these issues. Demonstrate how pushbacks can transform your character. Does the slippery villain keep narrowly escaping? Do the parameters or stakes of the revenge constantly change? Allow for frustrating failures that will help them grow.
• Again, don’t neglect your antagonist; obstacles should impede their progress too.
• If you’re struggling with rounding a character, forcing them to solve problems will help you discover more about how far you can push them.

Moreover, think of other ways you can add conflict to the story outside the protagonist and antagonist .

• Is there a third party who tries to stop the hero?
• This could be anyone who doesn’t believe in the protagonist’s methods of justice. This will heighten the stakes – especially if it’s law enforcement going after them.

Keep delaying the gratification of the protagonist achieving their goal and build the tension for its payoff. That way, when the resolution finally comes, it will be far more satisfying. But more importantly, it will make the journey of revenge all the more believable.

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy and so the revenge should prove illusive, difficult and multi-faceted. Don’t think of the journey as a straight line but a twisting graph, forever riding peaks and troughs until the eventual pay-off, which, in and of itself, might not be as straightforward as initially believed.

This is the moment everyone is waiting for. The part where the confrontation happens and when the hero and villain go head to head.

• This is when binary oppositions collide and are put to the test. Good vs Evil. Hero vs Villain. Life vs Death.
• Twists are typically revealed here. For instance, if your hero has mistaken the villain for somebody else, the true villain of the story will make themselves known.
• Revelations will help up the drama and expand the story. This is the perfect time for a betrayal moment, for instance. Has somebody your protagonist is working with actually been on the other side the whole time?

Crucially, the climax of revenge stories will deal with the two possible outcomes; the protagonist ‘s moment of triumph, where they complete their goal and get justice, or their failure. This will resolve the main conflict of the story. What was the quest for revenge really about? How did it serve as a Trojan horse for the true desire.

In The Revenant , for example, the main character Hugh Glass succeeds in his quest to avenge his son’s death. But despite the long and unrelenting journey, he does not deliver the final blow himself. The last line antagonist Fitzgerald delivers is harrowing and encapsulates the whole feel of the film.

“Well, you enjoy it Glass because there ain’t anything that’ll bring your boy back.”

10. Resolution

Revenge stories don’t always have to tie up neatly. This could mean the protagonist not succeeding, or simply demonstrating that revenge has a harsh price – whether that’s in death or showing that the events will torment your character for the rest of their life.

If the protagonist doesn’t succeed, it could be because they decided not to go through with the act. This comes with a message about revenge not always being the best way forwards. Be careful with this. It can be frustrating to follow a character through such an intense journey only for them to have a sudden change of heart. So this change of heart, in fact, can’t be sudden – it has to be seeded throughout the plot.

If the protagonist fails, this tends to culminate in their defeat; usually, the villain escapes or the protagonist dies. Equally, this can be frustrating. But sometimes stories aren’t meant to have a happy ending.

• If the main character succeeds in their quest, deal with the concoction of emotions victory unearths. It’ll be complicated and bittersweet.
• Your protagonist might have gone down an exhausting and bloodied road to achieve their goal.
• After succeeding, they could have the dreaded realization sink in that revenge doesn’t solve everything and won’t bring back what they lost along the way – just like Fitzgerald suggests to Glass in The Revenant .

Crucially, this still fulfils an important purpose for a screenplay – for the protagonist to learn a lesson. Revenge may be a cipher, a way of the protagonist searching for something that revenge seems like the answer for but isn’t. This demonstrates how revenge can be a fantastic motivator for a plot in the context of a thriller. It allows for a relatively simple arc, jam-packed with exciting action and a clear end goal.

But true satisfaction from a revenge story lies in what the protagonist gains from the revenge other than the completion of the act itself. What have they learnt and what has the story truly been about? This is a vital way to give your revenge story a distinct meaning and purpose, helping it stand out from the crowd.

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This article was written by Molly Hutchings and edited by IS Staff.

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Smarter Artist

How to Write a Revenge Story

Revenge is a universal theme that can improve any book, short story, or screenplay. 

Because revenge is elemental to who we are as human beings, this is a genre that will always remain popular and never die.

We all know that two wrongs don’t make a right, and you don’t have to be violent or have inhuman impulses to sometimes think about revenge. It’s almost hardwired into us, that primal need to prove you won’t be walked all over in front of your tribe: If somebody wrongs you, you’re going to wrong them back.

I’m an amiable guy, live and let live and have been for most of my life. But when I was 18 years old, two employees who had worked for my family at our flower shop for a long, long time stole our clients and opened another competing flower shop a mile away from ours.

I was angry, young, and impetuous. So I opened several flower shops in a circle around their new one. My only goal for these new locations was to have the shops break even, just so I could put “my enemies” out of business.

It was really, really stupid.

I wasted a couple of years of my life doing that. This was more than twenty years ago, around the time I met my wife. Back then Cindy called me the Godflower, and so goes the tale of my misguided revenge. 

These days the thought of revenge curdles my stomach. I just don’t see the point, and it’s never worked out as a means to improve my life, and the same could be said for everyone I know. Still, as a human I understand the thirst for justice and vengeance by my own hand, and acknowledge the power of revenge as a genre convention. 

Stephen King’s first book, Carrie , Stephen King’s is ultimately a revenge story. The Count of Monte Cristo might be the best revenge story of all time. There’s Gladitator, Munich, and True Grit — a book that’s been made into a movie twice now, once with Jeff Bridges and the first time with John Wayne.

Old Boy. The Professional. Django Unchained. Death Wish. John Wick. 

The list is endless, and it’s easy to see why. In an elemental revenge story like any of the narratives mentioned above, the audience is eager to see the protagonist get what they deserve, and to have their day with the antagonist. 

Kill Bill isn’t just my favorite revenge movie, it’s my favorite Tarantino film, and one of my favorites of all time. I count both movies together as one story, same as the writer/director himself (there has been a long rumored cut of the film called Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair that strings the two films together with a few additional scenes). In my mind, this movie (or movies) gets everything about the genre right, and does a remarkable job of both playing into the tropes and conventions, while also turning some of them on their heads. 

Sterling & Stone traffics in the art form. From a pacifist monk who goes on a bloody rampage of revenge, to a man who makes a deal with the devil in an effort to wage an attack on the monsters who murdered his daughter, the storytellers in our studio enjoy writing revenge stories because they tap into something human and primal. 

But there is a danger in striking the wrong tone when writing about revenge. You never want cheese in your story on accident. This is a terrific genre to explore, but it must be done well. 

So here is everything I’ve learned about writing revenge, so that your story will hit all the right notes, with the sort of narrative weight that will help it to endure. 

1. Make sure your characters know what they are doing and why.

From beginning to end, your protagonist must have a clean and clear motive throughout the story. They can’t be wiping bad guys off the face of the planet simply because they’re blood thirsty. That kind of revenge story will always ring hollow. Even if it’s fun, that enjoyment is fleeting and a lot less likely to create the sort of story experience a reader remembers, wants to tell a friend about, or earns a spot on their list of authors they can’t ever miss, no matter what. 

In Kill Bill , the Bride is (supposedly) murdered by her ex-lover on the day she is to wed another. He arranges to have her ambushed and killed by her friends — while eight months pregnant. Instead she goes into a coma and wakes up from her coma several years later. But from the second she opens her eyes, the audience knows that her revenge is deserved. She’s also been sexually defiled while comatose, so it’s easy to root for the Bride from the very first second we see her. 

Try to avoid the expected. Your character’s motivation should have layers, and your reader should be kept guessing, either about what happened, or why it’s affected your hero as much as it has. 

Please, no matter what you do, don’t base a serious revenge story on a simple misunderstanding. Your reader will never be able to trust you again.

2. Your protagonist requires a satisfying arc. 

You don’t want your hero to wipe the floor with every enemy standing in their way as though their pins in a shooting gallery waiting for a rubber bullet. Unless you’re writing pure pulp, there needs to be risks and consequences and significant weight to the scenes in your story. Whatever your hero is forced to deal with throughout the narrative should turn them into a better person by its end.

After I was done with my own rampage of revenge, opening and closing five flower shops in a personal quest for vengeance, I finally had to grow up. I matured a lot in my misguided attempt. It turned me into a smarter, better person.

The best revenge stories are about consequences as much as they are about the act of vengeance itself. Your hero (probably) isn’t an insane psychopath, and they’re definitely not the villain, so tend to their emotional growth same as you would for the protagonist of any other genre. 

A revenge story should push your hero to their emotional limits, so you need to show the reader how that reality has changed them. 

3. Give as much attention to your villain as you do to your hero. 

Great revenge stories are about the bad guy as much as the good guy. The more personal your narrative can be, the more visceral it will feel to your reader. Smart audiences appreciate the unexpected, so make sure to at least try that if it makes sense for your story. 

The end of Kill Bill Volume II is so effective precisely because it subverts our expectations. After everything we’ve seen throughout the first film, and two-thirds of the second, we expect Bill to be monster. So we’re disarmed when we can clearly see that even if he is a cold blooded murder, he’s also a compassionate father. 

Revenge stories are usually bloody tales of vengeance, and of course violent reprisals are certainly a staple of the genre, but an intelligent villain should demand more from your story. 

Maybe your villain isn’t even the bad guy. They almost for sure don’t see themselves that way. So ask yourself, what’s their story? Perhaps your reader doesn’t discover until the final confrontation that the villain feels just as wronged as your hero. Maybe the identity of this story’s victim isn’t as straightforward as she had believed, and the antagonist has been casting blame in the wrong direction.

Play with motivations, expectations, and characters all you want, just make sure to keep the essential elements all in place. Your villain’s behavior should be as easily understood as the person seeking revenge. Your antagonist might have done something terrible in the past, but it’s possible that they did so for a justifiable, or at least understandable reason. 

Considering your villain’s arc will help you to clarify what your story requires for a satisfying reader’s journey.

4. Every revenge story needs a victim and an incident to se everything off. 

All stories need an inciting incident to get the story going, but in a tale of revenge this part of the premise is often almost absurdly straightforward. Your antagonist will be the character who has committed whatever heinous act have gone unpunished and driven your protagonist into his quest for revenge. 

The story’s victim could be the hero, or it could be someone your hero must protect or honor, perhaps arouse sympathy or ire in your audience. No matter what, the stakes must be personal or it will be harder for your story to have weight or meaning for your reader. 

The more heinous this initial act, the more justified your hero will be in their quest (and thirst) for revenge. The more you can make your antagonist’s new world grate against their everyday reality, the more dramatic the story will feel for your reader. 

That’s why we chose to make the hero of one of our first revenge stories a pacifist monk, because it’s such a glaring opposite from what the audience expects.  

5. Thoughtful revenge is always more interesting. 

Again, unless you’re writing a pulpy Death Wish style revenge piece, your story should have rhythm and flow. There should be a rise and fall to what you are drawing for the reader. Every scene can’t be balls out with your hero constantly quenching his craving for revenge. 

Vengeance can be thoughtful. Give your antagonist time to research, train, and prepare to meet the antagonist. Have him or her slowly putting their plan into action rather than rushing right into things, unless barreling forward stumble or fall and maybe lose the upper hand. 

6. Revenge stories should have steady escalation. 

Your hero will eventually have to confront the villain, but that can’t happen on page one, in chapter one, or even anywhere near the first act. Unless the villain is wiping the floor with you hero, the two should stay very far away from one another until the end of the story. 

That doesn’t mean the antagonist won’t have their presence felt. That negative force should be constant. Your story doesn’t have to play out like a video game where every boss leads to an even bigger boss, but the villain’s existence should infect the hero’s present, making them constantly aware of how little control they actually have … until the situation has ratcheted up enough that they are finally able to turn the tables. 

7. Revenge isn’t always the answer. 

Sometimes the best ending to your revenge story is to keep the vengeance out of it. That’s not always the right thing to do, far from it, but sometimes the emptiness of revenge delivered as an epiphany is what’s best for your narrative. 

Your hero has learned that no matter what she does, nothing will ever rewind the clock and give her what she has lost. The damage is done and the original crime will always exist. Since your antagonist can’t return to her normal world — the one she had to leave before the awful incident that made everything start to go wrong — she can still return to a better version of who she was. 

We’ve all craved revenge at some point in our lives, even if it was for something petty and almost entirely irrelevant. Ask yourself what you learned in the moments you were big enough to ignore the thirst. One of those times when you realized what an empty craving it was. 

8. Keep your hero relatable.

The bigger your revenge story, the more likely it will be to find your antagonist operating outside of the law. Still, you want to keep your reader on the righteous side of things so your reader never leaves their corner. Empathy is earned, and if you expect that emotion from your reader, then you have a few responsibilities as a storyteller that you simply cannot ignore. 

First off, make sure that your hero is morally justified. Maybe they tried to engage law enforcement first, but the police they contacted were corrupt or indifferent, so that forced their hand. Your hero must operate outside the law because they have no other choice. 

And no matter what, the punishment your hero dispenses on their enemies must fit the crime, or else you risk your character being as bad as the person or people who wronged them. If innocents are murdered on your hero’s way to justice, you revenge story sucks — unless that’s the point, in which case, more power to you.

Yes, your reader wants a catharsis, that’s why they’re reading a revenge story. And it’s your job to craft that, but you need to do it without going overboard or diluting your hero’s virtue. 

9. Revenge is a journey, not a destination. 

Your hero might win or lose in their quest for retribution, but the most important thing is that your antagonist tried regardless of the odds, and ultimately grew from the experience, even if they were unsuccessful in executing the vengeance itself. 

Revenge can be the basis for a great plot for storytellers of every skill level. Some of our most basic books are based on trading an eye for an eye, as is one of our most complicated, by far. The device works in every genre, and will help any writer to focus on the story being told between the expected conventions and tropes.

Revenge stories force you to focus intention. They require the kind of well-developed antagonist that will stretch your storytelling muscles, while keeping you on a well-defined path. 

A character craving revenge is like a person in lust, driven to act at the slightest provocation. This motivation is easy for the reader to understand, and straightforward for the author to execute because the hero is driving the plot. 

The best ending to your revenge story (like the ending to any well told story) should feel surprising yet inevitable. Ideally, your hero will reach an epiphany that leaves them forever changed and gets your reader thinking. 

That’s how you write a revenge story that readers can’t stop thinking about. And even if you’re out of the revenge business once you’re onto the next book, if you’ve made it into your reader’s head, she’s more likely to follow where you want to go. 

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Why Revenge Is Such A Brilliant Plot For Beginner Writers

Writers Write creates writing resources and shares writing tips. This post is about why revenge is a brilliant plot for beginner writers.

If you’re looking for a plot for a first novel, we always recommend revenge.

• It works in every genre .
• It helps beginner writers focus on a story goal .
• It requires an  antagonist  – something most beginners ignore.

If a character wants revenge it usually means that he or she is motivated to act. This is good. Reactionary characters are not interesting to readers, and they usually can’t drive a plot. It also means that something interesting has happened and that more interesting things are likely to happen.

Revenge also builds a framework or plot for a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Six Examples of Stories of Revenge:

• The Count of Monte Cristo  by Alexandre Dumas (Crime)
• The Princess Bride   by William Goldman (Fantasy)
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Play)

• The Iliad by Homer (Literary Fiction)
• The First Wives Club  by Olivia Goldsmith (Chick-Lit)

Consider this…

Because the hero’s quest for revenge often goes outside the limits of the law, you have to manipulate the feelings of the reader by letting the hero avenge an injustice. If you want your reader to empathise with a protagonist who seeks revenge , remember these three points:

• Your protagonist should be morally justified to seek revenge. They should have tried traditional, lawful channels before they resorts to vigilante tactics.
• Show how the antagonist has destroyed the protagonist’s life in emotional and physical ways.
• Your protagonist should remember that the punishment must fit the crime. Don’t let them go overboard and become an evil creature whose behaviour is worse than the antagonist’s.

Whether the protagonist succeeds or fails, the reader should feel better that he or she has at least tried to do something about the situation. This is cathartic for readers who often feel powerless in similar situations.

TOP TIP : If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our  online course .

Read more on plotting here:

• The Top 10 Tips For Plotting And Finishing Your Book
• The One Thing You Need To Know About Plotting A Series
• Plot Builder – 3 Steps To Sparking A Satisfying Story
• What Is A Plot? – A Writer’s Resource
• The Secret To Writing A Great Plot Twist
• Crime Writing , Genre , Plotting , Writing Tips from Amanda Patterson

3 thoughts on “Why Revenge Is Such A Brilliant Plot For Beginner Writers”

Thank you so much Amanda. I needed this.

gave substantial help for first screenplay draft

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How Writing “Vengeful Fiction” Can Make You a Better Person

Jocelyn nicole johnson on finding empathy in writing and putting anger to good use.

revenge [ri-venj]: To exact punishment or expiation for a wrong on behalf of, especially in a resentful or vindictive spirit. From Old French revenger, from Late Latin revindicāre, from re- + vindicāre to vindicate

vindicate [vin-di-keyt]:  To clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like To assert, maintain, or defend (a right, cause, etc.) against opposition. To claim for oneself or another.

My fiction is rife with vengeful stories, scene after scene fueled by slights intimate or else secondhand. Grievance sits at the center of the inaugural story of my debut collection—my fuming response to a lifetime of witnessing vitriol and violence toward Black people: the time my gregarious older brother pulled out of Northern Virginia traffic to assist a car of strangers who’d been run off the road, but when the cops came, they insisted he must’ve been complicit; the film clips shown in social studies of embittered White mobs shouting at Black children cresting the steps of a school; the shining brown before-face of Emmett Till, and then, like an echo, of Trayvon Martin, with and without his hoodie.

I wrote that opening story in response to something closer too, an incident that took place here in Charlottesville, in 2015. A Black University of Virginia honor student was publicly forced to the ground and bloodied by uniformed officers, along a crowded strip of restaurants and bars near campus. This young man was confronted for suspicion of showing a fake ID, then arrested for resisting arrest, even though the ID turned out to be legit. The event, caught on tape, kicked up a reckless fiction in me, out of what felt like a loop of needless harm. In the resulting short story, a Frankenstein-like father spends a lifetime trying to substantiate the senselessness of the racism, (or else prove his own innocence in an incident of violence he suffered as a child). His method is to chart racism’s cause and effect on Black boy like him, “but better” than him, a demonstratively blameless child: his own unknowing son.

Looking closer, I recognize fantasies of karmic or historic retribution in other stories I’ve written. They underpin the novella that concludes this first collection, a tale born from a festering wound at the heart of my claimed Virginia town of Charlottesville, torn open yet again in August of 2017, when White Nationalists staged Unite the Right! here. The long lead-up to their rally and its deadly conclusion felt like watching a slow-motion train crash. You point, you holler, you brace, but it keeps on coming. It crashes and keeps crashing. Afterward, on the news, I watched the rally’s smug leadership claim a sort of victory, while I felt newly exposed.

When I began to write the novella a year later, I wielded the shards of their hateful performance, recasting each one. It felt like I was saying, I’ll battle you, but not in the park below your beloved monuments to the Confederacy, and not along the downtown mall where my local indie bookshop sits. I’ll take you on, but at a time of my choosing, on a ground built of my words. Writing against their vision of America felt audacious, just to center and care for my protagonist, Da’Naisha Love, a young Black woman born and raised in Virginia, like I was. Love and her ousted collective of lovers, neighbors and family flee marauding White supremacists and claim the museum of Thomas Jefferson’s Plantation-home near town: Monticello. Jefferson is Charlottesville’s local founding father, a man as full of contradiction as America is, as I am.

In those stories I was writing about the racism that pollutes my country’s heart, but my fictions are run though with less lofty vendettas. No slight is too shallow. Apparently, I’m petty AF. One story I wrote was born of a real-life grievance I had with another mother, a woman I knew because our kids went to grade school together. This mother became angry after her son told her that mine had said or done something unkind to him, in the after-school program. But instead of talking to the teachers, or me, this fair-headed Mom went Rambo on my kid, who was nine at the time. According to the teachers, this mother bent down to shout at my kid, in a room full of children, her face bright red and inches from his. This was confirmed by my son, who doesn’t rattle easily, but who was visibly shaken that day as I drove him home. And while I feel certain my son was not entirely blameless, he swore a credible innocence of whatever this raging mother seemed to be accusing him of.

I have only been in one fist fight in my life (and that at the behest of my older Carolina cousins, who called themselves toughening me up, that summer), but driving home that afternoon, I had to grip the wheel to refrain from driving to that other mother’s house. If I’d had on hoop earrings, I might have taken them out, laid them on the dash, and come at her fisticuffs, metaphorically or for real, like, Look! I’m a Momma Bear, too. I can be the bear you think you’re being. Not to your kid—but to you, who are grown, who should get the whole story, who should know better than to shout needlessly at my child.

Instead, I watered my seed of anger until it grew into a story that held my rage but also made space for the dissatisfaction I imagined in that other mother’s life. How small would someone have to feel to lose it on a kid, for a slight unseen, unsubstantiated, and not apologize? I wanted to write a story to expose her, but, almost at once, it turned into a story about me too, about motherly rage writ large, or about ambition deferred. By the time I’d finished writing, I no longer felt so righteous when I spotted that other mother’s silhouette in a passing car window. I recognized myself in her and her in me.

The funny thing is, despite my vengeful fictions, I am not a vindictive person at heart, not by demeanor nor upbringing. I am not a particularly confrontational either, though I have been known to offer up a wavery voiced objection, on occasion, to some injustice I feel I’ve witnessed. As a kid, growing up in suburban Virginia, I fear I radiated a saccharine niceness, and ever since, I’ve tended toward pre-emptive accommodation and reconciliation. In my long career of teaching public school children, I’ve cultivated a willful kindness, greeting students at my art room door in printed dresses, in Mr. Rogers cardigans—greeting them with open arms, as if to say, come on in, everybody. Come as you are.

Likewise, in family life and friendships, I’ve traditionally been the quiet one, the smiling one. And to be fair, I smile because I feel like smiling, because here we are in the world together. I smile like a bridge, and to extend grace because I need that grace too. But a smile can also be a shield. I must’ve learned early on that discontent can be dangerous body like mine—that my grievances could come back to harm me, even when I was innocent.

I’m thinking I inherited this way of deferred and story-based vengeance from my parents, who are adept at sidestepping slights, big and small. Though their temperaments are different, their survival of the Jim Crow South, and later their success navigating careers in Northern Virginia, was contingent on swallowing insult with a smile, or maybe not even registering it. Now that they are retired, I understand that all those moments or injury were never lost on them. They retell those stories of transgression now, not with bitterness, but often with hurt and humor. To be clear, my folks are both warm people, and forgiving too, but they do not forget. I’m thinking now that my spiteful fictions are also an act of remembrance. My stories are my way of saying, I saw what you did. It registered in my body. It came out as a swarm of words.

I figure I write this vengeful fiction as a condition of my birth. Here I am, an artsy, nerdy Black woman who was once an artsy, nerdy Black girl, always slightly out of place. I write toward retribution even though I believe in tenderness too, in protecting a space for all of us to grow. I write vengeful fiction even though I recognize the connections between everything and everybody, even though I know the imperfection of my own point of view. I write these stories because I feel compelled to call out the bully, even when the bully is me. I write because the experience of slight, of history, all of it has to go somewhere.

This summer I rediscovered the very first book I ever wrote. Hard covered, hand-sewn— Prom Queen was a fourth-grade assignment, complete with pencil-shaded illustrations. The plot is essentially Sweet-Valley High, but rereading it now, I’m startled by the streak of grievance that runs through it, recalling the specific feeling I had as a kid, of dislocation and longing. I read it to my partner, and he belly laughs at my cornball nascent righteousness. I laugh too, with tears in my eyes.

I write vengeful fiction even though my vengeance gets waylaid or distorted on the page. For example, in my story born of my anger at witnessing Black folks brutalized, my Frankenstein father, contributes to harm, his hurt like a fire that keep reigniting itself. In this way, writing avenging fiction feels like protecting oneself with a quiver of crooked arrows, or a satchel of boomerangs. Grievance gathers in my body, and I write toward it, even as my own words flay me. I keep on writing toward what hurts or angers me, trying to get at something I can’t seem to express in any other way.

These days, between floods and fires and fiery resistance to equity, I feel less accommodating. The world seems newly glaring, or maybe the change is in me. I smile, but I’m exhausted. I smile but I am heartsick too. As this thread of fictional vengeance reveals itself to me, I see too how these stories of mine aren’t only aimed toward retribution. Each smoldering account contains an attentiveness to injury—an urge toward vindication. It’s audacious, I know, but I believe that a story can be a seed. I hope that if you read my vengeful fiction, it grows into something in you more useful than bitter satisfaction. I do want to make you angry, but with me, so that we might be heartbroken together, and in service of something useful. That in our shared brokenness, we might recognize one another, and begin the real work—in ourselves, between us, and on this ailing earth—a practice of care and repair.

__________________________________________

My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is available now from Henry Holt.

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How to Write an Epic Revenge Story

Nov. 14th, 2019

The love of your life has been murdered before your eyes by a masked stranger. He broke into your home in the middle of the night, tied you up, and before you knew it he took away your whole world. You’re lying on the floor in a pool of blood, consumed with a grief so powerful you could never have imagined it existed. But, at the same time, you’re consumed with something else- a sense of purpose. A fury you’ve never known in your life. And there’s one thought that brings you back into your body, one thought that forces you to pick up the phone and call the police instead of flinging yourself from the balcony…

I’m going to kill that man.

Revenge stories are a very specific sub-section of the thriller genre. And, similarly to the ‘hero journey’ in a fantasy novel, they follow a tried and true formula.

To start any epic revenge story, you need to put together your cast. Obviously, your story will consist of many characters with varying degrees of significance, but the main cast of a revenge plot involves three players: the hero, the villain, and the victim. Your hero is the character who is exacting his revenge on the villain of the story. The law has failed to hold the guilty party accountable so your hero needs to take matters into their own hands. The hero can be varying degrees of good or bad or morally gray or an antihero–there are many options you can play around with as far as their degree of morality. The important thing is to make your hero likable; otherwise, your readers will be rooting for the villain, and who wants that?

Next, you need the villain or the antagonist of your story. This is the person who has done the act that has gone unpunished. The act itself can have varying degrees of severity and the hero could identify the wrong villain in the beginning of your story- only to find out the truth later in a shocking twist. But you’ll need someone at the beginning to which your protagonist assigns blame. Finally, the victim who exists to elicit sympathy from your readers. The victim should be connected to the protagonist in some meaningful, emotional way. It could be a friend, a family member, or even someone who went through a similar experience to the protagonist. Ultimately, they’ll need a strong enough connection that would justify your protagonist’s journey of vengeance.

The next step to the ultimate revenge story is to choose and execute ‘the crime’. The more monstrous the act you choose (whether it be murder, rape, torture, terrorism, etc.), the more justified your hero will be in exacting their revenge on the perpetrator. Typically you want to present the crime as tragically as possible. You see cop dramas all the time where the victim’s family talk about how he or she was ‘so young’ or ‘such a good person’ or in the prime of their lives. That’s the same feeling that the crime you create should give your readers- that your victim was so pure and undeserving of the horror they were put through. A revenge story can still work if the crime is committed prior to the beginning of the story, but portraying within the pages will make the journey much more emotional and visceral for the reader.

Hero Turned Tracker

The third stage of your revenge thriller is the tracking portion. This will likely take up the most space in your book as it’s the section where the hero tasks him or herself to track down the villain of the story with the goal of exacting the proper punishment. This stage will involve research, looking for clues, and meeting a series of individuals who will lead your hero to the villain by the end. If your story involves more than one villain, the hero will start to exact their revenge on the various guilty parties in this section- culminating in the villain they deem most guilty. In addition, to add an extra layer of conflict, you can also use this section to introduce a party who is trying to stop the hero from exacting their revenge. This could be anyone from a law enforcement official to a close friend of the hero– but it’s someone who doesn’t believe the hero’s methods of justice are righteous.

The Final Confrontation

As you could likely infer from the title, this is the part of the story where your hero and your villain finally go head to head. If you choose to have your hero mistake the villain for someone else, this is also the part of the true villain of your story is revealed. There are three potential outcomes from this point: success, failure, or peace. If your hero succeeds in exacting their revenge, the question of your ending becomes ‘Was the revenge worth it? Did it give your protagonist the satisfaction they craved?’ Though your audience will likely be most satisfied if your protagonist succeeds in their quest, you can also choose for them to fail which would culminate in either their defeat, the villain escaping, or their death. Finally, your protagonist could reach the point of exacting their revenge only to realize that revenge truly isn’t the answer, thereby finally gaining the peace they needed all along.

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5 Tips for Writing a Revenge Story

Oh, sweet revenge. There’s nothing like a well-executed plan to get the blood pumping and the pages turning. That feeling when a character finally doles out their death punch, or sneaks that drop of poison into their enemy’s cup is one of the most rewarding experiences a reader can have.

As a longtime fan of revenge stories, that feeling I get when things fall into place never fails to bring a bigger smile to my face than a first kiss in a romcom. But the thing with revenge stories is that unless all the pieces are there, a protagonist’s final hour of execution isn’t going to feel as rewarding (or hard hitting) as you might have hoped.

Below are some of the tips I found most helpful when writing my debut novel, Tripping Arcadia .

(Kit Mayquist: On Writing the Book You Want To Read)

Consider the Environment

Yes, we’re starting out with the environment, not because it’s the setting for any story and that’s generally assumed to be a good place to start, but because environment is so much more than how the humidity sticks to your protagonist’s clothes or how the linoleum tiles feel beneath their shoes. Those are all things which are absolutely important and some of my favorite stuff to write. But no, what I mean is that before anything else can begin, I always consider how the need for revenge doesn’t just happen . 

It’s not something that appears purely within the heart of a protagonist (although it can absolutely feel that way to them!). It’s true that there may be circumstances that led to someone’s need for payback, like a fight, or being wronged, but the environment and overall context that a protagonist lives in is likely going to be the very thing that helps a reader to understand the anger and emotion that led them to the decision for revenge in the first place.

Generally speaking, the structure or circumstances a protagonist lives in might be more of a motivating factor than any cruelty or deed their foe could have done. When I was writing Tripping Arcadia , this was arguably the core of the story and in many ways, was the starting point. Sitting there trying to get lost in a daydream about a glitzy and glamourous Gatsby party proved too much of a task against the stress of my own medical bills, and it made me wonder how such a grotesque display of wealth might have played off different to someone like Nick Carraway had he been in a slightly different economic situation.

In Tripping Arcadia , Lena has an anger within her that is rooted in her circumstances and frustration at a failing economy, an unjust work environment, and an emotional resentment toward being moved from what she perceived as an idyllic place due to those very issues. Her anger is something that is inseparable from her lived experience, and on top of that is likely to be shared by most readers (as well as myself). When writing a revenge story, that shared environmental understanding can be invaluable in not only supporting the plot, but keeping the reader’s investment in the revenge itself.

IndieBound | Bookshop | Amazon [WD uses affiliate links.]

Revenge Isn’t a Straight Line

We all love a good revenge story, but speaking for myself, I think part of the appeal of a revenge story is because it can be this messy thing, fueled by emotions that often lead to impulsivity and irrational thinking. A lot of times this is what makes us root for the protagonist, but it’s also what makes us as readers nervous, and that’s a good thing!

If you’ve ever done something out of anger, chances are that it didn’t exactly go how you wanted. Maybe you said the wrong thing or forgot an important step. Maybe you made the issue twice as bad because you didn’t stop to think. I know I’ve been there (more than once), and it’s a very human thing, to be led astray by our emotions in times of stress, so that’s always something I try to keep in mind when I’m writing.

Try not to be afraid to show the human side of a revenge story. Emotions are powerful and complex things and can make a protagonist inconsistent and illogical; they can lead to forgetfulness or not considering something vital to the execution of their plot. When writing, I always try to give space for failure and mistakes and see how the story unfolds. A lot of times, it takes the plot in a direction that feels way more genuine than anything I could have plotted out before.

Who’s on Your Side

Revenge isn’t typically going to be a flashy thing posted on billboards unless you’re a supervillain with a flair for the theatrics. Revenge tends to be held close to the chest because there’s a layer of suspense in being discovered before the revenge can be enacted. This means that when writing a revenge story, I always try to consider who in the protagonist’s world is aware of what’s going on, and who isn’t. Tripping Arcadia is a pretty close-knit story, but who is aware and unaware of what Lena is doing changes throughout the book, and for a variety of reasons!

When writing a story centered on secrecy and the threat of being caught, I always try to consider not just who is kept out, but why are those individuals kept out of the loop? Is it for their safety and maybe the protagonist wants to protect them? Is it because they know something that could get in the way if they knew what was really going on? Is it because they can’t be trusted? There are far more reasons a protagonist might keep someone out of their plot than include them! Those individuals are vital in helping the revenge feel not only grounded, but well-paced and suspenseful.

Build on What Makes You Angry

There’s that old saying of write what you know, but most of us (hopefully) don’t know what it’s really like to get murderous revenge! Still, I find it useful to try to look inward and tap into the emotions you have that might lead you to something like that. Emotions are a powerful thing and matters like anger, grief, humiliation, resentment, heartbreak, etc., all of those are powerful, driving forces for any plot.

When writing, I tend to always start with the darkest moment of any book for this exact reason. The point at which emotions are at their peak and everything is wrong, sad, people are crying, dying, and things are just all-around awful. It is the time that is void of hope, or where everything just goes wrong. I absolutely love it and inevitably end up using it as an anchor whenever I’m writing a story.

Anytime the plot feels lost or like it’s losing its core, I always return to that darkest moment and consider how what I’m writing can lead to that pivotal scene, or how it may feel after. As a writer I’m a huge fan of emotions and sometimes all it takes to keep a scene moving forward is to look inward and see what gets that rise out of you, and then harnessing that and weaving into whatever words you end up putting on the page.

The biggest question in a revenge story is also the most obvious—how does your protagonist do it? What takes them from an ordinary person (or not-so-ordinary) and convinces them that they are the person for this task?

When writing, I think it’s so important to have a reason for how your protagonist chooses the method that they do. Maybe it’s connected to their skills or their job, or maybe they just use what is available. Maybe the situation and setting is the very thing that gives the inspiration. It could be something as simple as a late-night joking conversation with a friend that the protagonist just can’t shake.

Either way, there should be a reason that a protagonist chooses the method of revenge that they do, and it should be connected to the context of the story and their own character as much as possible. A gun may be effective, but it can be a harder sell to your audience than a candlestick that happens to be right beside the protagonist’s hand when the idea sparks.

Tripping Arcadia is a poison novel, and as someone who loves a good historical poison and the idea of herbs brewing in little glass jars, I knew I couldn’t just take any stranger in front of me in my local Dunkin and expect them to know how to reconstruct the Aqua Tofana! But for someone like Lena, who is coming from an academic world of medicine and medieval poisons, there was no way she would use anything else. Poison is something second nature to her, and no matter who the character is or why they’re seeking revenge, whatever method they choose should fit them just as well and feel just as natural of a choice to anyone picking up the book.

If you want to learn how to write a story, but aren’t quite ready yet to hunker down and write 10,000 words or so a week, this is the course for you. Build Your Novel Scene by Scene will offer you the impetus, the guidance, the support, and the deadline you need to finally stop talking, start writing, and, ultimately, complete that novel you always said you wanted to write.

Click to continue.

5 Tips For Writing A Revenge Story genre Mystery/Thriller Write Better Fiction Writing Revenge writing technique Writing Thriller

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