What do you do when you realize your antihero’s revenge isn’t just an embellishment, it’s the plot of your novel?

Why, look up revenge plotting resources, to make sure you hit all the main points, of course. Until you find out there aren’t any.

Revenge is a trope readers and viewers know well. Classic examples are William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Jason Bourne movie series, and the TV show, Revenge. Clearly, the revenge trope can overtake an entire plot. So, why has no one converted the Hero’s Journey or the traditional plot arc into a map for writers to follow?

My best guess is it’s because revenge is an emotional motivation, and most people aren’t brave enough or foolish enough to try to logic out a string of emotions into a plan. Yet, isn’t that the essence of a revenge story? Isn’t that what the protagonist is doing in their head every step of the way?

The setup only gets worse when you’re writing a Revenge Romance. How can the setup of a known trope, in such a definitive genre, be so blurry?

Here is what articles have said:

• Essential Archetypes: Victim, Villain, Avenger
• The protagonist has to become an outlaw for the sake of revenge
• The Victim died
• The law doesn’t work; justice is not served
• The Victim’s death is the inciting incident
• Show the hero’s normal life before the victimizing event
• Make the reader feel like the protagonist is in the right and their actions are justified, even if not admirable
• Revenge plots are a function of Thrillers
• Use the Villain as a foil to the Avenger
• Successful revenge ends in death, likely for the protagonist

I’m no expert, but those points seem to be ignoring some things.

Here’s why that doesn’t work:

• The offender (Villain) is now an unwitting Victim
• The Avenger is the Victim, and is turning into the Villain of another character’s story
• A non-Avenger Victim doesn’t have to be dead; they could be kidnapped, they could have been forced to marry another, they could be seriously impaired mentally or physically, or they could have gotten over their trauma in a way the Avenger cannot
• Revenge tropes show up in every genre, with Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Romance in particular inviting revenge as a motivator
• An administrator of Law could use the law to take revenge
• Justice could be served by another character, but the Avenger’s grudge is personal and therefore not resolved
• As proven by the Revenge TV series, revenge may be most effective when working from within, rather than being hindered by outlaw status
• Depicting the Avenger’s lost normal life at the beginning of the novel might mean starting the story too early, which is the bane of publishers’ existence and not why readers are picking up a revenge novel; you’re just giving people something to skip
• Killing off the protagonist in a Revenge Romance makes the story a Tragedy
• If the Avenger is set up to get revenge on their not-yet-Love-Interest, the ending may not be satisfying, and may even undercut the rest of the story’s progression
• If you have to convince the reader that your morally grey Avenger is serving true justice, they’re not; revenge is about personal satisfaction from within one’s own means and an attempt at practical closure, not about the existence and efficacy of justice as an abstract idea
• Enemies-to-Lovers makes this theory crumble to pieces

Every time I have mentioned Revenge Romance, somebody asks if I meant Enemies to Lovers.

No, I did not. I said what I meant.

Revenge Romance vs. Enemies to Lovers

• Enemies to Lovers implies each party sees the other as an enemy to get revenge upon. Mutual destruction is assured, unless one bests the other first or both fall in love simultaneously. Think Romeo and Juliet.
• Revenge Romance only necessitates one party see the other as an enemy. One character could be blissfully unaware that the other is targeting them, or could have no desire to fight the Avenger even when antagonized. There is also a greater likelihood that revenge methods could be curbed by slowly-softening characters to lead to more humiliating, more redemptive, less lethal solutions.
  • I’ve begun reading Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss to explore this a bit deeper.

Revenge Romance in BKC

If you were helping me critique The BeastKing Chronicles previously, you probably noticed that Rome pulled some jerk moves because he was self-consumed and misguided. But sometimes, those motives were also skewed as a response to what Labriella had done to him in the past.

In the first couple versions of the story, Rome came out hot tempered and emotionally resistant, while still thinking sensually. His temper, and his catch-and-release cycle, drove Labriella nuts and stunted the story progression. The next couple versions of the story integrated the suddenness of a predator who waits, then snarls and suddenly pounces. Anybody would be afraid of a predator, even an old childhood friend, and so is Labriella, though she still cares about the man she knows beneath.

But what came out, in the private moments between the two characters, was a tit-for-tat vie for acceptance of which of them was right about what their relationship should be. In the back of Rome’s mind was always the sight of Labriella’s back, fading into the distance, leaving him alone again, and the urge to make sure she paid for that mistake. As the story progressed, Rome’s tactics for making her pay backfired, and he found himself caught in his own trap with sensual desires he didn’t know could cripple him.

That may have been what was in the back of Rome’s mind, but in the back of my mind was the worry that it could take a whole book unto itself to reconcile Rome’s starting disposition with Labriella’s disposition toward him—possibly even a whole story arc. That was when I realized: Rome’s revenge mindset, or at least his initial hurt, needs to be dealt with before the end of the temple repossession arc. Book 1 already needed to be shortened. The best solution may be to let his revenge play out in Book 1…and bite him in the butt.