From flufffactor.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/plants-vs-zombies
I may be a wee bit addicted to Plants v Zombies.
Just when I was starting to temper my addiction and only play ever other train ride, they came out with an upgrade. Obviously that’s the best way to get people coming back for more…more levels, more baddies to beat, more achievements to tackle, but what really got me playing until my eyes were dry and I was seeing peashooters in my sleep was the role-reversal game. Their new mini game puts you as the zombies trying to beat the plants…whereas before, you’re trying to defeat the zombies by planting zombie-killing plants.
I swear that when I planted plants, they didn’t last as long as the ones that are being planted against me. The grass is always greener, right?
At first this role reversal was weird. I felt icky playing for the wrong side (yes, I know it’s a game), but the more I got into it, the better my strategy became in the regular game. I could better see what plants (some that I’d ignored) could do.
This is kind of like what I did to Julia a while ago. While I didn’t switch to the antagonists point of view, I did switch to focus on scene with her sister. That gave me a different perspective on the story as a whole. That helped me get past the problems I was having…got me out of the rut and shook me loose from the grip of writer’s block.
Have you ever tried to view your story from the POV of the villain?
Or for you PvZ players out there…which is your favorite plant? Hands down, I rely too much on the ear of corn.
The Empty Pen 
It’s awesome when you can learn a writing technique from a routine in your every day life. It makes the little things so much more meaningful. I don’t have too many clear cut villains in my writing but I do try to see things from each character’s point of view, especially when I don’t agree. It’s tough to do but it really does help the story. Thanks for the post!
It’s always a fun surprise when I get those ah-ha moments.
I think it’s hardest to see something from a character’s (or person’s) POV when you don’t agree with them…but it’s always the most rewarding, too. DO you find that?
Seeing things from other points of view is therapeutic, too –happy new year!
Happy New Year!
I actually just realized that my novel really is about the bad guy – it’s almost as if the whoel story is his once I got to know him so well.
That’s quite the revelation! Was it disconcerting?
Yes and no….he’s the driving force of the novel, the’evil’ they fight against, and once I re-wrote the novel, and began exploring why he is the way he is, I saw how in a sense the story is his to tell. He’s the one with the most to gain, and the most to loss. I guess what makes him not the mc is that he doesn’t grow at all during the novel – at the end he’s still the same bad guy. That, and since his pov is minimal compared to other mcs! lol
Jennifer, hmm, interesting. Sounds like a great read.