tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post8030775551631810609..comments2023-10-14T06:19:18.000-05:00Comments on Rocket Scientist: Writing Essentials: Characters Part One: Villains that Aren't Completely Evil Pt. 2Stephanie Barrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-76398512500275205522010-01-28T21:26:21.178-06:002010-01-28T21:26:21.178-06:00That might be a factor, Max. I don't understan...That might be a factor, Max. I don't understand the kind of evil I described, Max. I don't understand people who prey on children or take pleasure in the pain of others. I've studied it, because it's easier to protect yourself and your family if you do, but I can't wrap my mind around it.<br /><br />I have a smattering of those kinds of villains - more to come, you know - but since I can't get behind them, I have to fake it. I suspect that makes them seem less real. Perhaps I prefer this kind of antagonist because I can identify with him and not the other kinds.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-5640578592713096832010-01-28T21:19:42.033-06:002010-01-28T21:19:42.033-06:00Your post is 3 different subjects and I know you d...Your post is 3 different subjects and I know you don't want three comments from me. :) The first subject is about characters in a novel, and how the bad guys are not necessarily evil. Then you segue into a philosophical treatise on what evil means. Finally, you discuss a real-life event, though you frequently lapse back into fiction as you discuss it. All in all, I found this to be an interesting post, whose 3 sections seemed somehow related, in a surreal Stephanie-mind sort of way. Kidding.<br /><br />I'm really ill-equipped to comment on the first part, about villains in a fictional work, since I don't write fiction (or think I don't) and don't really know the "rules" of fiction. Being ill-equipped probably won't stop me from venturing an opinion, though, because I want to learn and like to read these discussions about what makes good fiction, or even "classic" fiction.<br /><br />As to a character in a novel being "evil," or "a villain but not really truly evil" I would venture a guess that that would come from the writer's mind, since all the characters in the novel, including the bad guy, take whatever form they have from the author's own imagination. Does that mean the author has to also be evil in order to write a truly evil character? - for are we not ourselves evil if we think evil thoughts? Or do we have to act on those thoughts to be evil?<br /><br />I know better than try to comment on the philosophy of good and evil and also throw in the American Civil War for good measure. Even I am not loquacious enough to pull that off in a comment.Relax Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01051381168322495999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-83414560941665812952010-01-28T09:30:13.926-06:002010-01-28T09:30:13.926-06:00I frequently play with themes where my heroes are ...I frequently play with themes where my heroes are people who instinctively question the paradigms around them. Often, the conflicts are not so much against people as much as they are against ideologies or limitations imposed by their current society.<br /><br />I find that notion, of examining what you believe to be true, questioning it, to be a big factor in what I like to convey with my work. <br /><br />Now, I have evil villains, but they are often just a piece of the puzzle, a portion of a much more complicated tapestry. Not-really-evil villains in such a situation can bring those challenges and conflicts to the fore. They're often not even villains so much as they are obstacles and challenges.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-87220520245713523672010-01-28T09:17:05.523-06:002010-01-28T09:17:05.523-06:00Let us remember that Lincoln himself was haunted b...Let us remember that Lincoln himself was haunted by his decisions, massively depressed and often suicidal. Hard choices are the lot of those in charge, but the truly good characters neither relish them nor deal well with the consequences.<br /><br />On "paradigm"--not being in management, I can't attest to its use as a buzzword. But in science, it refers to the philosophical view that one particular way of looking at science is viewed as correct, and it takes a revolutionary jolt to change that (it was, indeed, coined by Thomas Kuhn in his "Structure of Scientific Revolutions"). As such, your use of it here is perfect as it extends to the wider, not scientific scope.<br /><br />Often, in science, as Planck pointed out, it takes a generation--the old geezers who cling to the old paradigm have to die.The Motherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15157821003454766570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-45735210520310783092010-01-28T06:21:38.760-06:002010-01-28T06:21:38.760-06:00Thank you, Jeff.
Project Savior, I think that'...Thank you, Jeff.<br /><br />Project Savior, I think that's a very apt comment. I suspect that's why many heroes in classics and novels today tend to be less black and white than the hero on the white horse. Superman is so pure as the driven snow that he's boring for many. Batman has issues and a dark side and is, therefore, more interesting. <br /><br />But it's also why I'm spending so much time on this topic because a bad guy who's nothing but evil, has no motivation but his own gratification, isn't really all that interesting either. Often, such monsters also work alone. However, get an ideology involved, and followers makes sense. One can also give the protagonists a real challenge to face.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-24700919349024508582010-01-28T05:25:44.582-06:002010-01-28T05:25:44.582-06:00Reading this I was reminded of a comment Malcolm M...Reading this I was reminded of a comment Malcolm McDowell made on why he plays the bad guy so often, "Because the Bad Guys are the interesting ones."Darrell B. Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02851443183217238218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8198390912401056862.post-50361803048137813172010-01-27T21:08:54.134-06:002010-01-27T21:08:54.134-06:00Great points, your opinion marks mine so well I ca...Great points, your opinion marks mine so well I can't disagree with you once again. One of these times I will blow you away and disagree with you. <br /><br />But so far, your judgments and opinions, likes and dislikes are almost exactly like mine... so it is slim odds. <br />ThxJeff Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00667419764890599092noreply@blogger.com