tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post9049429545465138335..comments2021-10-09T16:48:32.388-07:00Comments on Sam Reeves Writing Advice: Point of View: Antagonistsamrvs2@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078782251545587807noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post-13021007292526122832015-04-26T22:06:59.496-07:002015-04-26T22:06:59.496-07:00Well, for the most part, how readers perceive your...Well, for the most part, how readers perceive your book is going to be out of your control. The same is true for every author.<br /><br />However, is the real question whether the readers will hate the book or hate the character? I don't see anything wrong with them hating the character's cruelty and still enjoying to read about him. Think of Hannibal Lecter and Dexter. Both are the central characters of their stories, and their acts are reprehensible. Yet audiences loved the stories and held a morbid fascination for the characters.<br /><br />Will readers sympathize with a heinous protagonist? That depends on how you justify his actions. Maybe he is damaged goods and can't help his acts. If that is made clear, he will seem tragic, especially if he shows remorse. Maybe, like Dexter, he is aiming at the greater good (a true good, not just something he has labeled as such) but from a warped angle. samrvs2@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078782251545587807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post-90637780466068387092015-04-26T12:18:44.268-07:002015-04-26T12:18:44.268-07:00I have a character whose father was killed when he...I have a character whose father was killed when he was 5. He saw him die. He grew up and became a serial killer during World War 1. He is a despicable character all in all. I don't really know how to make sure that readers will not hate the book for his cruelty. What can I do about that? I can't change his character or anything, but I don't want the book to be despised.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post-53410222861349901902013-02-10T10:23:19.098-08:002013-02-10T10:23:19.098-08:00With regard to painting a story from the antagonis...With regard to painting a story from the antagonist's point of view, the anti-hero, the key is flipping perspective 180 degrees. Shifting your viewpoint from the hero's skull into the villains skull. But the thing is, once you do that, you have to shed the rules that make what their doing wrong. You don't have to make them likeable or acceptable, you just have to make that villain accessible. And even then, you don't have to make them completely open because that is what becomes boring, all you have to do is add a tiny element of accessibility... introduce a fraction of doubt in the reader that speaks to "I would never... well maybe I might"... and everything else will grow from there when you can put yourself in that mindset.<br /><br />When it comes to drawing the line, I like to follow one rule: does it serve the story? Some times more graphic is better. Often times less is more. Let the reader play with the negative space and use their own imaginations to flesh out what touches nerves. However, sometimes more is more. This is when having a good editor or letting something sit for a few days and coming back to reread it is a very good thin. In the moment a scene can sound pitch perfect. Wait a while, come back to it, reread it and ask yourself "what part of the story is this helping push forward?" If that question has no answer then you've got dead weight on your hands and it's time to restructure or cut altogether. <br /><br />Just my thoughts ;) Hobbeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03492859978611924255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post-21546119638244488792013-01-02T17:26:55.161-08:002013-01-02T17:26:55.161-08:00Depends on the market. You'll probably get awa...Depends on the market. You'll probably get away with more in Cemetery Dance than in, say, Reader's Digest. I would not gut a story (pun only slightly intended) in an attempt to fit a certain venue. When an editor requests a rewrite, that's one thing, but it's entirely something else to cripple a story so as not to offend someone. Good fiction makes us uncomfortable and encourages us to reexamine habitual thinking. If Anthology A isn't a good fit, move to the next target on the list.<br />That said, gratuitous gore, violence, or sadism is just as bad (and eventually as boring) as sanitized storytelling.<br /><br />But, your question is where to draw the line. This is largely a matter of your personal tastes and what you feel is artistic. My metric is "Can I remove the horrific elements and still retain the story?" If the answer is "Yes," I would cut the scene as I would a deadweight adjective. The story will be tighter and more interesting as a result. On the other hand, if the story begins to unravel, keep the scene. It belongs just as it is.<br /><br />If you are concerned whether you might have wandered off into excessive melodrama, remember that characters must be larger than life if their traits and actions are to translate well to the reader's imagination through the written word. Jack Bickham said that reading is like looking at someone through a frosted window. The makeup, colors, gestures all have to be exaggerated to come through. Write hot; edit cold.samrvs2@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078782251545587807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-780366044814107349.post-51692946166053835582013-01-02T04:35:23.840-08:002013-01-02T04:35:23.840-08:00I've got a killer-type character who is rather...I've got a killer-type character who is rather awful to read. I have sympathetic heroes for the reader to bond with, so I think I can get away with the vile killer concept. I'm not sure whether I should trim back on his point-of-view (subject the reader to less from him) or to tone down his horrific aspects some. Just because I created him to be so awful doesn't mean the reader needs to be dragged through the blood with him. How do I determine where to draw the line -- what to show, what to tell and what to allude to?<br /><br />Anne.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07485537085139255830noreply@blogger.com