Character Blog: Villains

They are lurking in dark shadows or brazenly stalking bright hallways of modern cities; they inspire fear, awe, and even lust… villains, where would heroes be without them?

I am cutting right to the chase on this one, one-dimensional villains are tripe. Did anyone miss that? One-dimensional villains are tripe! I do not care that the video game industry thrives on stereotypical evil monsters to produce conflict in game. Even comic books grew out of this mindset of the evil mastermind bent on world domination (destruction). If your evil is absolute, at least have the presence of mind as a writer to give reason behind it. The villain is no more a perfect being than his bright and shiny heroic counterpart.

I love working on bad guys. There is so much fun to be had getting into the mind of a character based on all the narcissistic tendencies we, as average humans, suppress. Villains are the authors’ outlet for all the harassments and beatings received in high school. All the wicked little journal entries about how you planned to reap vengeance on all those who dared cross you, well, now they have purpose.

The Villain archetype has a spicy variety pack: Human, Animal, Supra-Human, Monster, Domestic, Nihilist, and Classic. Blake Snyder does a great job of breaking down these villain types in Save the Cat Goes to the Movies. Save the Cat books are great tools.

To touch upon the creature villains, and creatures in general I recently read How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction by: J. N. Williamson. Chapter eight discusses how to create plausible creatures by understanding the type of environment this creature would have to live in.

Villains drive the conflict. “What is the conflict?” can often be answered by “What is my villain’s motivation!” Why is your villain so villainous? The Seven Deadly Sins are a favorite basis for conflict; they are tried and true and universally understood. Wrath drives the warlord, the shunned, wronged seeking vengeance. Greed, gives us crooked CEOs, millionaire eccentrics, or poor sots seeking fast cash. Sloth – okay, to be fair, sloth is a hard one because, really, if your villains are lazy, they are probably not going to drive a story. Lust, isn’t this always the reason the damsel is in distress? Envy and pride are wonderful forces behind evil queens. Gluttony is not always food related is it?

It is difficult to talk Villain without touching upon conflict. The Villain is not always a person (living creature). The Just Write writers discussed the crowd as character before. The basic types of conflict a Hero can encounter most should recall from grade school; man versus man, man versus society, man versus nature, man versus self.

Characters Post Two

Who are you?

Somewhere in each of us dwell one or more archetypes. Whether we are aware of this or not, we can be, ranked and filed, into one, or more, of these basic character types. We do this rank and file to one another often enough as humans, we could at least use it for improved writing! Before really working on the types of characters I thought looking up the differences between, Archetype, Stereotype and Counter Stereotype might be wise. Wikipedia is good enough in this case for skimming the surface of the types.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterstereotype

The twelve archetypes of the Western Zodiac are likely the most commonly known. We have all done it at some point; asked that new potential friend or love interest, “what’s your sign?” As if this one answer will allow us to fully understand the complex personality in the flesh vessel we are trying to strike a conversation with. It is a start though and learning the basic personalities associated with each of the twelve signs does offer insight into creating a character with a little bit of plausible back story. I mean, really, how many Scorpios do you know willing watch a sappy movie? Some theories even suggest major historical gangs of characters were created in harmony with the Western Zodiac – King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, even Jesus and his twelve disciples. The personalities of each of the twelve men in these circles can coincidently align with each of the signs. So, what’s your sign?

The Zodiac is not the only method of boiling a man down to his core for easy comprehension. An Eastern idea based on blood types seems to take a more scientific approach, if you want to call it that. If you really want to find some interesting characters building ideas though I really suggest Who Are You?: 101 Ways of Seeing Yourself by: Malcolm Godwin. This book covers everything from facial structure to epicurean tastes when deciphering personality. It is great at parties too!

Consider some of the basic questions asked of a character on a typical day. What is your birthday? What year were you born? What is your blood type? What color are your eyes? Do you like dogs? What would you like for dinner? Answers to these questions help the reader build an understanding of whom he is traveling with on this adventure. Nothing demands adherence to common archetypes, but your reader may notice if the personality and the birth date are glaringly at odds with one another. There is always that one nerd in the bunch! That one is the one you want to really work your little writer heart out for, because he is the one paying attention. If you make him happy all the simpletons will be just plain giddy!
While I would love to go on about basic archetypes and personality types, I think a touch on stereotypes is required. The angst ridden teenager, the tech savvy Japanese man, the dumb jock, the Indian the runs the convenience store, the nerd with glasses, weak women, greasy Italian, black criminals, the dumb blonde, frugal Jews, angry old men, the list goes on and on. Using stereotypes can be considered violation of the unwritten rules of political correctness it also cheapens your writing. These characters are too easy! Readers can see them coming and know what the plot surrounding them will likely turn out in the end. Stereotypes are the salt and pepper of the character spice rack, they are probably there, in every story, but they should not make the meal, err, plot.
The counter stereotype can be just as poor and predictable. You know who they are too, check out the previous list and turn each on its head. Counter stereotypes seem to crop up in youth and science fiction. Avoiding these characters is no more imperative than avoiding stereotypes or flat archetypes, but the same caveat does apply. Over use will annoy readers!
There is a reason these types exist in fiction though - they exist in reality. I am a great example of that! I grew up in a town of under three thousand people. I think we had at least a couple traffic lights. I moved out of my parents’ home and moved to a city of one hundred times that number! I made a name for myself and returned to the small town for huge rewards. Okay, maybe that last part has not happened yet, but otherwise very cliché.

Characters Post One

For the next four weeks, I would like to discuss and create characters in several of the primary archetypes. We will define what creates an archetype, what each archetype is, and give each type a chance to dance for us. Think of yourself as a god of the ancient pantheons, your character, a bit of clay, softened for your molding. The characters we create can be new performers to keep on file for future stories or current characters in need of more depth and development.

I will try to find a variety of websites, magazine articles, blogs, podcasts, and books on the subject of character development, as always though I am open to suggestions. If you have a point to raise or an example please feel free to post comments and links.

How important is character in a story? In my writing, the characters do seem to drive the story more than anything. I revel in backstory, maybe a bit too much, I love to manipulate relationships and personality clashes to push the plot. Before we even begin to tear down characters and build great foundations, tell us, how important are the characters in your story? Do the characters matter? How important is your hero? One of the worst pitfalls is to have a hero or primary character whose presence is optional.

Look at a piece you are currently working on and ask; who really needs to be here? Change the genders of primary characters, their relationships, or remove the hero completely, does the story go on? Find an example of a story that contains poor character usage. Find an example of a story that makes exemplary use of characters.

Travels in the Far East(ern US)

I have returned from the far east(ern United States)! To say it was fun is quite the understatement! I had a blast and met so many fabulous people!

Every night in Central New York (Captain) Brad Jacobs invited locals to the Jolly Roger Bar & Harvest. Brad built the pirate themed bar several years back and at one time it was quite the happening place to be for; poker, pool, drinks and just a good time. The two water displays, one in the building beside the bar, and one at the main entrance behind the dock are great atmosphere, though not so great after a few drinks entice you to visit the rest room. Warning: if you do use the water closet this is not high tech plumbing, remember, you are in a pirate bar! The tiny room does need a bit more light but even women should be fairly comfortable using the facilities. The bar is BYOB but Brad does keep some great hard liquor on the shelf. It was a much more quiet crowd Friday night but that was well and good. It gave the New York crew a chance to discuss some ideas and make plans for the week. We also had a few drinks and caught up a bit. Describing the bar does less justice than pictures do, check out the images posted on Facebook and Google+. The other very pirate themed venue I chanced to visit was Captain John’s in Sylvan Beach. The captain himself even came out to greet the crew and I! The restaurant is a bit on the high priced side, but the food is very good and the portions are fair. I would not go to this place on a daily basis but the atmosphere, that is a little Polynesian and a little Jimmy Buffet is worth it for a fun dinner with the crew. Both locations have a copy of Blackstrap’s Ecstasy on display too!

Food is a major part of getting to know any place. I think it is anyway. I have some fabulous places to recommend if anyone is looking for good all American comfort food and even some more exotic fare, at very reasonable prices. First, Charlie’s Diner. Brad took me here for lunch on Friday afternoon. It is a cute 1950’s style eatery with a gramma’s kitchen feel. The staff is incredibly friendly and the food is wonderful. I can personally recommend the Chicken Salad Club with a side of fries. I was only able to eat half of it there but every bite was amazing and I happily took the rest for later. Second, another great hometown diner, in Canastota, Dick & Bert’s, Jenn and Chip took me here for breakfast on more than one occasion during my stay. New York is known for pizza and one of the best places for square cut is Joe’s on Main Street in Whitesboro. The sauce is the right amount of sweet and the cheese is perfect! I recommend ordering something simple like pepperoni for the first try, and be warned, it is tempting! I nearly ate an entire pie by myself! Looking for something a bit more exotic? I love, love, love, Symeon’s in New Hartford! They have the best Greek food I have ever tasted and the portions are worth the price. Voss is another local favorite as far as burgers and BBQ are concerned. Be warned that you might have to wait in long lines for this one and it is all outdoor seating! Voss is more institution than anything really. The prices are great but the food is un-extraordinary. I never went hungry in New York that I can say! Small towns and quaint diners are the best places for local flavor and gossip.

Jenn Bush (Buz) took me past the Canastota Library one morning after a stop for breakfast. I nearly jumped out of the car with excitement at the site of the sign outside the building! To see my name there unexpectedly was thrilling! It really took home how real this trip was for my writing career. All of the venues that hosted my signings and talks were very accommodating, for that I am very grateful. This new author bit is tougher than it looks. I never know what to say when discussing the book with people I do not know. I am always anxious about reviews that might blast my work and call me a hack. I know it is bound to happen, but knowing that so far all locations have been very welcoming and kind helps so much! Watertown was more quiet than I anticipated considering the Pirate Days were just wrapping up. The owner of A Second Look Bookstore was super sweet though and she was really excited to see the pirates in full costume on her doorstep. I think the guys made more people smile than buy books as they wandered the town but they felt like celebrities and that made my day. Brad, Anthony and Anianna are not like the Arizona crew. In Arizona we are accustomed to photo op requests and inquiries about pirate history and what sort of pirates we are. I was glad to have them along though. I was grateful to Jenn and Chip too at the Canastota library where very few people actually stayed for the signing. Dunham had the grandest showing for the workshop and I was happy to meet a few local aspiring writers. I hope they are interested in joining the Just Write page on Facebook too. The best of the venues was by far the Park Row Espresso in Clinton, New York. The traffic was more what I am accustom to, the venue was cozy, and the coffee was wonderful. While all of the locations treated me very well I did learn what to look for as far as sales are concerned; there is a certain type of person who likes new authors and pirates, they are not everywhere.

I very much hope to return to New York and revisit all of the locations that hosted me this turn, and I hope to add a few more places now that I know what to expect. I love that I am able to take these small risks to make my writing a success and to put a smile on so many faces. More than anything this trip taught me to always be friendly and always be confident. There is a place for pirates in almost every town. People are always happy to share food, and drink and a good story. Kids everywhere love pirates! And most adults love to cater to the inner child and have a bit of fun too. There is nothing I would change about this trip and I have to again say thank you to all who helped me get to New York, sell books, entertain the masses, allowed me to stay with them, and carted me and my books around.

If you missed me this time through, please, let the venue of your choice know I am willing to return. Copies of Blackstrap’s Ecstasy are available for purchase at Ray’s Repair Shop in Whitesboro and on loan at Canastota and Dunham (Whitestown) Library. Keep a weather eye for the next books in the Corsair Captains’ series; Max’s Despair and Gato’s Pride!