McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
balance of sympathies
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Shecky on June 05, 2010, 03:31:27 PM ---"Bad guys" are doing something that's pretty much reprehensible, but out of a very carefully-researched, intelligently-analyzed sense of "for the greater good" - i.e., some people are going to suffer, but it will improve the life of a much larger section of the population. "Good guys" are opposing the "bad guys" on general principle.
--- End quote ---
That has the problem, there, of finding an example where I personally can make myself see the sides in an equal light; as you may have noticed, I am very much a greater-good sort of person.
the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:
--- Quote from: Shecky on June 05, 2010, 04:22:00 PM ---Watchmen did a fine job with its particular spin on just that concept.
--- End quote ---
I think Watchmen is actually doing something more complicated than that polarity, by a long shot.
I see four moral poles in Watchmen; the Comedian at "nothing really matters so do whatever the hell you like" moral nihilism, Dr. Manhattan at "nothing can be changed so just hang around brooding" existential nihilism, Rorschach at a spurious moral absolutism which pretty much always boils down in practice to "let's go hurt people we think are scum until by chance alone we find a clue", and Ozymandias at pragmatism, which to my mind the text demonstrates as capable of outmatching each of those other poles.
KevinEvans:
My take on it,
Every one is the hero in their own story. My latest task was to find a villain for an upcoming novel that was really able to pull reader sympathy. You know the guy you love to hate...
Possibly you could alternate POVs between sides, with each side pro them selves, to a mostly equal degree. The biggest problem I see is that the reader may become confused.
Regards,
Kevin
meg_evonne:
I suspect you will find a way to be sympathetic to both sides and do well at it. Some really insightful suggestions posted that are excellent. Thank you neofyte and everyone!
Here's my concern... If you succeed, you have immediately drawn lines, defined your characters, set the entire book within the first few pages. Are you concerned you will be revealing too much and thus lose the readers interest.
Since I know your style is equal fairness with the tendency to give good the slight edge, since I know you are an excellent writer, since I know you are always pushing your writer craft skills-- are you considering that your very question you ask, is in fact, your whole point for the work? Instead should you be considering how to flip your characters and the readers from one sympathetic POV to the opposing view that ends up sympathetic at the end?
Uhm, not sure I explained right. By allowing your readers to fall into the easy sympathetic view point vs the other in the beginning you are lulling them into complacency (note not disinterest, but rather a sense of the novel norm). Frankly the more complacency the better. Then through the course of the work have that completely reverse or open the readers eyes to the sympathy of the other view point. It would be an incredible feat of craft skills. Plus you've now made your point about the motivations behind both sides of a conflict as being sympathetic in the end OR the complete switch as you play with the reader's mind and thoughts. Thus making them think? the impact can be mind blowing and incredibly awesome as a reader--if it's done right.
The simplified version of this is the Star Trek (original) with the rock worm thing. A more recent story telling is from a business book on paradigms. It has a business man in a subway on the way home from work--tired, worn out. A harried man with two very young children climb on. The kids have ice cream cones. You know where it's going right? The man is distracted, not attending to the children with loaded weapons in rush hour traffic. You where it's going right? The kids are climbing around, getting in trouble, the business man is ready to blow his cool. Up the tension...
Then it happens and one of the ice cream cones lands on the business man's lap with a plop of messing melting goo. Stage is set, right?
The father rushes to help, far too late, far too little. Ready for the switch?
"I'm so sorry. We just came from the hospital where my wife died."
:-) I absolutely adore that as a modern day folk tale. See the power in it?
So this was a tangent from your main question of making both sides sympathetic. My question, why, when you have the perfect set up to really rock the reader. Let me know how it turns out, okay?
svb1972:
Humanization. lets say you write a book about a fictional US/Russian world war. If you write it from the POV of the Americans and the Russians are almost entirely faceless bad guys. Then people will take a side.
If on the other hand. You portray the conflict from both sides. Humanizing both sides, giving them likable characters on each side. And more importantly, repugnant characters on both sides. Showing that both sides are just as human as the other. That what separates them is politics, and ideology.
You are in fact a 'Greater Good' kind of person. But I'm sure you are able to envision what the other side looks like, and how to characterize it. Additionally, make sure one of your alpha readers is 'not' a Greater Good, but more of a 'Do the Right Thing(R)*' So that you can sanity check your 'other side'.
The key to not having a villain? Is for neither side to come across un-sympathetically. If one side saves orphans and supports widows, and the other wise holds Death Games where homeless people fight to the death for food. That's not balanced :) People will gravitate to one side over the other, absolutely. But if both sides are well characterized and humanized, then people will be made to think about the 'other side'. People on the fence, will think, and your audience will draw in people from both perspectives. And then you can sit back and cackle when people on your Forum Board are having bitter death CAPSLOCK matches about which side is the 'good guys'.
* Registered Trademark Pending.
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