100 things, writing, negative characters
May. 6th, 2012 02:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jana_denardoDecided to forgo the banner for this. A quick look at writing characters.
Negative characters can make for very interesting reading but they do need to be handled carefully, more so than other types. Too negative and the reader is turned off. Negative for the wrong reasons might strike a bad chord as well. I just set a YA novel aside because the two main characters are so very negative. Now, there are very good reasons for them to be negative, one afraid of disappointing a dominant father and the other has lost his father. However, there is no balance to this negativity. It just sucks you under, leaving you no reason to really root for either character.
With any character there has to be reason to root for them, even more so when the character is a walking bundle of negativity. In my non-erotica writing, I’ve written negative characters and I’ve hopefully given them things that make them interesting, in spite of their personality quirks. I have an ex-soldier who is struggling to reconnect with his family and a boy who was a victim of a fire who is fiercely devoted to his people and I’m hoping those balance the darker aspects.
Pessimism can be tiring. I have friends whose every post is negative. I’ve been that friend and I’ve made a conscious effort to balance out the bad with something good because I know how draining that is to read. After a while, you’ve sucked up as much negative as you can. So how do you balance it?
I’m sure that question has many answers. So far, for me, it’s in giving them a multifaceted life. Giving them hopes, goals, other people to interact with helps to bring them out of the bubble of negativity.
In my erotica writing, it occurs to me I haven’t really done a truly negative character yet. Aaron, the protagonist in the novella I’m close to finishing, is a little negative thanks to the bodily harm he suffered in Iraqi. That said, I’m not sure he qualifies as a negative character. He fights hard against the negative aspects of his life. Luc, from Crisis in Faith and the yet untitled vampire novel, also hovers around the negative edge.
In some ways it would be easy to do a bitter negative character in gay erotica. There are so many obstacles to overcome, so much prejudice to face that it would be easy to get angry at the world. I haven’t really dealt that much with it, mostly because I’m not sure I want that much badness in my headspace as I write.
Also, in erotica, you really need a good reason for the bitter character’s lover to be with someone who carries tons of negativity. There are a myriad of reasons why one would be but it needs to be addressed if the characters are to be believable, at least in my opinion. The negative character can be tricky yet fascinating to write.
Negative characters can make for very interesting reading but they do need to be handled carefully, more so than other types. Too negative and the reader is turned off. Negative for the wrong reasons might strike a bad chord as well. I just set a YA novel aside because the two main characters are so very negative. Now, there are very good reasons for them to be negative, one afraid of disappointing a dominant father and the other has lost his father. However, there is no balance to this negativity. It just sucks you under, leaving you no reason to really root for either character.
With any character there has to be reason to root for them, even more so when the character is a walking bundle of negativity. In my non-erotica writing, I’ve written negative characters and I’ve hopefully given them things that make them interesting, in spite of their personality quirks. I have an ex-soldier who is struggling to reconnect with his family and a boy who was a victim of a fire who is fiercely devoted to his people and I’m hoping those balance the darker aspects.
Pessimism can be tiring. I have friends whose every post is negative. I’ve been that friend and I’ve made a conscious effort to balance out the bad with something good because I know how draining that is to read. After a while, you’ve sucked up as much negative as you can. So how do you balance it?
I’m sure that question has many answers. So far, for me, it’s in giving them a multifaceted life. Giving them hopes, goals, other people to interact with helps to bring them out of the bubble of negativity.
In my erotica writing, it occurs to me I haven’t really done a truly negative character yet. Aaron, the protagonist in the novella I’m close to finishing, is a little negative thanks to the bodily harm he suffered in Iraqi. That said, I’m not sure he qualifies as a negative character. He fights hard against the negative aspects of his life. Luc, from Crisis in Faith and the yet untitled vampire novel, also hovers around the negative edge.
In some ways it would be easy to do a bitter negative character in gay erotica. There are so many obstacles to overcome, so much prejudice to face that it would be easy to get angry at the world. I haven’t really dealt that much with it, mostly because I’m not sure I want that much badness in my headspace as I write.
Also, in erotica, you really need a good reason for the bitter character’s lover to be with someone who carries tons of negativity. There are a myriad of reasons why one would be but it needs to be addressed if the characters are to be believable, at least in my opinion. The negative character can be tricky yet fascinating to write.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-07 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-06 08:43 pm (UTC)There are only two books I have started and not finished in my life. One, because it was dead boring and the author was heading off on another tangent that I just couldn't care about if I tried; the other because it just became a depressing weight that just kept getting worse. Needing hope is important, as is the balance. Otherwise escapism back into real life might be more on the cards.
Well said! I enjoyed reading this. Glad I friended you for the 100 comments. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-05-07 02:28 am (UTC)That said if I've bought the book I will finish it.
I'm glad you liked this. And cool. I looked at your user info and thought that might be why. I'll have to remember to friend you back.