“I like not fair terms and a villain’s mind.”–William Shakespeare
I was an English major when I first attended college. I switched degree programs, after one year in.
I came to a negative, self-defeating conclusion, adopted a quitter’s mentality, and convinced myself I’d be better off studying something else or investing time in something different. Something more beneficial, and realistic.
The only thing you can do with an English degree, is teach English, become a journalist of some kind, or write stories that may, or may not, make you money. Are you willing to roll those dice?
So… why did you sign up for this degree program in the first place, idiot?
I like to read, write silly stories, and learn “stuff”. It makes sense, in context. Right?
But… English? Come on…
I don’t know… Less math? Shut up!
When I hit that stumbling block of doubt, I changed my degree over to something else. Felt a little safer.
And, if I had a time machine, it would be the one and only thing I would change in my life. I would have finished that damn English program. It’s my only regret (other than the childish, stupid things I did in my youth).
However, during those moments of English classes: dissecting Beowulf, engaging in specifically themed story writing exercises, chatting about the classics, working in small groups to complete a writing task, I grew fond of Shakespeare. The above opening quote, is one of my favorites.
It’s the backdrop to everything I’m engaged in.
The hero/villain dynamic in my universe, might be a bit different than what most are accustomed to. I wanted to create something that altered some of the stereotypical hero/villain definitions to the best of my personal ability. What truly motivates the protagonist, and antagonist. Are they interchangeable? Could, or can they be one in the same? At what point can something be classified as true evil? Is there a fine-line where all the wrong things can be done, for all the right reasons? Does “gray area” truly exist? Does it always boil down to perspective, and a subjective view of individual reality? How far is some one/thing willing to go, to get what they want, need, desire, envy…
These are areas I like to loosely explore in my writing. In an adult, science fiction setting.
In order to fully explore, I had to create my own cosmic version of, the Silmarillion; Tolkien’s bible of Middle Earth.
Its rough. Nothing overly defined. Very generic. Just a way to keep track of the story in its entirety.
My own historical database. A time-line which ultimately dates back to the creation of the elemental forces, at the first phase moments of cosmic expansion, based on mainstream teachings. A celestial series of events where a physical object, smaller than a molecule, was stretched out 62 trillion miles long. A span of 10.6 light years.
Roughly around the Inflationary Epoch (give or take a few million years of course).
It was the only way.
I needed my villain to be specific. Nothing cliche, over done, or semi-familiar. Clearly defined motivations. A unique backstory. In order for me to complete this task, I had to go back to the beginning.
I’ll stop there. I close this one out by saying, I may have had more fun with the villain, than the “hero”.
Discovering the hero’s intentions and overall reasoning, can be simplified. “Defeat the bad guy. Win the day.”
The villain’s motivations can be a bit tricky.
It doesn’t have to be right, or fair… just honest. I enjoy the villain’s mind.
Feel free to follow a character’s personal journal entries, at my Facebook page, if you want to lurk behind the scenes and casually read up about some brief daily occurrences. I’ll be posting there once a day, up until the day of the Surrender Game pre-orders. If you wish to follow along, here is the link… Hope to see you there. https://www.facebook.com/JereMorang/
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