Write
Your Book: Act 06- Nice Guys Finish Last
Story
writing is ridden with assumptions regarding perfect character creation. I am
here to bust another myth in writing your book.
There
is one design concept that goes: “a reader’s sympathy can be gained when the
protagonist is portrayed as a black sheep- the misunderstood everyman”. I would
especially like to highlight this point because it is one that annoys me
personally. It is a character device that is simply overused. The “black sheep”
in this sense, does not refer to the waywardness of the protagonist but rather
the negative, recessive traits.
A
person who has based their entire work systematically on this device is Ken
Akamatsu. However, he is not the only one. There seems to be a growing trend whereby
the protagonist, a man, is scorned my others as a klutz, an idiot, or a
combination of the two. I imagine the idea is to produce a character that is an
underdog and also ‘painfully human’ in their failures. However, what it tends
to do is make the creator’s faults and failings all too obvious.
The
time when we used to feel sympathy for the klutz (or ‘idiot-pervert’ in
Japanese storytelling) is long over. The concept has been exhausted. A
character is usually universally scorned for a reason. There isn’t a silver
lining at the end of it. When a character is an idiot, that should be the end
of it. They don’t have redeeming qualities. For a character-type that is built
around finding new and inventive ways to blunder everything up, redeeming
qualities seem strained. We don’t need to know what a nice person he is. This
effort to induce ‘sympathy’ amongst readers does not sit well with me. Please
do not do this when you write your book.
Write
Your Book: How to spot the Idiot-Pervert
a.)
Described
by other characters as “extremely kind-hearted”
b.)
Has
a “well-meaning” personality
c.)
Luckless
with/ around women
d.)
Gets
into situations whereby he “accidently” sees characters of the opposite sex naked
or “trips” and touches them inappropriately. (Yeah… …that happen A LOT)
e.) Resilient
to taking beatings from female characters. -Taking it like a pro in a
masochistic fashion.
f.)
Makes
the below expression when caught in the act of perving:
It
is important to understand that we are in a new era of dynamic characters. I
have read Manga where the main character is a complete asshole with no
redeeming qualities, save his good looks. But he doesn’t apologise for his
existence. An interesting character does not necessary need to be a good guy.
The idiotic, loveable fool is a tired cliché and has, frankly, become a
soulless character device. Don't do this when you come to write your book.
In the upcoming lessons, I
will teach you how to make realistic characters
with balanced and realistic character traits. (Write your Book)
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