And that is not an easy thing to do.
However, this week I wanted to talk about a little trick you should consider if your villain is giving you trouble... consider writing an "Am I The Asshole?" style post in their voice to see if it helps you get a handle on them.
And, before we progress, a shout out and a thank you to Dara Williamson for suggesting this trick!
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| I've been brooding about this... guys... am I the asshole, here? |
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No, Seriously Though... Am I?
So, I've got to come clean here, and I'd like honest input from people.
I had a rough childhood. I was raised by a single mother, and I had to get a job as soon as I was able to. Things were hard all around, so when a recruiter came around and offered me a deal that sounded too good to be true I took it without asking too many questions. I spent a lot of time on foreign soil with a weapon in my hand, and I lost a lot of myself there... literally, and metaphorically. But I also met a girl. Things got serious, and even though it was against protocol, she ended up pregnant. I swore to myself I was going to be there for her, and that I was going to do what my father couldn't. Everything went to hell, though, and I lost her, and my kids.
Or, at least, that's what I thought.
I dedicated myself to my position after I got the news that I'd lost them. I can't lie, I went to some dark places, but I told myself it was in the service of a greater good. That whatever the failings of my methods were, they were better than the alternative for everyone.
I recently found out that, despite what I'd been told, my children survived. Both of them had been placed in foster care, and neither of them knew about me, or their mother. I was enraged by that, but at the same time I knew I had a chance to do for them what hadn't been done for me. They didn't know me, but I wanted to open the door for them, and bring them into my life... but I didn't come right out and tell them who I really was. I admit I should have, but I ended up playing coy for far longer than I meant to. My son, who was as headstrong as I ever was, reacted quite negatively when I told him the truth, and offered him my hand. I admit, with my position being what it is, I haven't heard the word, "No," in a long time. I definitely overreacted, and we got physical. I injured him worse than he did me, and while I'm disgusted by what happened, I'm also so proud of what I saw. That fire in him, the courage he showed... it reminds me of better days.
I don't want this to be the only impression he has of me, and I don't want to make the same mistakes with my daughter that I'm making here with him. Other than keeping better control of my temper, and not cutting off my son's hand to win a light saber duel, what can I do here?
I get that I'm at least a little in the wrong, but at the same time I feel like this could still be salvaged if I could just make them see things from my side, you know?
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| I'm doing the best I can as a quadrapalegic war veteran. |
For those of you who have never been to the subreddit r/AmITheAsshole, this is not an uncommon structure for these kinds of posts. You have someone who, from their perspective, seems to be taking reasonable actions. Sometimes they'll even make small admissions that they overstepped or overreacted, but they want it to seem like they're in the right. Or, in some rare circumstances, they're genuinely confused and trying to get outside opinions as to whether what they did was really wrong, or if the other party is blowing things out of proportion.
However, I chose such a well-known villain and story for my example to show something else that is particularly useful for this exercise; ask what your villain leaves out of their admissions. Not just that, but what do they leave out because they don't know, and what do they leave out because it would shape the narrative in a way they don't like. As an example, phrasing this story in a way that (if you don't know) implies that our poster came from a hardscrabble life and joined the military, was deployed overseas, developed psychological problems and likely lost limbs, is not inaccurate. It also lays the groundwork for what comes later. Someone who has survived that kind of life, and then thrown themselves into their position as an enforcer of the will of their empire, is not someone you could expect to act with kindness, empathy, and compassion. Those traits, which may or may not have once been present, have been buried, hidden, and rarely used, leading to conflict and trouble when they attempt to brute force their way through a messy, emotional matter like a family reunion.
What isn't mentioned is that our poster is a person with significant authority in a fascist regime. He doesn't mention that both his children hate that regime so much that they have been radicalized against him, and are working not just against him on a personal level, but against everything he represents. He also doesn't mention any of the murders he's committed, or those he hasn't prevented from being committed. Perhaps they aren't mentioned because they aren't germaine to this discussion. Perhaps it's because the villain is so jaded that he doesn't even register those deaths as people... it's not until presented with individuals who have a connection to him that they become real in his mind. Or it might be that he knows it would make him look bad, so he doesn't mention them, purposefully shifting the narrative to the conflicts between him and his children as individual misunderstandings, rather than matters of a galactic empire attempting to stifle the voices of its own citizens, and leading to a fometing rebellion.
If you've never tried doing this before, consider writing sample versions like the post above. As long as the character in question is capable of thought and written communication, you can write something like this for them. Jason Voorhees, Thanos, Horus Lupercal... pick a villain you know fairly well, and try to present their view of a situation in their own words. And if the exercise works for you, consider trying it with your own villains if you ever have difficulty truly realizing them on the page.
Also, if you're looking for a similar exercise for your other characters, consider Making A Dating Profile For Your Character (Seriously, It Helps).
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