YouTube, Dailymotion, and Spotify... Challenges and Payoffs

If you're a writer, especially one who stops by this blog with any regularity, then you already know how hard it is to make money in this profession. Especially when it feels like people just don't read books, blogs, and articles anymore, making it feel like you're fighting to keep your head above water with the anchor of the algorithm wrapped around your ankles. But what if you could tell stories in a way that your audience didn't have to pay money out-of-pocket for, but you still got paid at the end of the day? That sounds like something of a miracle, right?

Well, if you've been watching the rise of podcast culture, that's what it seems to be... at a glance, anyway.

So I just read the script, and then money in my pocket?

However, I think there are a lot of folks who try to go the audio route with their tales, and they aren't sure what they're in for. So I wanted to take a moment to talk about my experiences, and to pull back the curtain so folks understand what kind of ridiculous numbers you need to hit in order to pay your bills doing this.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Let's Start With YouTube

The first place a lot of us turn to when we decide to tell stories rather than just writing them is YouTube. And why not? After all, it's the second-most-visited website in the world, and we've all heard stories of creators who made a particular video, or a series, or just got a shout out from someone famous that made them an Internet sensation overnight. We all know it's possible to make a living (and even to make a good living) on YouTube, especially with that many people tooling through the site all day.

Possible isn't the same as probable, though.

First of all, nobody starts out making money on YouTube. Before you see so much as a single cent, you need to meet the site's standards for monetization. That means you need to have 1,000 subscribers, and you need to have 4,000 hours of watched content on your channel before the site reviews you and decides whether or not to share ad revenue with you. That comes out to something like 11.5 hours of content watched every single day for an entire year, just to put that in perspective. You also have to be a viable candidate for the Google AdSense program, and even once you do all that, your videos need to be within YouTube's accepted parameters in order to keep them monetized. And the Google Adsense platform holds your earnings until you hit the $100 mark before paying out, so it could be a while if you have low traffic, or a lot of your videos get demonetized.

That's tough for folks who create content focused on horror, true crime, and anything with adult themes. So even if you manage the extremely difficult task of getting monetized on YouTube, you might end up with videos that can't make you any money no matter how popular they get.

Again, this is doable. But it's a lot more doable if you already have an audience that will find you on YouTube, subscribe to your channel, and help you get over that hurdle. Speaking of which, I create content for the Azukail Games YouTube channel, so if you'd like more audio dramas like the one above, tabletop gaming videos, and related content, come check it out and help us get monetized... we aren't quite halfway there yet, but we're trying to make that a reality in 2023 if we can.

What About Dailymotion?

I have a Dailymotion channel, and if you aren't subscribed to me there you should check me out at The Literary Mercenary. I'm front-loading this so that folks have context for the rest of this section, and what circumstances drove me to this particular site rather than YouTube. Because while I contribute to channels on YouTube, I do that as an employee, or on commission. I don't make content for my own channel there, and I probably never will.

To help The Literary Mercenary keep making content like this, consider leaving a tip, or becoming a patron:

- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theliterarymercenary
- Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/theliterarymercenary

Follow the author's social media for the latest updates:

- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nlitherl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NealFLitherland
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/neallitherland/

Thanks to Gretchen VanHeeren for providing the voice of the lamia!

Background music from Tabletop Audio:

- The Long Rain
- Dark and Stormy
- Dark Continent

Additional Background Music

- The Introvert by Michael Kobrin (https://pixabay.com/users/21039285-21039285/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=10959)

- Cold Mind Enigma by Gioele Fazzeri (https://pixabay.com/users/gioelefazzeri-16466931/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=13553)

- Chasing a Killer by Gioele Fazzeri" />

Why won't I post content on my own YouTube channel, some of you are no doubt wondering? Is it because the monetization requirements are so ridiculous that it's really hard for any independent creator to meet those standards without an absurd stroke of good luck? Is it because YouTube's content moderation tends to demonetize the sort of videos I'd be likely to make on my channel, and the stories I'd want to tell?

Well yes... but it's also that I literally cannot make money there, because I'm not allowed on the Google AdSense platform. I wish that wasn't the case, as it was what I used to have on my blogs for my ad revenue needs. But about 8 years or so ago I was informed that I was being removed from the program without an actual explanation being given. When I appealed I was simply told that my appeal had been noted, but I was still banned.

So even if I made the most amazing audio drama anyone had heard in years, and it drew a massive audience, getting millions of views, all that would do is put money in YouTube's pockets. I would earn nothing from that. And since the whole point of getting onto a platform, and making content like this is to pay our bills so we can keep writing for a living, that seems like a pretty pointless endeavor to me as a creator.

When I started looking for alternatives, Dailymotion was one of the only ones that seemed functional. It has a much smaller user base, and the site doesn't have as many features as YouTube does, but I can tell you that what it does have is a significantly lower bar for entry. In order to become a Dailymotion partner you need to get 1k hits on your videos. That's it. My first video, the weird Western tale Dead Man's Bluff almost managed that all on its own in the first few weeks it was up. Just to be safe, though, I followed it up with a reading of my popular 50 Two-Sentence Horror Stories, which put me over the finish line.

None of my content has blown up big over on Dailymotion, which is frustrating since it also holds your earnings till you hit $100. If you want to help me keep my numbers up, and brighten my day a bit, check out the above story about an Old Testament angel tracking down a modern-day cult of Moloch, and if you like it subscribe to my channel, and help spread the word!

As a final note, you're not allowed to share your content between YouTube and DM, if you were thinking about trying to double your money. You might get a warning from whichever platform catches you first, but it's likely that if you try to double-host your videos you'll simply end up being able to use neither platform.

But What About Spotify?

I have not tried Spotify myself, though I have been looking into podcast platforms for putting together longer-form audio dramas that can be told in seasons. However, I do have some friends who run the Homebrew Shomebrew podcast, which is all about tabletop gaming, and they were good enough to answer a lot of my questions, and give me some insight into what they've had to deal with.

Also, listen to them if you haven't yet!

What sort of challenges are we looking at?

Now, Spotify is not the only podcast/audio drama platform out there. It is, however, the biggest one overall. But you could use websites like Anchor to help distribute and figure out your show so that it's as easy to find as possible. Of the three platforms mentioned here, Spotify has the lowest barriers to entry, especially for folks who want to make audio dramas instead of videos (though you can also upload videos to many platforms covered by Anchor as a feature, in case you had video content made and wanted to keep that as an option). Best of all, though, Spotify doesn't have the monetization requirement the previous two platforms have. So as soon as your episodes go up, bam, it's counting your views and calculating what you'll be paid.

How much you'll be paid might vary, but you don't need an audience of a specific size, or a certain number of streams, before Spotify starts calculating your earnings.

All Right, So How Much Traffic Does It Take?

And now we get to the depressing part. Because being an artist under late-stage capitalism basically means you need rock star numbers just to make poverty wages. This is true for all three of these platforms.

All right... what numbers do we need to get this injection?

I covered this back in Direct Donations Really Are The Best Way To Help Creators You Love, but since a lot of folks haven't read that blog entry, here's the numbers (on average) you're earning when you're on these platforms:

- YouTube pays (roughly) $3-$5 per 1,000 views (when ads get seen, that is)

- Dailymotion varies wildly, my experience is something like .05-.10 per 1k views

- Spotify pays about .04 per 10 streams, or about $1 per 200 streams

Now, of the options presented here, Spotify is definitely coming out the winner in terms of user friendliness, platform size, and actually paying you what you're owed. While the exact rate will fluctuate (this is an average, after all), it's important to take a moment to consider what you're actually making at this rate.

Let's say that you get on Spotify, and you start cranking out material. Maybe you're writing a podcast to tell a longer, inter-connected story, or maybe you're just doing stand-alone audio dramas for people to listen to. Whatever your format of preference is, you're recruiting listeners, trying to get as many folks onboard as you can, and to keep your numbers up. Now we'll take it a step further, and say you have a relatively modest rent. $1,000 a month is not out of the question, especially if you're the breadwinner of your household. How many streams would you need to get just to pay your rent with your art?

250,000. Every month. You would get paid $1,000 for that.

Now, $1,000 a month sounds awesome... but could you pay all your bills for that? Buy food once bills were paid? Could you buy the equipment upgrades you'd need to keep the show going, or pay other voice actors to ensure your content was up-to-snuff going forward? Probably not.

The irony, of course, is that if you draw a quarter-million streams a month, you aren't depending on the payout from your traffic for your bills. If you have that kind of profile, your show will have sponsors. You'll have members of your audience donating to a Patreon, or buying you a Ko-Fi so you can keep the wheels turning. You'll have offers to open a merch store where folks can buy things to ensure your profits stay up, and you can cover your bills, and keep producing the content people like.

That's the Catch-22 of all of this. Because if you're a newer creator, you need that kind of time to build up your catalog, expand your audience, and so on. But you aren't earning any money while you do that. Whereas if you have the kind of traffic that's paying your bills, now you've got people lining up to pour icing on your already iced cake.

So if you have a creator you love, take a moment today to help them out. Trust me, they need all the help they can get.

If You'd Like To Start With Me...

For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Daily Motion Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

No, "Suffer The Children," Is Not Some Secret Sign of Q-Anon Support (A Rebuttal)

For folks who don't follow my fiction releases as closely as my other work, I've been slowly creating audio dramas of several pieces of short fiction over on my Daily Motion channel (which you should subscribe to if that sounds like your bag). The project started with Dead Man's Bluff (a weird Western about a gambler whose past comes back to haunt him), which is a short story out of my collection The Rejects which dropped back in 2020. Since that story seemed relatively popular, I figured I'd follow it up with another story from the collection, Suffer The Children. A modern-fantasy noir story about an angel trying to do his job among the dark hearts of Hollywood, I figured it would be a nice, self-contained tale to add to the collection.

Until Q-Anon people started showing up in the comments. Which is why I wanted to take a moment to talk about this story, what it's actually about, and why I'm disturbed at this particular reaction.

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What Is "Suffer The Children"?

I wrote this short story perhaps 5-6 years ago when I was trying to get into a modern fantasy noir anthology. My story didn't get chosen for that collection, sadly, and I didn't have much luck placing it with other publishers. That's how it wound up in The Rejects in the first place, as that book is an anthology of stories that never quite seemed to get picked up, but which I didn't want to sit on any longer.

What's the story about? Well, the story follows Malachi, an Old Testament angel stalking the streets of Los Angeles. He follows a guy carrying what seems to be a stolen baby to a sketchy building that absolutely reeks of wealth. A cult made up of big-name executives, highly-paid entertainers, and others are there, worshiping the god Moloch. The baby is to be the latest sacrifice made by this newest acolyte. Malachi manages to invoke old laws, and make a point that there are certain lines that are not to be crossed, while avoiding an all-out war with another god whose worship extends back to the time when the world was young, and many powerful entities walked the earth.

Every time you save an innocent, you get a new feather on your wings.

Ideally I wanted to dip a toe into the water to see if Malachi was popular enough as a character (and if folks wanted to see a modern fantasy setting that focused on Middle Eastern gods and mythologies rather than the usual Celtic, Norse, etc., gods that permeate the genre) to warrant writing novels about. Since The Rejects is a relatively small short story collection that hasn't gotten a lot of reads and reviews, I figured that making an audio drama version of this tale might breathe a little life into Malachi and get folks interested in more of his adventures.

Then The Q-Anon People Arrived

If you don't live in America you may be less familiar with the political movement/crackpot conspiracy referred to as Q-Anon. An extremely truncated version is that an anonymous person claiming to have/be a secret source in the United States government started dropping tidbits of information they claimed revealed deep-seated wickedness not just in the government apparatus, but around the world. The conspiracy reads like a greatest-hits of the most unhinged ideas that people have ever believed in America, rolling up the remnants of the Satanic Panic, The New World Order, antisemitic conspiracies like the Protocols of The Elders of Zion used by the Nazi party during WWII... basically, if you can find something absolutely absurd that Americans have used to make themselves feel in on some kind of worldwide secret, its DNA has wound up in the Q-Anon movement somewhere.

Buried in a lot of the various parts of this conspiracy is an obsession with protecting children. Not in real, meaningful ways like backing policies that would improve schooling, or fund community centers, or ensure that school lunch is free to all, or preventing school shootings, though. Rather, Q-Anon uses children as victims of extreme situations that are just as absurd as the monsters in most fantasy novels. Perhaps the most ridiculous of these is the Adrenachrome conspiracy theory, which posits that leaders of the Democratic Party, so-called Hollywood elites, and others who aren't aligned with Q-Anon's politics, kill children in Satanic rituals in order to harvest their blood, and then either drink or inject it in order to keep themselves younger and extend their lifespan.

This conspiracy theory states, with a straight face, that anyone who isn't ring-wing enough in their political believes is a literal devil-worshiping vampire. I could not, in my wildest imaginings, come up with something that utterly ridiculous... so I'm more than a little annoyed that this seems to be the crowd that was most responsive to my story.

Moloch Isn't The Democrats... It's Capitalism

Judging from the comments folks were leaving, they completely misinterpreted the symbolism I was trying to go for, and what was being said in this story. All they seemed to see was that an angel (which they identified as a hero) kicked open the door to a cult meeting, killed a guy who had kidnapped a baby to sacrifice it, and then left, saving that kid from a grisly demise.

And that does happen... but it seemed like a lot of their takes were that this was a, "Hollywood is full of groomers," story, or, "Yeah, show those liberal elites that God is coming for them," story. It is, to be very clear, neither of those things. What it is however, it an indictment of capitalism, the power of the wealthy, and how most of those who abuse their authority are never punished for their actions.

You know, noir shit.

Rank has its privilege, as the saying goes.

I could have set this story in Chicago or New York just as easily as Los Angeles, but I chose it primarily because L.A. is one of the cities with the richest history of noir stories, and because a literal angel in the City of Angels amused me. I did not choose it to make some statement on the so-called liberal corruption of Hollywood, and how it's a godless place that's lost its way.

Is Hollywood corrupt? Absolutely! From abuse of performers, to sleazy backroom deals, to the exploitation of children, Los Angeles is famously corrupt... and that's just in the real world. But that corruption doesn't just come out of nowhere. It is, by and large, caused by pursuit of the almighty dollar. It's caused by people trying to take land, to exploit their workers, by always trying to double-cross someone in a business deal, or to get special exemption for their particular sins. The very reason Hollywood is the center of the American film industry, after all, is because people making movies didn't want to pay Thomas Edison the fees for using his camera, so they set up on the opposite coast and told him to come and get it if the money meant so much to him.

But back to the story.

Who is Moloch? As a god, he's a king that gives wealth and material success to those who sacrifice to him. In the old days this was rain, crops, and good animals, but in the modern world it's become gold, record deals, movie contracts, and high-yield stock portfolios. And people who come to him sacrifice children for his favor... but the driver Malachi is following isn't one of these elite. He isn't some hungry young star trying to make a name for himself. He's a down-on-his-luck social worker kidnapping kids to try to trade them for a step up the ladder.

It's a single, throwaway line, but in it we see a lot about the L.A. that Malachi lives in, and how it isn't too far from the one in the real world. We see that social workers aren't well paid, and that they don't have either upward mobility in their field, or any kind of guarantee on basic necessities. We see a system so overcrowded by orphaned and unwanted children that when they go missing no one seems to notice or care. We see a world where people are desperate, and where if they lose their jobs there's nothing to stop them from ending up on the street before they can try to get back on their feet. We also see that it's the guy on the bottom, the one who didn't have the money, resources, or prestige, who gets punished when he gets caught by an authority figure. The rest of the cabal did far worse than Manny did, and while they might be scared of what Malachi could do to them, they know they're functionally untouchable. They have the protection of their king, and angel or no, Malachi can't take that head-on even if he might want to.

Moloch represents a corrupt hierarchy of wealth, and those whose power insulates them from the consequences of their actions. He's capitalism, and the way that those who climb high enough in the pecking order are basically above the law more often than not. It represents everything an angel of the lord should be against, given how the gospels demanded giving away wealth, feeding the people, caring for your neighbor, and loving one another.

So, if that sounds like the sort of thing you'd get a kick out of, give the video a watch, and subscribe to my Daily Motion channel! These things are hard as hell to put together, so getting the numbers to justify the time and energy to put together the next one would help. And if you find yourself in the market for even more audio dramas, check out the Azukail Games YouTube channel where I've got 20 some-odd more of them for your listening pleasure!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Why This Twitter Fiasco is a Problem For Authors

Anyone who's been paying attention has likely noticed the absolute trash fire that is Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. If you aren't paying attention, a guy with an obscene fortune paid billions of dollars for a website that wasn't worth the price tag, proceeded to take a sledgehammer to the machinery that made it run at all, and now that users, staff, and advertisers are abandoning him he pitches daily temper tantrums about why no one is praising his very good business brain.

Thought Slime did a breakdown of the timeline, for folks who want more details, and I recommend checking it out.

But what does that have to do with creators in general, and authors specifically? Well, I'm glad you asked, Internet, because thanks to this one obscenely wealthy jerk, a lot of us have taken a colossal hit regarding how we earn our livelihoods.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

When Rich People Flap Their Wings, Creators Get Screwed

There's a lot of folks out there who probably think Twitter is stupid. That it's a useless platform they see no value in, and that the idea of some rich guy tanking huge parts of his fortune just to buy the blue bird site before ruining it and losing his investment is pretty funny. And on the one hand, I can see that perspective. However, there is another perspective that I think more people should understand. One that, if this affected you or someone you love, you would be profoundly angry about. The sort of angry they write coal miner protests songs about, where the strikers pass around ammunition and picket lines become firing lines.

We could use some more songs like that for the digital age. Just saying.

Now, Twitter has never been one of the top dogs in social media. It's been one of the top 10 sites out there, but it doesn't have the reach of Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Reddit despite all the times it shows up on the news. However, for all the negatives and hurdles it presented, Twitter was a reliable place for people to find and build communities. This is particularly true for authors, RPG creators, and other types of creative professionals. There are some people who had tens of thousands of followers on Twitter, and who used it as the preferred way to interact with fellow professionals, or to get word out about their latest releases. In some cases people had put years of careful effort into building up their following there. I've personally spent the past year and a half trying to build my following there, and I was just about to hit the 2k mark. Some of the folks I know who are more active there have audiences in the 10k and 25k range of followers.

And now all of that time and energy has been kicked in the teeth just because some guy with more money than sense bought the website as a flex, and has proceeded to piledrive it straight into the ground.

So all of that investment put in by hundreds (if not thousands) of creators? A lot of it is bleeding out as Twitter hemorrhages users. In the short-term this means that they're losing the ability to reach people, which means they are losing the ability to sell books, and pay their bills. Long-term, these same creators now have to dedicate whole swaths of new energy to completely rebuilding and retooling their market approach to try to get on a new platform. Which can be extra hard, given that the strategies that worked on Twitter aren't likely to work on Facebook, Discord, Hive, Mastodon, or any of the other places folks are being forced to go.

This Wasn't a Wildfire. This Was Arson.

Platforms die, and empires crumble, that is the way of the Internet. However, Twitter didn't die due to changes in environment, or some organic evolution of the digital space around it. It is actively being killed by the buffoon in charge who seems bound and determined to cause as many problems for everyone as he possibly can. From firing important members of the staff, to refusing work-at-home policies for disabled employees, to not paying rent as a cost-cutting measure, the ever-lengthening list is getting cartoonish at this point.

Will Twitter continues to exist in some form? Maybe. If it doesn't, will other websites rise to take its place? Sure, eventually. However, if you're just trying to run a business, and the new landlord drives a truck through your shopfront before setting everything on fire, and then turning around to take a leak on the ashes, you're well within your rights to be pissed off about these circumstances. Especially because after doing all that, the jerk has the audacity to demand that you start paying rent for the digital real estate he's actively destroying.

Now that I've ripped out those support beams there's so much ROOM in here!

There was no reason for this to happen. But it has. And people who are stuck in this one-man-made disaster need what anyone caught in a serious catastrophe needs... help.

So if you hear creators struggling to get back on their feet, and you like what they do, help them out as best you can. If you have the budget to support, pledge to Patreon or buy them a Ko-Fi. If you don't have a budget, follow them on the social media platforms they've migrated to. Share their posts to help spread the word, leave comments, and do what you can to get them noticed again.

This isn't a matter of, "You just need to work harder!" That's what Musk said to the remaining programmers after he fired half the staff as overhead. These creators already did the work... now they need help rebuilding. Otherwise it's very possible their stores, projects, channels, and more are simply going to cease to be.

Something to keep in mind.

If You'd Like To Start With Me...

For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- My Daily Motion Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Writing Rational Characters (Notes From Windy Con)

With all the things that have happened since mid-November, I haven't yet had a chance to touch on some of the pearls of wisdom I brought back from this year's Windy Con. In particular, though, I wanted to share some of the really good points that were made at my last panel of the convention, which was titled Writing Rational Characters. Because it sounds simple... but there was a lot that got covered in the 1-hour time limit we had.

Some of it was depressing, but we soldiered through it.

Before we get into it this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What Makes a Rational Character?

While there were a lot of things brought up in the early part of the panel (Ayn Rand's name got thrown around, for example), we all reached a mutually agreed-on definition of rationality when it comes to characters in fiction. In short, a rational character is someone who, using the information and resources they have access to, takes sensible steps to achieve their goals.

Note that the goals of a character don't have to be rational... merely their efforts and actions for reaching those goals.

For example, a character might have the absolutely batshit goal of destroying all life on the world. This goal might be because they are a servant of the god of death and they hope to usher in their lord's victory, or because they believe that pointless suffering of billions can be ended by allowing all of them to ascend to a deserved afterlife as martyrs, but their goal is still the annihilation of all life. That doesn't make them irrational, as a character, as long as they take sensible steps toward actually achieving this goal, and reaching their victory condition.

It does probably make them the villain of your story, though.

Lessons From Reality

A topic that we kept circling back to on the panel was that people, by and large, aren't rational beings. We hold a lot of beliefs that don't make sense, we act out of pure emotion, or we can end up believing some truly out-there nonsense.

This is where we get to that, "according to the information they have," caveat that was mentioned earlier. Of course, "the information they allow themselves to believe," might be a better way to put it.

We had to account for some kind of variable, after all.

Let's take a look at some real-life villains for a moment. The fossil fuel industry has known for about a century or more than their product is causing problems with the environment. They also know that their product is limited in supply, and that even if everything else was going well, it will run out. Knowing this, it seems like the smart move, the rational move, for those who run these companies would be to transition to green, renewable sources of energy. This preserves the planet they live on, it acts as a good PR move, but it does something else as well; it sets them up as the new source of energy that they can literally make forever, turning it into the closest thing to an infinite money machine.

Yet for decade after decade, these companies didn't do that. Instead they spent buckets of cash on disinformation campaigns, on political lobbying, and on suppressing competition. Looking at the big picture, this seems like highly irrational behavior. However, just as with characters in our stories, we need to ask what information characters have, and what they allow themselves to have.

Take our Captain Planet villains. Are they indifferent to the harm their industry and product does, because they're going to be dead long before that bill comes due? Have they bought into their own propaganda, simply not believing any of what scientists say? Do they see a disconnect between that disaster and their job, since they only look at sales figures, or marketing, and thus they're insulated from it? Have they been trained so completely by their own culture to view competition and success in business as the ultimate goal that they simply do not see anything outside of bigger profits, bigger numbers, and who's winning in the stock market?

These things don't make a character inherently irrational. However, for the audience to recognize them as acting rationally, they also need at least a little insight into the character's views and perspectives. The same is true of characters who believe ridiculous conspiracy theories, or who suffer from religious delusions; their actions might seem monstrous, unhinged, or counterintuitive, but the audience needs to know what the character's framework is in order to decide whether or not they're rational.

Characters Aren't Required To Be Rational

The conclusion I reached, and which I felt was important to mention in the panel, is that characters don't have to be rational. Whether we're talking about villains like the Joker, or the shock troopers of a hate mob in your detective story, individuals aren't required to have a cogent set of beliefs that make sense to other people.

However, stories are generally supposed to be cleaner, and more orderly, than reality. Because there are hundreds of examples from our real-world history that would have readers rolling their eyes if they showed up in novels instead of textbooks. While rational characters are certainly a concern, you also need to ask what makes for the best story, what is going to feel like it fits within the conventions of this genre, and what actually follows the plot you laid out.

So I want to end this article with the same piece of advice I ended the panel with. Random chance can always make things harder for your characters, but it should never fix things. So as long as irrational actions, thoughts, and beliefs actively make things more difficult, you're on the right track!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!