Villains: Are they actually evil?

You know those games you used to play as a child? The adventure games, the role-plays, with the 'goodies', who were absolutely perfect in every way, and the unfortunate 'baddies', of whom were pure evil. The protagonist and the antagonist. Simple enough to understand, and common enough to carry out without too much fuss (although I remember not being too thrilled at having to be the 'bad' guy). At that stage, it's all you can understand. But when you get older... everything changes.

The antagonist in the story is the one that, supposedly, is made to be hated. They're the ones who get picked on in the story and, in real life, in the forums. It's them who commit the evil deeds. They devise the evil plans. Without them, there wouldn't even be a story - because without the 'bad guy', without the plots, it would be, frankly, as boring as watching paint dry.

But, does this make them evil? Pure evil?

The answer is: No. Because, how could something be so terribly bad that their whole mind is overcome with evil thoughts, since the day they are born? With no reason to hurt anyone but for their own sick delight; with no reason at all but for the sake of being evil...

Because the truth of the matter is, that's only possible in children's tales. True villains aren't born; they're made.

Shall I explain?

Once upon a time, they were all children. Innocent. Struggling with life perhaps. I've noticed that many of them have horrible lives - Loki with his 'better' brother, the Master gone cuckoo at just eight years old. The corrupted Sméagol. All trying to cope with what's been bestowed upon them.

But not evil. Not entirely. 

"Why do people always
presume I'm lying?"

Then one day, something happened to turn them around. Or perhaps it was a group of things? Doesn't matter. Now they've sworn war, or revenge, or whatever, and their minds are bent on it. They can't help being what they've been made into. Heck, sometimes I think they don't remember what they were before - their child's life clouded, the memories gone.

THEY. CAN'T. HELP. WHO. THEY. HAVE. BECOME.

Villains are the deepest, and best characters in the world, because they have suffered so much. Sacrificed so much. Become one with their goal. And, believe it or not, inspiring... for doing what they set out to do. For achieving. For dying in dignity.

"It's so far from home."

And that, my friends, is the best thing you can wish for in a character.

So, instead of hating villains (Seriously, who could hate Loki?) fall in love with their personality. See past the defences. Know their weaknesses, and love them for it.

Because villains aren't born, they're made.

Catch you later,

Leyah Rose (Technically and Literally an Evil Person)

Overcoming Writer's Block

(This was written a while back, for http://insideadog.com.au)

As an aspiring writer I like to take inspiration from the world around me and interpret that inspiration into ideas and emotions and eventually, words. Whether they make it into a story, poem or post remains to be questioned, but hey, it’s the thought that counts! (I made you smile there. Don’t deny it)

Lack of inspiration, or just lack of finding it, is called writers’ block and is the bane of every author’s life. Including mine, yours, and every other person who ever learned to draw and put together the symbols that make up our alphabet and our language. So how do you get past this obnoxious disease? What can you turn to for the inspiration that will set your brain and your fingers moving?

Number one priority for curing writer’s block is, of course, looking around yourself.  Inspiration can be found anywhere, in anything. I’m sitting in my kitchen right now, hitting keys on my laptop, and I’ve been sitting here for about three hours trying to think of what to write – which is where the inspiration for this post came from. Looking around though, I can see several ideas that only need a human mind to convert them into stories, like the old photograph of the workmen sleeping on the foundations of what we now call the Empire State building.

What could I create with that? A history lesson, perhaps? Maybe I could talk about black-and-white reading, or people writing stories ‘on the line’ – far-fetched, but it still comes from that picture from so long ago. It’s possible, to say the least.

Talking to family and friends is another option. After asking them for ideas, studying the relationships between different people is an ideal source for inspiration for the types of relationships you want to create with fictional characters of your own. You could also watch public bickers in the schoolyard, confront your worse enemies (socialising with people who dislike literature), or even study strangers’ conversations - though not to the point that it becomes rude, of course.

And, of course, novels are a HUGE source of inspiration. Whether it’s the plot, the ideas, the characters, or the writing style, you’ll find that many of the books you read are inspired loosely from one or many other books and texts. The trick is not to base your story too much around someone else’s – which can be quite hard! (That’s what fanfiction’s for, hey?)

So really, despite all vulgarities, it's actually pretty easy to overcome writer's block, as long as you keep your mind open and your brain thinking about seemingly random things that may become your next bestseller – or your next A+, whichever is appropriate :)

This is Leyah Rose, signing out.