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Ok, I am already sympathizing with dearest Walter! I have a soft spot for hurting heroes or villains for that matter.
Yeah…
Hey, I just realized we don’t really have an emotional hook thus far. We’re forced to remember without any help what Walter went through that made him this way…
Hm. What if he wears a locket that had been his mother’s around his neck, or maybe a piece of lace that had belonged to her in his pocket, and takes it out from time to time to remind himself why he’s doing this? That could be a thing.
Good point.
How about in searching through the rubbish after the terror attack, he finds a large scrap of fabric from his mother’s dress on the day she was killed which he picks up and ever after wears wrapped around his wrist and he will never never explain to anybody why he does so. People asking him about it and his refusal to answer will enforce both his bitterness and our sympathy.
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And then, maybe near the end of the story if he changes, he could give up the fabric as a picture of giving up his bitterness (for some reason I assume he’s going to turn good; am I right about that?)…it could either be something he decides to do. Or he could be forced to used it for something during the climax.
Or, perhaps he could lose it at his lowest point; it could be taken or destroyed.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
Yeah. Okay. I like that. We could do that— the piece of cloth. So does he lose it or give it up?
@Hope— he changes as far as I know. 😛So here’s a question. What makes him change? Is it Alex? If so, how?
I suppose so. I got distracted. I think half our group is too busy with NaNoWriMo to focus on the forum.
We only just got started with this subject though so it’s about time it got resurrected.
let’s start with this. What can you use to drive your bad hero in his badness? Let’s just brainstorm and come up with as many options as we can. We won’t worry about how he got to the position where he/she is, we’ll just focus on what drives them.
To start off, I’ll list a few options.
The obvious one of course is a desire for vengeance. There is a reason two of my top three favorite books have vengeful MCs. Vengeance plots can pack a lot of power, prepare the way for a knock out message, and create a thriller story. This plot is not over used, but it is still well known. I think we can come up with something strikingly original.
Another one is the lust for money. Let’s not jump ahead to Scrooge now. There are other options out there besides a stingy character. This could be someone who loves the hedonistic lifestyle. He gives many gifts but all for his greater glory and pleasure and because he doesn’t really feel the loss he is rich enough. Still he keeps seeking more and more.
Still there is the one driven by passionate love. Consider for instance Ferdinand Mondego (if I spelled that right). Of course, he wasn’t actually a messed up protagonist. He was the villain of the story, but we could change that prototype. The good thing about these characters is that they can create a thick plot real quick.
There is also the character who is driven by the will to live. I think such a character would make a really good protagonist for a story because he is going to face plenty of hardships and is going to be pitiless. He will be despicable in the eyes of the other characters but he himself will be pitied by the reader. He could learn compassion and sacrifice, or honest work or many other things that would make for a great character arc.
So those are a couple options. What are some others?
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Loyalty could be another driving passion. Either loyalty to some old comrade or leader so that the friendship is more important than the bad stuff the other person wants to do. Or loyalty to a wrong cause…or even a good cause, such as justice, but going about it the wrong way/or with no mercy.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
He could be fighting for the right reasons the whole time, just the wrong way. And the good guy opens his eyes to a better way. A Godly way, perhaps.
I love the piece of cloth symbolism bit. That’s really good. Just the image that it brings up in my mind. This toughened, villainous looking man, wearing dark clothes and the classic villain garb. Then on his wrist is this old, faded piece of sky blue cloth and lace that no one dares ask him about.
Goosebumps here.
But what desperate, game changing moment requires a piece of cloth to be sacrificed? Dang, we need to make this work for his shining moment…For How he looses the cloth:
How about Alex steals it from him in order to use it for some great plan of his to help Walter realize what he has truly become. I’m thinking something very Nathan and Davidy. I’m thinking Alex could frame some sort of scenario that Walter would watch happening which would cause him to become very concerned about the situation. Alex could suddenly reveal who the true characters are by bringing in the piece of cloth right at the punch line.
What do you think?
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Oh, that sounds good. And since you guys had Walter kill Alex’s family before, this could be right after that, since that would be Walter’s lowest point in the story. He doesn’t know that Alex is the play director/ puppeteer of what he’s watching, and Alex reveals himself just after the significance of the cloth has had a little bit of time to sink in.
Hey, I like that guys. 😀
So are we outlining Walter’s whole story, or just the parts that mark key points in his development?
Okay.
So what do we have? We have the pushing off point, where Walter’s family dies and he suspects Alex of conspiring to that end.
What did Alex do at this point? Did he just live his life normally and roll his eyes at the accusations, or does Walter put the police on his trail and force him into hiding?
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