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Comment on Guest Blogger Ian Walkley “Character Motivation and Behavior” by Augie

Augie — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:55:48 +0000

Jodie thank you for this fantastic article by Ian, he helps put things into prospective, how the protagonist as well as the antagonist can draw the story further. I love the statement, “Motivations are the playground of the fiction writer,” which makes good reading. Augie Hicks

Comment on Guest Blogger Ian Walkley “Character Motivation and Behavior” by Mary Kennedy

Mary Kennedy — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:51:44 +0000

This is a terrific article, wonderful insights into character and motivation. I love the sentence, “writers are allowed to cheat because it makes for a better story.”

Comment on Guest Blogger Ian Walkley “Character Motivation and Behavior” by Jodie Renner

Jodie Renner — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:22:36 +0000

Great article, Ian! You make some excellent points here. I’m a big fan of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher and I never get tired of his stories. For one thing, the settings are ver diverse, from New York City to freezing North Dakota to searingly hot Texas, from city to countryside to small towns, I learn about different places and the mentality of the people there while enjoying a great story!

I love your action thriller, No Remorse, for many reasons, but also because of the exotic Middle-Eastern setting that’s the background for most of the action.

Oops! Looks like I got off topic – my comments aren’t really about characters or their motivations or behavior. Oh, well…

Thanks for the great food for thought!

Comment on Guest Blogger Ian Walkley “Character Motivation and Behavior” by Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:15:06 +0000

Really well written, Ian. Good job!

Comment on Guest Blogger Stephen Jay Schwartz “Easy come, Easy go”. by Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:04:49 +0000

Great insight Steve, you’ve nailed it. We really have to love this business to keep the faith. What’s the alternative? Quitting? Not an option for either of us.

I’m giving you a cyber high-five!

Comment on Guest Blogger Jodie Renner “Creating a worthy antagonist” by Jodie Renner

Jodie Renner — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:52:08 +0000

Good point, Weldon! To me, a beautiful but evil person sets up more conflicts and contradictions, whereas maybe sometimes I’d just like him/her to be nasty and evil, with no redeeming qualities! Depends on my mood, of course, and how tired I am. Certainly, for more sophisticated, thoughtful writing, an antagonist who’s physically appealing and also has other redeeming qualities is more realistic and more complex, so more intriguing and more demanding for the reader, who has to search within more, perhaps.

Jenni, you also make some great points! I wonder if readers are getting more sophisticated and want to be challenged more, so the trend will be toward more complex, multi-dimensional villains, with more backstory. I like your idea of the protagonist and antagonist mirroring each other, with similar goals and/or motivations. Interesting!

Comment on Guest Blogger Jodie Renner “Creating a worthy antagonist” by Jenni

Jenni — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:39:59 +0000

Nice, thought-provoking post. I like an antagonist with some complexity. It can be interesting when the characters mirror each other – both the hero and the nemesis having similar goals or motivations. I think that in real life, we all face antagonists whose actions are complex and whose motives or goals may be similar to our own. That may be a reason I find multi-dimensional antagonists more satisfying than the cardboard cutouts, if that makes sense? I can relate to something human in the person, and in some ways that makes them even more frightening. Sort of the flip side of the same coin idea.

Comment on Guest Blogger Jodie Renner “Creating a worthy antagonist” by Weldon Burge

Weldon Burge — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:36:27 +0000

I find it fascinating that most villains are portrayed as “looking” evil or menacing, when the best antagonist (in my view) is the one who is beautiful and doesn’t look evil or menacing at all. Going to the Bible, Satan is not portrayed as a horned demon with a pitchfork, but as God’s most beautiful angel. Lucifer literally means “light-bearer.”

I agree with everything Jodie has written here, by the way. Just wanted to throw in the physical description aspect.

Comment on Guest Blogger Jodie Renner “Creating a worthy antagonist” by Jodie Renner

Jodie Renner — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:10:19 +0000

Thanks for your insights, Andrew. You give an excellent example of an emotionally deep, multifaceted villain with Hannibal Lecter. And the villains in your psychological thriller, The Lion, The Lamb, The Hunted are definitely complex, multidimensional and very scary!

Comment on Guest Blogger Jodie Renner “Creating a worthy antagonist” by Andrew E. Kaufman

Andrew E. Kaufman — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:51:40 +0000

Great advice, Jodie. I’m fascinated by villains who are multilayered and complex. And you’re right, stereotypical villains tend to underwhelm. We don’t necessarily need to hate them through and through. Historically speaking, some of the most popular villains in literature have been ones who’ve managed to invoke a love/hate relationship with the readers. Think about it. Hannibal Lechter: a truly repugnant, deeply flawed character and yet on some level, one to which readers were particularly drawn. It’s his complexity that reels us in: evil yet remarkably charismatic and charming. Such an unlikely combination that can’t help but fascinate. These are the kinds of villains I love to read as well as write about.