Bad Guys
As I writer, I’m fascinated by human motivation. Lately I’ve been really interested in how we respond to fear. A friend of mine said the other day, “sometimes you have to be the bad guy.” That struck a chord with me on several levels. No one wants to be the bad guy. Okay, maybe someone does, but mostly not so much. What makes a person the bad guy? Well, that’s not so easy to define. Maybe you don’t do something that other people very much want you to do. Maybe you say something that someone doesn’t really want to hear. Maybe you get in the way of somebody trying to accomplish something because you think it’s a bad idea.
I’m not talking Hitler here. What I’m talking about is every day life and how a bad guy evolves. When I was a lot younger, I remember reading a quote by Mercedes Lackey that said something to the effect of ‘even evil wizards get up in the middle of the night to eat chocolate chip cookies.’ That has stuck with me a long time because it really points to the idea that the bad guy really doesn’t have to actually be evil (i.e. not wearing the black hat and black mustache and killing kittens because he can.) In fact, such bad guys are really boring.
Bad guys can be very admirable. They can be motivated by truly good things–honor, self-respect, a desire to accomplish something, and so on. Bad guys can also be really good people who fail to act–maybe they can prevent a crime but don’t, maybe they don’t speak up for themselves when they should, maybe they are simply weak in a moment that requires strength.
The point is that bad guys and good guys have a lot in common. And who is who may just depend on your point of view in a given situation. And here’s the thing–People fear being the bad guy. I have a sign in my office that says “you say bitch like it’s a bad thing.” And really, there’s a lot to be said for being a bitch–since often it can mean being the bad guy, the one who stands her ground though other people don’t want her to; the one who holds on to her convictions and follows them though it would be more comfortable if she didn’t; the one who speaks her mind when no one wants to hear.
The thing is, a lot of people are motivated by fear. They are afraid of what other people think. I know I fall into that trap more often than I like. I think we’re trained to be that way in this society. It takes a lot to overcome or circumvent those rules of politeness or playground codes of honor (don’t tattle is one. Why the hell not if that means stopping someone else from getting hurt or abused or a theft from happening and the list goes on). It takes a lot to decide to follow your own choices and code of honor when everyone else doesn’t understand or doesn’t support you. Peer pressure is a terrible weight.
So as I reach the middle of my book and one of my main characters has undergone a terrible event, she’s left with questions about being the bad guy and being the good guy and what makes a person one or the other. She’s not quite sure what she is, given the upheaval she’s undergone and the new knowlege she’s obtained. What she thought was good isn’t any longer, and what she thought was bad seems more reasonable. She’s going to have to make choices and her moral compass is bent and she is full of fear. Fear is not the best basis for decision-making. She may just be the bad guy. And I think I’ll be fine with that. Because more and more I’m coming to understand that in my books, anyhow, the good guys and the bad guys are all the same people and it isn’t until they choose what they will do that you find out just who is who.
- Login Or register To Post Comments
- Send To A Friend
RSS- Bookmark With:
Eric Nichols says:
Here's my concept of a bad guy
I like what you said about bad guys. I have a very different concept of one, however, which I describe fairly tersely in "Vengeance is Mine." An excerpt, for your perusal. :)
Lisa shifted her eyes back and forth a couple of times. "Well, you can start by telling me what this is all about. Just curious, mind you."
Venny nodded. "Okay. It's pretty simple. There's a bad guy in the agency. We have to root him out. He's got a lot of clout. He can make people just disappear. He can make you disappear. He can make me disappear. He can make babies disappear. It's his job, and he's good at it. He's got connections everywhere. We have to take him out. He can't be fixed."
Lisa gasped.
"You mean, like assassinated?"
Venny leaned her cane over her shoulder. "Assassination is a term reserved for human beings, Lisa. This is a simple dismantling. The man has no soul, so there's nothing there to assassinate. He's a defective component that just needs to be removed. In fact, you can't even hate the guy, because there's nothing there to hate. He's a mere utensil. It's our job to remove that utensil."
Diana Pharaoh Francis says:
Nice! But if he's a
Nice! But if he's a utensil, who is the one who uses him? In other words, is there a someone wielding him?
Di
Eric Nichols says:
We'll have to wait and see!
We'll have to wait and see! :)
Diana Pharaoh Francis says:
Well now you're just teasing
Well now you're just teasing :)
Doris Collier says:
On the nose
In listening to the words that you have chosen to describe this phenomenon of being a bad guy or gal, I truly agree. Sometimes decisions have to be made at the spur of the moment that require a definite choice that gives resolution and clarity to a situation. But the choices of bad guys in the past were defined as negative choices and moves that were usually frowned on by society.
And this is not a new thing. When I first heard the term "Who's going to be the bad guy" on a police film, I then understood that the role was not only interchangable, but that the good guy merely had to make that decision to ask the hard hitting-gut wrenching questions. Or in fact do a job that by necessity needed to be done. I do not see where fear plays a part in all of this though, I was always told that there is no love in fear. How could your friend fear a clear conscience, a peace of mind. When we make decisions they have to be the kind that we can live with for the rest of our lives and others. Fear of creating a destiny that we can live with is absurd and if people would make it a general rule that there is a goal at the end of the day to do things that are for what is right and constructive for them, I think the distinction between good and bad would be more obvious.
Brian McKee says:
Good and Bad.
I think you're totally on to something here. I've been studying human nature for my whole life. Well mostly in the last decade or so but you know how life works, you're learning whether you know it or not.
A number of years ago I came to the conclusion that the terms "good" and "bad" were a human invention created by one person to manipulate another.
A "good" guy appears good because his attitude matches our own and a "bad" guy appears bad because his attitude is the opposite of our own.
By quickly labelling people we can justify our reactions. "Oh they're bad people so its okay if I manipulate or use them to my advantage." Some people do the same thing with the term "stupid" like its okay to be disrespectful to less intelligent people.
When I write characters, I imagine myself in their shoes and what I might do if I were them. Its when I see their perspective clearly that I can see how they fail themselves and those around them because of their flaws. Of course its a combination of their poor reactions and their environment that brings them strife. They can only control one of those elements.
My goal is to write a book that is completely impartial. A look into the minds of many individuals resolute in their own understanding and yet completely at odds with each other. I'd like to compose it to be a beautiful train wreck of characterization. The reader knows what's coming but can't avert her eyes because its just so amazing to watch the tragedy grow to completion.
Thanks for the thoughtful blog entry.
Brian
Lise McClendon says:
Being judgmental
A goal to be impartial in a work of fiction seems impossible. Are you writing from the omniscient point of view? Then maybe. But you must make some characters more sympathetic than others. I don't believe in a true villain, that is an absolutely bad character, either. Those characters are from a melodrama. Being judgmental of course is not good, as empathy for every character, as you say, Brian, is necessary. The gray areas are the most interesting parts.
I am reminded of my young son when we were watching "Tora Tora Tora" on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor one year. We had been watching awhile, the Japanese were getting the planes right over Hawaii and starting to drop the bombs, and my son said: "So... who are we going for?"
It is all a matter of point of view.
Interesting discussion!
Lise