"mercuryfoam;c-17620483" wrote:
I'm an amateur in writing so I'm feeling all shy answering this question but here's my take.
Shush! We're all amateurs here :) And your story and characters are so compelling and really pull people in, so you definitely have plenty to share! Don't be shy, teach me your ways!
"mercuryfoam;c-17620483" wrote:
I don't believe in villains. I think they're normal people like you and me but their motives, employed tactics and methods are in opposition with the protag's code or morals/something.
"_sims_Yimi;c-17620511" wrote:
I actually think of them as antagonists – it’s largely a semantic difference, but it’s a big one. I don’t like the idea of “good” and “evil” as objective traits in my stories, and instead think of motivations and desires that can naturally bring characters into conflict with each other. Not because they're good and evil, but because they want opposing things. In my head, there’s three types of antagonists: obstacles, enemies and villains
I actually completely agree with all of this - which is exactly why I said that I don't consider anyone in my story a villain. I think the matter of perspective is key in storytelling, and you can really influence how the readers perceive different characters just by shifting perspective. It always fascinates me how different the same story could look if you were to flip it on its head and tell it through someone else's eyes.
"lone_cat;c-17620515" wrote:
I think most people consider themselves the hero of their own story, and that's true for the villain as well. I write them just like I would write my protagonist.
Definitely! I doubt anyone wakes up in the morning thinking "wow, I'm such a villain, got a busy day of villaining ahead" :D (Ok, maybe villain Yimi thinks that as she commands her gnome army, but that's beside the point here :p ). We all frame our experiences a certain way and tell ourselves stories to justify every action - it's those self-justifying stories that I'm interested in, both in my antagonists and in my protagonists (although who am I kidding, I can't even tell the difference between them :D ).
"_sims_Yimi;c-17620511" wrote:
Can I has pancakes and baumkuchen and blueberries now please? I'm starving. o:)
Oh gosh yeah, please dig in guys! I'm sorry I went off the deep end here, don't keep yourselves from the feast on my account! Maybe
I'm the actual villain here, distracting people from pancake-y goodness :D