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There is a phrase that I picked up somewhere and integrated into my life. It helps tremendously with interpersonal relations, but it works for writing as well: Nobody is the villain of their ow...
Answer
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T08:55:04Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36436 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
Tom
·
2019-12-08T08:55:04Z (almost 5 years ago)
There is a phrase that I picked up somewhere and integrated into my life. It helps tremendously with interpersonal relations, but it works for writing as well: > Nobody is the villain of their own life story. Everyone, even the outwardly most evil person, has some internal logic behind their actions, and could probably explain to you why they are actually the good guys. It doesn't matter which Hitler, Stalin or today Warlord, Terrorist or from history, tyrannical king, child-abusing pope you pick - inside their own minds, they have good reasons for what they do and the best intentions. This will be true for your unlikeable character as well. I believe what your tutor means is that unless that core belief shines through somewhere, your character will feel Hollywood-style one-dimensional. There is going to be _some_ angle to his story where he can rationalize himself as being right, just or at least doing-what-needs-to-be-done-for-the-greater-good.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-05-25T12:04:16Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 4