Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Blogging Challenge V(engeance)

I hate vengeance, petty vengeance that taints and spoils until the seeker's life has become so twisted and dark the character's life has been wasted, a life full of missed opportunities for something rich and worthwhile. I compare vengeance to putting a little bit of dog poop on a pan of brownies. It's just a little bit of crap, but it ruins the entire batch.

So how come I love Inigo Montoya
(besides the obvious reason that Mandy Patinkin is dang cute)?

I like the sweet justice (call it vengeance if you like as I won't split hairs) when the bad guys get their just desserts. The injustice is corrected and the victims/survivors can move on with their lives. But even Inigo questions at the end of the film what he'll do now he's gotten the justice he sought for his father's murder.

I doubt I'd be able to spend much time writing a significant character or protagonist that was stupid enough to run around seeking petty vengeance. Those people irritate me in real life and bore me stupid in fiction.

In terms of writing, how do you deal with your own biases / dislikes?

13 comments:

  1. I bet you were gutted when Mandy Pantankin left Criminal Minds! And yes, he is cute!

    You question has certainly made me think. I don't think I have many biases or that they creep into my writing. But maybe I just haven't been aware of them until now? A lot to consider.

    Ellie Garratt

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  2. I don't mind a vengeful character though I wouldn't tolerate this type of person in real life. I find that what I have a bias in real life, I can overlook in certain characters...weird.

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  3. Who doesn't love Inigo?

    You know...I think I've used some of my writing to explore my dislikes and biases and come to a better understanding of the other side of them. Sometimes if there's a subject I don't like, or that I feel like is overdone, the challenge to myself becomes to see in what way I can write it.

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  4. who couldn't like Inigo? lol. I can deal with a little vengeance as long as the character, like Inigo, has more to offer along side that.

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  5. I don't have an answer to your question, but I love this post and I love your choice of example! It made me smile :)

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  6. It's hard, because they always tend to creep in, don't they? I try to remind myself that it's the character doing the acting, not me!

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  7. Wonderful post, fantastic example. A little vengeance is okay, as long as the character has depth.

    Who doesn't love Inigo? Everyone does.

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  8. Oh, I don't think most writers are very good at keeping their personal biases out of their writing. You can't help but look at the world the way you look at the world. Agendas don't work, though. Or messages, or preachiness. But if you work your personal bias into a story and take the time to counter it with some balanced attitude, people will make their own conclusions without being turned off.

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  9. I love Inigo Montoya! I don't think you ever leave your values behind when you write. If you tried to write a vengeance story, your feelings would come through no matter how you try to hide them. But I think that's a good thing, not a bad.

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  10. I never thought about it, but you're right, it would be so easy to sneak a personal vengeance into a story. It's probably not a horrible idea, but I can see how it could ruin perspective, never mind causing pain to the real-life target.

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  11. Vengeance is an interesting topic, but what I will say is that Mandy Patinkin is ABSOLUTELY dang cute :)

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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  12. Love Inigo Montoya. And his vengeance wasn't petty in the world of Princess Bride. I know what you mean. If the protagonist isn't trying to stop evil, but perpetuate violence, I'm not interested.

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  13. I can see you've put a great deal of work and thought into your posts.
    Thanks for visiting mine, too and for your kind comment.
    Kathy at Oak Lawn Images
    http://oaklawnimages.blogspot.com/

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