A to Z Challenge: H is for Hatred

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!

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H is for hatred:  the feeling of disliking intensely or passionately; to feel extreme aversion for or hostility toward; to detest.

In order to experience hatred, we must first experience love.  The two go hand in hand.  Each are felt at the most visceral level possible.  But, as we age, the intensity of each mellows as we come to understand the complexity of what drives these feelings.  The two become less black and white and more varying shades of grey.  Therefore, hatred expressed in a Young Adult novel will seem more extreme than in an adult genre.

But, no matter the degree to which we feel hatred, it is still consuming.  It festers like a virus, growing, mutating, destroying the good that surrounds it.  Considering how inherent hatred is, it seems like it should be an easy emotion to write, to show, but I’ve found many authors fall back on overused, flat descriptions, or by simply having their character spew the words, “I hate you!”

Thing is, people don’t like to be caught hating.  It comes off as childish and undisciplined for an adult to shake their fist at someone, to spit while screaming, their nostrils flaring and their teeth snarling.  I prefer a more subtle approach. 

If the target of the character’s hatred is present, then, as his heart thrashes and his breathing quickens, only to be caught painfully in his chest, have him stare fiercely with hooded eyes, his jaw clenched, his shoulders rigid, and his neck knotted with tension.  Maybe have him mumble an insult or clearly word something then stomp off without giving his enemy the opportunity to engage.

And in the background, as common sense wanes and senseless contempt grows, show the character’s fixation as he works passively against his enemy.  Have him spread rumors, turn his friends against him, or sabotage him at work, school, or in a social situation, bringing humiliation, shame, and ridicule from all sides, all of which bring his enemy a sense of excitement, especially if he understands all that’s at stake.

A to Z Challenge: H is for Hero

Welcome to Day 8 of the A to Z Challenge

Many bloggers have chosen a theme for the A to Z.  My pledge since becoming a blogger is to post about writing, so for this event, I will being posting about what I've learned about writing a novel.

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H is for Hero:  a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities.  (Dictionary.com)

Though a story’s hero is usually the protagonist, not all protagonists are heroes.  In order to be a hero, the protagonist should be highly accomplished, witty, and colorful.  He needs to jump off the page and demonstrate an inner strength that is both memorable and compelling, all while not being clichéd. 

To be heroic, it all comes down to being likable, supportive, and engaging.  He should embody the moral code of his community and inspire that community to act when it is threatened.  These qualities are important when he gets cut down to size by the enemy.  Sure, he may be imperfect—a human with a chip on his shoulder—but this only gives him room to change.  Turn his affliction into integrity; balance his strength with humility. 

Most heroes are self-sacrificing, forfeiting themselves or their own goals for the benefit of someone else.  This is probably the hero’s most mythic quality, powerfully hitting the reader at a visceral or gut level.  We are able to forgive anyone who is trying to be good.

My novel’s protagonist does heroic things and has heroic qualities, but he’s not really a hero.  He’s too dark and steps way over the line.  But it is his need to be heroic that propels him forward, to atone for his great sins. 

Do you prefer the protagonist be a true hero, or do you like dark characters who struggle towards redemption?