After finally conceding defeat and surrendering the books and characters I have loved writing with for years to the 'yeah, you know its rubbish' pile, I've decided to start afresh. Sort of.
Using a creature concept from these tossed stories, I have myself a new story to tell (hooray!). However, the question now presents itself; do I write from the perspective of the 'villain' or the protagonist. I almost always write in first person these days, after switching from third and never looking back, so that isn't the issue. Depending on whether I write from the point of view of the story's protagonist or its misunderstood villain, the story line would take a very different turn.
Writing from the protagonist's point of view would give the story an almost murder mystery feel with inklings of the supernatural, but because this character has not experienced anything particularly magical before, the villain's true identity would not be revealed until the very climax of the story.
However, the story really is 'about' the portrayed villain, which has me wondering whether the tale should be told from her perspective instead. This would give an off the mark vision into her world and allow readers to better understand her motives, perhaps with a little more sympathy.
So, to the point of my ramble, which would you be more interested in reading? Which do you prefer writing, villain or protagonist? Personally, I find a bad guy's (or girl's) perspective more engaging and entertaining to write, since they're often more fresh, but that could just be me. What are your opinions on perspective?
Note: long winded first post, I know. Yes, I ramble. Often.
Using a creature concept from these tossed stories, I have myself a new story to tell (hooray!). However, the question now presents itself; do I write from the perspective of the 'villain' or the protagonist. I almost always write in first person these days, after switching from third and never looking back, so that isn't the issue. Depending on whether I write from the point of view of the story's protagonist or its misunderstood villain, the story line would take a very different turn.
Writing from the protagonist's point of view would give the story an almost murder mystery feel with inklings of the supernatural, but because this character has not experienced anything particularly magical before, the villain's true identity would not be revealed until the very climax of the story.
However, the story really is 'about' the portrayed villain, which has me wondering whether the tale should be told from her perspective instead. This would give an off the mark vision into her world and allow readers to better understand her motives, perhaps with a little more sympathy.
So, to the point of my ramble, which would you be more interested in reading? Which do you prefer writing, villain or protagonist? Personally, I find a bad guy's (or girl's) perspective more engaging and entertaining to write, since they're often more fresh, but that could just be me. What are your opinions on perspective?
Note: long winded first post, I know. Yes, I ramble. Often.
Setting something aside takes a hell of a lot of nerve.