Telling rather than showing an MC's "goodness"
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I'd have to go with Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing in the first movie). He has no compunction about blowing up peaceful planets and so forth, but his diction was beautiful, and Darth Vader was clearly his bitch, and how many people can say that?
DennisB
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I've jumped to the end here...
Isn't this ultimately about "telling versus showing?" (And knowing when to employ each?)
It's one thing to say "he uttered not a word as he listlessly ate his breakfast" without describing the taste and texture. It's quite another to just say "she was a good woman."
Ah... but who would write that? Well, a narrator such as Gatsby's Nick Carroway. Then we can see how he was fooled, taken in, swindled (by Jay Gatsby, in this case). But then said subterfuge becomes an integral part of the plot, doesn't it?
Isn't this ultimately about "telling versus showing?" (And knowing when to employ each?)
It's one thing to say "he uttered not a word as he listlessly ate his breakfast" without describing the taste and texture. It's quite another to just say "she was a good woman."
Ah... but who would write that? Well, a narrator such as Gatsby's Nick Carroway. Then we can see how he was fooled, taken in, swindled (by Jay Gatsby, in this case). But then said subterfuge becomes an integral part of the plot, doesn't it?
I hate that as well!
What really irks me is when the book tells readers that the main character is smart, when the character is clearly not.
I so agree. I'd love to see more books that let readers judge for themselves.
What really irks me is when the book tells readers that the main character is smart, when the character is clearly not.
I so agree. I'd love to see more books that let readers judge for themselves.
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I'm still struggling with writing a character who's supposed to be a military genius. I know I have more time to think about the issues than he does, but, ummm.....
I am ALL FOR moral ambiguity.
I don't expect any character to be all good or all bad. I expect individual actions to be good or bad--or both at once. But the character should be a composite of these little bits of good and bad. It should be up to the READER to weigh the good and bad and make a moral judgment. Is a good deed done for bad reasons still good, or a bad deed done for good reasons still bad?
In my recent WIP, the MC is generally a good guy--more palatable to the modern sensibilities than, say, his slave-owning, wife-beating cousin. But he is also slightly self-centered and has a martyr complex. I am open to the beta readers who have said they don't find his attitude palatable. That's fine by me, because I didn't intend for his actions to be universally accepted.
I don't expect any character to be all good or all bad. I expect individual actions to be good or bad--or both at once. But the character should be a composite of these little bits of good and bad. It should be up to the READER to weigh the good and bad and make a moral judgment. Is a good deed done for bad reasons still good, or a bad deed done for good reasons still bad?
In my recent WIP, the MC is generally a good guy--more palatable to the modern sensibilities than, say, his slave-owning, wife-beating cousin. But he is also slightly self-centered and has a martyr complex. I am open to the beta readers who have said they don't find his attitude palatable. That's fine by me, because I didn't intend for his actions to be universally accepted.
Tbh I actually like a book that says 'good guy' and shows that he isn't ( or vice versa) If it's done knowingly, you know? If the author seems aware that the MC is not so good and sets up stuff to show him the error of his ways.
That's what I like to write, Ofc, not everyone will get it...
That's what I like to write, Ofc, not everyone will get it...
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The more you try to write a 'good guy', the less likeable they become because it feels forced, and to be honest, very few people are complete saints. Somebody who is just a 'good guy' is normally going to turn out bland and inoffensive.
If you want to show that a character is good, one big sacrifice can be enough, such as Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. Good characters can still be under lots of pressure and have bad traits but when it comes down to it, they will do the right thing. Characters trying to be good will inevitably fail.
If you want to show that a character is good, one big sacrifice can be enough, such as Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities. Good characters can still be under lots of pressure and have bad traits but when it comes down to it, they will do the right thing. Characters trying to be good will inevitably fail.
If an author tells us that a character is good, they may as well tell us that a joke is hilarious.
That could become the literary equivalent of canned laughter.
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Kallithrix: I fear I may have strayed off topic.
Um, yeah. Back on. . .
Nothin' worse.
Just something to keep in mind, however you render a character, don't overdo it. I've been taken to task for overdoing it--no, I was reamed a new one, and deservedly so, by a writer I greatly admire. After reading one of my manuscripts, he wrote:
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Wow, we have different ideas of "good." I expect a good guy to be a lot below a saint. Okay, she runs into the burning building, when I'd probably run the other way, but that doesn't mean she's a saint. She may be crabby, unobservant, uncaring about others, unduly impressed with herself (like Emma), slovenly, sullen--whatever. That doesn't make her less of a good guy.
On the other hand, if she kicks a puppy or slaps a child, without repenting, she's Evil.
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I used a really saint-y example just because it was the first one to come to mind. Although Carton's not necessarily a saint.
From the sounds of your post, we're in agreement- that a real 'good guy' is somebody who, however annoying/'bad' they may seem, does the right/noble thing when it comes down to it. It then figures that a guy who might behave in a saintly way but when it comes down to it, does a wrong and unforgivable thing, is not a good guy.
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