Written into the corner that I like to cry in...

Do you guys ever write yourself into a corner?

No? Well, f- off.

Yes? Can you help me out of it?

You see recently I decided to change a major plot point in my book by essentially ignoring what was meant to be the final conflict and just continuing writing, since it can easily be erased in edits. (Just so everyone knows I DO NOT suggest this as a writing strategy.)

Now I have the rest of my book pretty much sorted (go me) but I have one problem: motivation.

You see I need to make my very calm extremely low self esteem character angry enough to go and try and kill the person who has been hurting him for ten years or so. Unfortunately, other than not particularly caring for himself, he cares very little about the world as a whole. He cares about two people only, who just happen to be my other MCs. And I refuse to have my two female MCs be damsels in distress while my MC runs to save them.

They need to be in the scene anyways. So, basically, here I am: forehead meet palm.

If you were abused by a sadistic sociopath for ten years what would finally make you snap even after you're living a relativity happy almost vampire free life? (Oh, yeah. There's vampires in there too.) What could that person do to provoke you?

Any suggestions from you wonderfully helpful people on the YA board?

Shady Lane said:

oh man.

Maybe if he did something to signal that the abuse was going to continue forever? Like, if your MC has a mental timelimit on it--"it'll stop when I get to college" or something, and then sociopathman calls the bank and takes all the money out of his college fund? Like, something to that effect. Make it clear that killing him will be the only escape.

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Two minutes, Shades. How do you work so quickly on AW?

I like the idea about the timelimit. That had never occurred to me before but now that you mention it, it does make a lot of sense. Hmmm... *pulls up word*

I think the way I want it to go though is to really have the character just be angry. Something that makes him so mad that for the first time he really wants him dead. Something that ended the time limit to do this... could work. I might have to play around with a few things.

Okay. Long post. Let's take a deep breath *pause* and do this.

Barb D said:

OK, here you go. Your male MC is backed into a corner by the villain. All is lost. Then his female friends come to rescue HIM. Suddenly he has the opportunity he needs (because they are distracting Mr. Evil) to do the deadly deed.

(How's that?)

OR - you could let the female MCs do the killing for him. Because they love him. If that's not too corny.

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I really wish I could have one of the girls kill him but it just wouldn't be as satisfying to me. *sigh*

Keyan said:

Is the victim guy your POV character? If he is, then maybe you could hint all along at hidden depths where he suppresses all his feelings, and then something (like the time-limit) just breaks that barrier.

If he's *not* a POV character, it's a lot simpler: The world is full of examples of apparently passive people who just went berserk and killed someone. It's a mindset in which someone just goes along, and along, and along, never resisting or saying anything, until something triggers it and then the reaction is nuclear.

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He isn't my point of view character. And while the world is full of these people I really did want you to be able to understand his thoughts. You know, for once.

donut said:

Your dilemma raises an interesting point. I mean, you can pretty much see where the "damsel in distress" cliche came from: it's useful for making a sympathetic character irrationally (but still sympathetically) angry. Someone who's only trying to save himself, or get revenge, won't be as easily relatable as someone who is only freaking out because a loved one is in danger. It's just the way our culture works.

Sorry, I know that was supremely unhelpful. I'm suffering from my own plot-corner right now, so I'm not in a good place to give useful advice.

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That's okay, vampire buddy. I still love you.

HeaGrg said:

Since your main character doesn't care much about himself. And I applaud you for not having the damsel in distress. What about having one of your female main charcters rip into your main character. Basically a swift kick in the ass as motivation.

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I could. This could work. Maybe not as a trigger but a build up. Oh my... *runs off*

elissa said:

Somehow he needs to have a sudden revelation that makes him care a lot more about living...about living without being abused. The revelation is....shit, I dunno.

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^See that paragraph?^ Up there?^^ Yeah that's where I am.

donut said:

Maybe he finds out he's pregnant? Or, more realistically, finds out he's going to have a kid? Or already has one he didn't know about? Or... meets a kid who reminds him of himself?

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Unfortunatly if he was going to have a kid it really would have to be my MC that gets pregnant. Although I suppose male pregnancy... :0 No can't do it.

~grace~ said:

this happens a lot.

um, in Law and Order type shows.


it's an "okay, I've put up with this abuse but NOW YOU'RE COMING AFTER MY KID/NEPHEW/STEPCHILD FUCK YOU NO DIE FUCKERFACE" thing.

so like if he sees that evildude is going to abuse someone else, someone young and new and helpless. that might snap him.

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The problem is that he genuinely only cares about the two girls. And they really had to force their way in.

Dreamer3702 said:

I agree w/ Grace.

Something else you might consider in this same vain:

After being abused for over ten years, he would've kind of get used to it. I mean, he'd be able to cope with it to a certain degree. Maybe he could see what a life w/o abuse actually looks like... you could use one of your girl MCs or some other character. Anyway, the threat of that person's abuse-free life being shattered could send him over the edge. Not because she's the damsel in distress and he wants to save that person out of love, but b/c that would be destroying his hope of something better for himself. Which I guess could tie into the time limit thing.

Sorry I rambled there... and I'm not even sure I explained myself well enough. Will someone tell her what I meant to say?

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I think I get where your coming from. Some of this definitely needs to go into it but what I really want is that exact moment where is mind snaps.

o.o Jesus, deranged much? I think I'll leave now.

SOLUTION FOUND!

Okay. Here it is:

Male MC finally realizes his free, that something he never thought would have a good end, happened. Then narrator exhausts her new super abilities and can barely speak let alone walk. Bed rest means Trivial Pursuit and lots of it.

Until (dun dun dun...) over breakfast the group is given a lecture about sadistic personalities and psychological torture. Why? No one knows either until the lecturer shows them the newspaper. Apparently, a teenage girl was murdered and had to fangs super glued in her mouth. Beside her lies a card that says: 'Would the real vampire please stand up?' (My narrator is understandably confused. WTF? Except female MC is a pop culture buff. So she knows exactly what it means and that it was meant for her.)

Stirring feelings of hatred then come to a conclusion when a dvd comes in the mail. One that shows male MC.

Logical conclusion: bad guys must die.

So really BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT saved my book. In the words of Sage holy solution, Batman.

Thanks everyone. Even some help that didn't go into the solution is getting shoved into earlier parts in edits. You guys rock.