I’ve been writing more fan fiction lately. I did finish the first part of that prequel I promised. Later sections require some editing and refinement before I will be happy posting them. :)
Anyway, it got me thinking about the whole process of writing. Even if you’re just writing a fan fiction, you need to think about who the characters are and that can be a pretty involved process. That is why when some folks are writing something original they base their characters on real people. Many famous authors have done this, sometimes pleasantly, sometimes negatively. But I digress.
He’s going to be in my tale so let’s consider Jadeite from Sailor Moon.
In the anime, he strikes me as a very shallow, sexist, and power-hungry creep.
Here is why; He tended to judge by appearances. If he saw a cute girl, he automatically assumed she was helpless and had no compunction about bullying her - in fact he took pleasure in it! It made him feel better about his situation back in the Dark Kingdom; he was trying to suck up to Beryl but wasn’t getting anywhere.
Did you notice how all his youma had to look good to him as well as to humans? They complied in hopes that Jadeite would favor them. He noticed their efforts to please him and used their feelings to manipulate them with praise and flirtation. A few, like Tethys, proactively flirted with him to avoid treachery. It did not stop him from jumping ship when Sailor Moon and her buddies turned up.
To him, those girls were merely pawns in his game. He acted as though he could not truly love another creature. I don’t think that the bad guys would treat each other well unless they could benefit from it.
The creepy part is that there many people who are quite that mercenary.
His creator seems to have written him as a warning to teenage girls living in Japan because there are people - males and females - who are every bit as manipulative as she wrote Jadeite being.
What creeps me out about him is just how many people that I have seen act like him.
Too many people feel that people and relationships are useless unless they aid in the pursuit of wealth or fame. Too many people seem to find characters like Jadeite or Lelouche Lamperouge of Code Geass clever and wise. Even when they do not view you as an obstacle in their quest, they are not exactly loyal or feel tied down by the relationship if it doesn’t produce the results they seek.
However, there is one thing I would like to acknowledge: Manipulation and charm are not always used to harm. It is merely a tool, something that some folks are taught in harmless endeavors like marketing. Like any other tool, it can be misused. However, it becomes a problem if paired with badly balanced pragmatism.
Either allowing emotions to rule you or failing to listen to your heart are two extremes to avoid.
However, someone who has gotten skilled at charming people and persuading them to do what they want often develops a tendency to not entirely understand that this method can fail, even with the best of intentions backing it. Sometimes, if the person is not entirely ethical, he or she blames their target, whether it is his fault or not, for their own failure when their efforts backfire. Again, I’ve seen this happen time and time again.
Here’s an example of one soul who was harmless though entirely too pragmatic.
Mom had an intelligent friend who was really good at charming people and persuading them to do what he wanted most of the time. He wasn’t a bad man; usually he used his considerable talents to encourage people to be their better selves. It wasn’t weird to see him gently diffuse a potentially unpleasant situation.
However, he sometimes got a bit… put off his stride or confused when Mom didn‘t do or say what he expected her to. He was used to steering the conversations he had with people.
Mom carefully observes what people say and do so she can understand them better. He wasn’t used to talking to someone who paid attention to who he really was.
This guy meant no harm, but his behavior did encourage me to learn to think carefully about a person’s actions before truly trusting him or her. It is really important that people try to look past what someone projects; in other words at his basic attitude and behavior. I believe this is what God means when He said, “By their fruit, you will know them.” (paraphrase)
Incidentally, this is one skill reading comprehension does help someone learn. Thinking about what you’re being told is an essential part of being free. Mind you, this is also true of marching to your own drummer.
Incidentally, this is also true of choosing your friends. Social standing doesn’t mean beans if they will easily betray you! If you observe what they do and say and carefully think about what you noted, you will know them as people much better.
Interestingly, the Bible actually tells Christians to do exactly that. God wants his people to think, but not judge. It is wise to be cautious.
Don’t let the dark ruminations above fool you; this tale is going to be extremely silly. Don't expect anything like what my mother does. I like what she does and admire her, but my stuff tends to be more cutesy and just plain stranger than hers.
That’s why you’ve not seen my fan fics sooner. My old stuff was truly horrible. I didn’t feel like inflicting it on anyone. For instance, I once tried to write a Myst/Harry Potter crossover. It was supposed read like a script. That thing was awful! I especially hated how my dialogue came out. It didn’t help that I was reading Candide at the time. ( That semester, Mom had me studying the Enlightenment and we discussed the great thinkers and their philosophies. I read Candide and some of Divine Comedy to gain a better understanding of Voltaire‘s philosophy. I loved that semester) The dialogue in that turkey sounded very forced, especially after reading the delicate phrasing and clever language usage typical of Voltaire’s writings.
Then again, Mom and other writers say that learning to write a story is like learning how to draw: when you start out you’ll make many pieces you will cringe at later, but eventually you’ll make something you’re happy with. :D
The other part is that what Mom and her friends were doing was truly special and I felt my scratchings didn’t measure up. There were so many kinds of thinkers and artisans in this group. The group that did all of this influenced the world.
Learn from my mistake; if you’re a brand new writer, don't expect your efforts to compare to the marvelous adventures captured on text by a college student who loves classical literature and old legends with all his heart; instead learn from his example!
The only thing that really came out well enough to share from before was a one shot about Harry Potter grieving. (It has a better ending than it first sounds, by the way.)
I just sat down one evening and wrote it after doing my homework and rereading Darnay’s Linking Story for the umpteenth time. I really loved that particular story. It is like being there exploring with the characters. I was thinking about what I really liked about both portions( in this case, Mom’s pacing and the kind of description Darnay used) and decided to see if I couldn‘t learn from their example while using a different theme and working from a different series.
Anyway, there is more to come; this project just keeps growing!
