I had that very thing said to me this past week: “What’s wrong is right and what’s right is wrong.” This was regarding a personal situation where we have definitely been treated wrongly just because some people want to create a much darker yet untrue narrative. You can tell I think like a writer! It’s like the people who love villains in movies, and TV shows. I’m currently rewatching Star Wars movies and while I feel empathy for Kylo Ren and the other assorted bad guys - I don’t like any of them. I feel the same way about the hot genre of suspense and thriller novels - I enjoy reading these books but usually I can’t stand any of the characters. It’s an entertaining genre to read, but I cannot find myself writing that way as I like to like my characters!
I’ve learned, though, that people (and characters) do show their true colors. That old saying comes to mind that you are who you hang out with.
How does it happen, though, that someone takes something wrong and makes it seem right? Is it in the way things are portrayed in the media whether fiction or not? It’s like the plot twists you find in books and movies - some make sense and some don’t. I recently read “The Silent Patient” and it was a good and fun read, but yet I hated the ending twist because I simply didn’t buy it and I don’t really want to re-read the book to see if I missed anything. I also watched the Netflix series with Kristen Bell (The Women in the Window, whatever the title is it’s too long for me to remember) and was surprised when I read a review calling it a comedy - maybe they meant black comedy. Again, what’s wrong is right, what’s right is wrong came into play.
The way things are today, it seems this has taken a jump or really big leap from the page, the screen into real life. I like to draw my plots and characters from real life so it’s no wonder this is showing up of late, like everywhere. Instead of writing despicable characters or using similar type plots in my stories or poems, though, I’d rather choose to look at as a way of trying something with my works in a different way.
I think doing what’s right, whether in real life or not, is always the best option. Maybe that’s an old fashioned way to think or live, but that is what I personally prefer.
What kind of characters do you write about? Do you like your characters? How have you twisted up your works lately?
