Monday, September 17, 2012

Dodgy Characters

I'm some ways into my novel, when I discovered that my portrayal of characters in the story - most of them based on manipulative relationships - is not realistic. I forgot that no character is coloured only by themselves. That works only in comics... and I guess books. But I can't do that with this. It doesn't work.

The thing that turns me off from any girl, is the world they come from. This book is full of girls.

You see, no person stands alone. They always come from some sort of group or families, friends, whatever.  Having a relationship exclusively with one person is an ideal which is difficult to achieve. And I hate that.

You have to look at social dynamics and politics and whatever the fuck. Look at a lot of girls who parade their couples around to advertise how their vaginas managed to attract dicks. Men and their trophy wives to prove their virility and as a sign of success. It's all politics. Too tiring. Too complicated.

This is why wrestling works. The stories are simple. Two men (or women) enter the ring. One good, one bad. They fight, and one leaves as the victor. A story you could sell many times over, across many boundaries - geographical, racial, social, economical. And it works every damn time.

Most people, I believe, look at relationships and evaluate how that would upgrade or downgrade their social or political standing. Love is a campaign slogan. Marriage, a corporate merger. It's all about the spin. It's all about image.

Is it wrong? I don't give a shit. I'm trying to write a story. About relationships. And how corrupted they are. But all I have to say, I have already said it before. There is nothing new.

I think I have to think of a new story. Something fresh and exciting. I can still use whjat I've written, but in a different format, with a different goal.