I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but I think it’s
important enough to repeat: In Writer Magazine, novelist Diana Gabaldon was
asked why writers often don’t get their villains right. Her answer, in part:
“First, there is a squeamishness that leads people to be superficial and stereotypical because they don’t want to go deeply into them…The corollary to that is, of course, that they’re not accepting the villain as being a wholly human person; they’re thinking a villain is something other. And they’re not.”
Here’s the crucial statement:
“You do have to accept them as actual human beings and also as parts of yourself, which is where the emotional honesty comes in.”
I think that being willing to step into the dark space of your self is what distinguishes the outstanding writers. Not comfortable, but essential.
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