The Existence of Evil and its Contribution to Character Development in Fiction

     I was talking with a friend of mine. He's an interesting character. He's in his mid 60s, set in his ways, and his views on life are always good for an interesting conversation. He's scientific in thought, kind of straight laced, usually level headed, but pretty passionate about what he believes in and what he doesn't. He doesn't believe in the existence of evil.

     "The idea of good and evil is a religious based idea", he told me.

     I nodded, somewhat agreeing. I grew up in a loosely religious based home. I grew up believing there was good and bad in the world, a distinct line separating the two.

     The conversation rose from the topic of the television show Boardwalk Empire. We are both fans of the show and I asked him what he thought about Nucky Thompson. In case you don't watch Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Thompson is the protagonist, a politician/gangster in Atlantic City during the height of prohibition and the corruption that rode along with it. In season three Nucky becomes a little more crooked, violent, and a little less likable. I was in season three. My friend was still watching two.

     My friend leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together, his expression squinting with thought. I knew I was in for more than a shallow opinion of character.

     "The interesting thing about Nucky Thompson is that he is neither good nor evil," he said to me.

     I explained to him about Nucky in season three without too many spoilers. I did agree with his character analysis of Nucky to an extent. As humans we all struggle with being good and bad.

      My friend went on to explain that people are neither good nor evil, we are what we are by nature. Everything we do is an extension of something that has happened before. We behave by how the neurons fire in our brains, which is manipulated by both genetics and things experienced. I understood this. My degree is in psychology, but his explanation still didn't tell me why he didn't believe in evil.

     I asked him, "What about sociopaths, serial killers?"

     He simply stated, "They just aren't wired right in the brain."

     My friend's ideas of evil interests me in character development. As writers we often use evil to challenge to our protagonists. It's not always evil, but it is a key theme in fiction, good vs evil. I've used it as a writer. Once while I was researching clichés in fiction I came upon a site that said "the evil antagonist has become cliché." Often writers make a character evil just to be evil without reason.

     The more I thought about Nucky Thompson the more I agreed with my friend. A character who's evil just by nature doesn't seem exactly credible. What makes the character evil? Something must have led up to the character's evil ways. A writer may not always want to dive deep into the characters background, but subtle hints could be good. I am sure many writer's do this, but as a writer myself I continue to try and make sense of the distinct line between good and evil I used to believe in. The lines are usually very blurred. I think the blurred lines make for a more interesting villain. He's oh so bad...but.....

     The more I thought about the existence of evil, or whether or not it doesn't exist the more I became interested in it. Writing is my passion, but so is the study of human behavior.

     I did a little research, asking Google, does evil exist? I found a great article by Ron Rosenbaum, titled The End of Evil? Neuroscientists suggests there is no such thing. Are they Right? Some of the ideas Ron gives in his article heavily correlated with my friend's explanation. As I read the article I wondered if my friend had read it too.

     In the article Ron talks about how neuroscientists have ruled out the concept of evil as we know it. People do bad things, but their actions are not conscious decisions. They are caused by a glitch in the brain, and instead of labeling such glitches evil, scientists have retitled evil as "lack of empathy." The article details much more and is an interesting read. I'll provide a link to it at the end of the post.

      In fiction we think of villains as evil beings. Just watch any old Disney movie. I grew up loving Disney films (I still do!). But as I think about evil now in terms of creating a villainous character I feel like evil is just a flimsy label. Much more goes into to being bad than just being evil. As a writer I want to display this in my villains. I will continue to contemplate evil and its contribution to the development of my characters.

     I'd love to hear from other writer's and how they implement the idea of evil in their stories and how they use it to shape their characters. Comments are welcomed!

Article by: Ron Rosenbaum

  http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_spectator/2011/09/does_evil_exist_neuroscientists_say_no_.html

    

   


    

    

Playing Ghost: My Erratic Experience as a Ghostwriter

    

     A friend of mine came to me with an idea. He wanted me to write a book with him, or more so for him. His idea was enthusiastic, brilliant, and emotionally explicit. He had an attachment to it for personal reasons. I won’t go into detail out of respect for his privacy. I agreed, sharing his excitement for the story. The task came with an array of experiences: some were great, some were good, and some were absolutely terrible. Before I go into my experience playing ghost, let me explain what ghostwriting is.

     When you ghostwrite for someone you are hired to write for them, but you are not the author. The person who has hired you is the author while you remain invisible (for the most part). There are some ghostwriters who take some writing credit, such as a story told by so and so, written by you. Ghostwriting can be any kind of writing. Some writers are hired to write blogs for others, letters, emails, memoirs, non-fiction, speeches, and fiction. They write, but take none of the credit for the words written. It may seem strange, but writers do it all the time.

    Ghost writing can be a good thing, a decent way to make extra income. There's several people out there who want to write a book or a blog, but may not have the time or talent so they hire a writer. Celebrities, doctors, politicians, and even other writers often do this.
    
      My ghostwriting experience could have been good, but it ended in disarray, and the loss of a friendship. I wanted to share my experience because it has been so significant to me both personally and professionally. I may come off sounding a bit biased. Sorry about that (kind of).

     I pretty much took a year off my own writing. When he came to me with his idea I was deep into the sequel of Beyond Gavia. I thought, I can write both. It was unrealistic, so I shelved my book to focus on his. Even though I was the ghostwriter I often felt the lines were blurred on this project. A ghostwriter is supposed to take someone else's ideas and words and put them on paper. I assume most ghostwriters get a synopsis or an outline. I never got any of these. We did juggle ideas, sent several emails, but there was nothing concrete to walk on, just a wobbly bridge where I had to lay the ideas down to step upon. The premise was his. The antagonist was his (whom even though was the villain, he wanted to be the star of the book). The rest was pretty much mine. Some of the setting came from him. But I took the bare bones he gave me and covered them with muscle, blood and flesh. In definition I wasn't a ghostwriter, I was a co writer yet I had to maintain a shadow of him.
    
     He didn't want me to tell anyone I was writing his book. I was supposed to sign a confidentiality agreement, but I never did. Several aspects of the project we agreed upon never came to light. During the project we'd talked about me taking a bigger role since I'd been not just the writer but part creator. I was supposed to sign a contract, but I never did. The reasons for this is because I didn't agree with some of the elements within the contract. He was supposed to make changes, but never did. I did tell people I was ghostwriting. They saw me doing it. My family knew, as well as a few co workers. Some people couldn't understand the concept of ghostwriting. They thought it was silly when I could be writing for myself, but I believed in the project.

     The great of the project came with collaborating with a friend who possessed great creative talent. We were amazing together in that aspect. We played off each other and created amazing content and characters. I loved that part. It was a high. But the high didn't last long and often came crashing to the ground.

     The good was the writing. I love to write. I loved the story and characters we'd created. I'd said previously I was never given an outline to write from. I was told to let the ideas flow and that my creative output was trusted. This sometimes worked, but there was several instances I had to make rewrites because he was 'feeling' what I wrote. This became extremely frustrating because if I'd had an outline the need for such rewrites may have never existed. It was time wasted on my part and unfair to me as his writer.

     The terrible often overshadowed the good and great. I was hired to write a book, but while doing so my friend often disappeared for days and weeks. I'd be writing and suddenly I wouldn't hear from him or couldn't reach him. He worked in the entertainment industry and lived a hectic and busy lifestyle, yet instead of communicating with me he'd jump ship, only to climb back on weeks later begging for me to finish the project.  The book meant a great deal to him and he'd made connections in the literary world. The book had publishing potential. I wanted to be a part of that. He was a bridge I didn't want to burn. But his in and out behavior occurred all the time. It was unprofessional, unfair, and overly frustrating. I kept allowing him to treat me and the project in such a way, so the negative impact the project had on me became just as much my fault as his.

     I finished the first draft. It was an amazing accomplishment. I learned mountains about myself while writing the book. I learned I can write and finish a book without shelving it. I have written three books, but I have several half written, stored in computer files, begging for my attention. I think as writers we often begin our stories and abandon them, succumbing to writer's block or other life stressors. Later we come back to them when inspiration strikes. This can become a vicious cycle where plots and characters are left hanging by us. I couldn't do that ghostwriting. I had to plow through. I had to keep writing. Ghostwriting taught me discipline. It was a great lesson.

     The terrible extended at the loss of a friendship. We'd been friends on and off for over ten years, randomly dropping in and out of each other's lives. We always connected on a creative level, and that was where our friendship thrived. But we clashed when it came to business. After I finished the first draft I was suppose to run the first full edit, but I didn't. I pulled out of the project and handed over the first draft in a complete document. I couldn't work with him anymore. It was heartbreaking. I'd spent a year of my life creating something I had to let go of. I mourned it. I'll never do it again.

     I wanted to share my experience. It's personal and I will admit not the most conventional ghostwriting story. I felt the definite need to share it with other writers who may benefit from it. I'd also like to share a list of things to consider before taking on a ghostwriting position.

          1. Make sure you have a clear cut agreement with whomever is hired you. There should be a sound contract that includes confidentiality, what is expected of you as a writer, what is expected of the author, and any financial agreements made.

          2. Make sure you know exactly what the person are writing for wants before you go wasting your time, such as obtaining a complete outline and synopsis.

          3. Make sure you are comfortable with writing and letting someone else take the credit for it.

         4. If you are writing for a friend, tread carefully. Business and friendship may not mix as well as you hope.

         5. Don't be taken advantage of.

         6. Make sure you and who hires you are clear on a deadline.

         7. If you are serious about writing for yourself, be careful about abandoning your own projects for someone else's.

     I'd love to hear stories from other writer's who have ghostwritten before, as well as others who are considering it.