Pitying the Villain | For Other Writers | And for Interested Readers, Too!

An early reader (one of those Beta readers you hear me talk about from time-to-time) talked to me about her impressions of "The Geranium Story." I asked her how she liked "the villain" ... whether he was a good one or not. She hesitated, then said, "I kind of pitied him."

 

Smiling, I knew I had succeeded in creating the right sort of "bad guy." :-) For my own stories, I've found that my best bad guys would be great guys... if only they weren't bad. They're not any worse than other human beings; but they let sin devour them {see Genesis 4:7}, the same sin that lies at the door of each of us. They refuse to "rule over it," preferring the bowl of stew to the birthright {see Genesis 25:29-34}.

And I think that's where the power of pity arrives on the scene. An utterly-evil character cannot excite any emotion except fear... and maybe disgust.

On one hand, these emotions are desirable to effect; we end up sympathizing with our hero/heroine's plight and condemning the "villain."

On the other hand, I think the better villain produces a more complicated relationship with the reader... For we must never forget that good stories should cause the reader to identify with the characters - to see something of himself/herself in them. So "complicated" is good... This is one of the reasons I like to cut away to my villain's point-of-view at various points in the story. We have to understand where they're coming from... and where they're coming from? It's usually not a motive of just accomplishing devastation. At its root, a villain's motive could have once been good - or at least neutral. It's always human.

A little secret? Most of my "bad guys" have something of me in them, otherwise I couldn't write them truly. They also, often, have something of someone I know or know of - usually a good trait that has been twisted and contorted into something evil.

We pity a good villain because we know - deep in our hearts - that we need that pity - that grace - should we ever become the villain in our own tale.

For, as C.S. Lewis points out, there's never anything that is utterly evil in the same sense that God is utterly good. Evil is never creative, in the sense of something-out-of-nothing; it always takes materials once used for good and distorts them.

Isn't that the horror in The Lord of the Rings when we find that the race of Orcs derives from that of the Elves - captured, tortured, and mutilated into evil creatures? {click here for more info}

And for me at least, that's the horror in multi-dimensional villains: I could be just like them.

You could be just like them.

The hero/heroine could be just like them.

But for grace received.

For the grace to do differently is given to all.

But the reception of that grace is what draws the major line between my hero/heroine and our villains.

What about you? Do you have a favorite literary "villain"? I'd love to know why! :-)

The Geranium Story: What's it all about, anyway?

So what's this "Geranium Story" all about, anyway?

 

It's about Lillian Picoletti...

At fifteen, she's become adept at hiding her wretched home-life - at not getting too close to anyone outside her family - at bearing up under the tremendous emotional strain her papa puts on their family. She desperately presses to finish high school and escape the gutter in which she was born.

 

It's about her mother, Sarah...

Trapped by religious and social constraints in an abusive, loveless marriage, she can't understand why her daughter Lillian won't submit to the lot in which she's placed. Yet Sarah, too, yearns for the peace and rest of which the radio preacher speaks.

 

It's about their neighbor, Emmeline...

And of how the loss of her own deepest desire opens verdant pathways into the lives of those around her.

 

 

Told from multiple perspectives, this 1930s-era coming-of-age novel tells the story of heart-wrenching sorrows alchemized by the Heavenly Father's redeeming grace.

 

Does it sound interesting? I'm so excited to share it with you - hopefully in mid-November {final release date to be determined}!

 

If you would like to join my Launch Team for this novel, I still have a couple of spaces open! Check out the link for more info: CLICK HERE.

 

 

Prospective readers, take note: This novel contains realistic {though not graphic} depictions of natural childbirth. It also contains {but does not condone} non-graphic depictions of physical abuse, adulterous relationships, and gambling. Intended for ages 15+.  This novel is written from a Christian worldview.

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What's in a Name? Part 3: The VILLAINS!!!

Alright, so you can probably tell I'm a just a smidgen excited about this post.

Dear reader, I will tell you a not-so-very-secret secret: I love villains... They are, to quote Henry Higgins, "so deliciously low;" there are so many horrible qualities I can attach to them. Imagine you are me: You can single-handedly bring to life a character with the worst and most-cultivated faults, sins, and modes of thinking, and THEN you can set him or her loose to prey upon your protagonists. Yet, YOU control how far the villains' reach extends... until the moment he or she runs away from you and you have to chase them through the plot. {Yes, this does happen. I have sat writing a scene, completely absorbed in it, and suddenly a thrill ran down my spine as I realized, "HE [the villain] was listening in all the while to this conversation!? It's rather frightening to find a character hiding where you didn't expect him, I assure you.}

One of my favorite parts about writing The House of Mercy was switching viewpoints so frequently, trying to really get inside the heads and hearts of the various threads {i.e. characters} that made up the tapestry of the story. I did this with some of the villains, notably Lancelot, not because I wanted you as the reader to sympathize with an "evil character" or to think, as in the lyrics of Into the Woods, that "witches can be good," but because I see stories as a way of conveying Truth. Stories help us look into our own hearts and minds... When I, as a reader, hear what Lancelot is thinking and feeling, my own heart and mind will respond in some way {if the portrayal is done well}. The question is, what way do I respond, not to what the villain does, necessarily - most of us won't do "villainous" things because we can't get away with it unbesmirched - but to what the villain thinks and feels. For out of the heart we live our life, don't we? {Proverbs 4:23}

At any rate, the antagonists in The House of Mercy received their names with all due attention given to the meanings:

Drustan

{pronunciation: DRUS-ten or DRUS-tawn} Of ancient Celtic origin, the name "Drustan" is an older form of the more commonly-known "Tristan" {as in the story of Tristan and Iseult/Isolde}. It has two possible root meanings: the Latin word tristis, or "sad," {but this meaning is unlikely since the "Drustan" version of the name came before the "Tristan" version}; and a Proto-Celtic word meaning, "riot, din, upheaval." In The House of Mercy, Drustan brings both sadness and also unrest into his own family through the choices he makes for evil and not for good.  Interestingly, Drustan is a different public man in some ways than a private one.


source

Weylin

{pronunciation: WEY-len} A Celtic name, "Weylin" means "son of a wolf." And the son of a wolf he is. Ravenous, destructive, incalculable, unworthy of trust. Weylin certainly earned his name through the part he chose to play.

Lancelot

source

{pronunciation: LAN-se-laht} Unfortunately, this is one for which I cannot give you an exact meaning! The name possibly comes from the Germanic/Old French word lanzo, or "land." This word was the short form of many name variations, and it had the connotation of "servant." Later on, the name "Lancelot" became associated with the Old French lance, meaning "spear, lance." Despite the legendary character already existing with this name, knowing the meaning of the name Lancelot brings an ironic twist to him, I think: This lordly man - meant to be a servant of others through his rule as a nobleman - instead becomes the precise and ludicrous opposite: sensuous, self-serving, self-centered. By the way, the character Lancelot {some background here} leaped into the storyline one day as I was writing. I knew the sort of man I needed, but suddenly I realized, Lord Drustan's nephew is the Arthurian Lancelot. Though Lancelot is usually depicted in a sympathetic, chivalric way, I peered at him without the romantic veil thrown on him by the legends... and the bare facts of his tale make him into a pretty unscrupulous rogue. And so we find out what Lancelot was like before he reached the court of the High King...

 There are other characters who are "antagonistic" but whom I wouldn't necessarily classify as antagonists/villains... at least not yet. :-) Mordred comes to mind, for example. {If anyone wants more background on Mordred, you can look here.}

This puts a question before us, dear reader: What really makes a character/person an antagonist or a protagonist? Take Deoradhan, for instance - throughout three-quarters of the novel, he is pretty much bent on doing evil {though he sees it differently} ... Does this make him an antagonist/villain? If so, who is the hero/protagonist/villain?

What's In a Name? Part 2: The Major Female Protagonists

[artist unknown]

Wow! It's been a busy week here writing! Lord willing, by tonight or tomorrow, I should be halfway through the first draft (which is always the tough part for me) of the current novel I'm working on. I must keep the storyline under wraps for now... but hints will be coming soon, I believe! Please continue to keep my writing in your prayers, dear reader! I am truly grateful for you lifting me up before our Father.


As promised, here is part two of this post series on the meanings of the names in The House of Mercy. The female characters seemed more difficult to name for a very simple reason: there were fewer female than male names in post-Roman Britain. Add to that this problem, too: Many female names are variations of one single root name, which normally isn't a problem in "real life." (For example, my own name, Alicia, is a variation of "Alice.") But when I'm trying to ensure that you, the reader, keeps all your characters straight in the story, I have to name the characters in a way that distinguishes them one from another fairly distinctly!

So, let's dig into the what, how, and why of naming the female protagonists in The House of Mercy.

 

Bethan

Of course, I have to start with Bethan. You know, the novel originally revolved completely around her story; that was in the first draft, which was written in a journal-style many moons ago. ;-) Here is the shocking tidbit: I did not name her Bethan until the almost-final draft. And yet, now, I can't imagine her with another name and have to think a bit before remembering what her other names (there were several) were. Bethan is a mainly-Welsh form of the Hebrew name Elizabeth, meaning, "God has promised.'' (It's pronounced BEH-than.) In The House of Mercy, Bethan comes to understand her God's integrity and His trustworthiness to care for her, and to rely on Him alone.

Tarian

Another Welsh name, Tarian means, "shield." I chose her name because of the connotation its meaning had for me, rather than the denotation. Her character reminds me of Tolkien's Shield-Maiden of Rohan - spirited, somewhat willful, sensitive, and frightened that she will be "locked in a cage" (as Eowyn says) by her own choices and those of others in control of her. Yet, the Lord Christ displays that He is her shield and her exceedingly great reward (see Genesis 15:1). By the way, Tarian walked into storyline herself; I didn't expect her, but I did find her intriguing! (There is more to her story, as well, I think...)

Aine

Pronounced EN-ya (a relief for those of you who have been pronouncing it to rhyme with "pain!"), the name Aine finds its root in the Irish goddess of prosperity, summer, and sovereignty. The meaning given differs depending on the source, from "white," to "lucky," to "splendor," and "desire." In The House of Mercy, Aine longs (or "desires") to be filled with happiness, romantic love, and security, as well as to rule her own destiny (much like a goddess). Yet, she finds that all her self-directing ways of fulfilling these desires end in heartache. Aine lays herself down at the foot of the mercy seat and is filled with Christ, made white by His blood, and becomes blessed indeed.


If you missed the first part of this series on the meanings of names in The House of Mercy, you can find that here. Next, we'll be tackling THE VILLAINS! :-) I love the villains ...

 

A question for you, dear reader: Did you have a favorite character is The House of Mercy? If so, what about that character made him/her your favorite?

What's in a Name? Part 1: The Major Male Protagonists

When someone I know is expecting a baby, one of the first things I want to know is: What's his or her name? (Besides whether "it" is a he or a she, of course!) Then, once I work the information out of the expectant parents-to-be, I usually will look that name right up on an online name finder so that I know what it means. Why? I suppose some of my love of the meanings of names comes from reading Scripture, in which a person's name is so closely linked to what is expected of them, where they came from, or what they're known for.

Take, for example, Nabal. His wife says of him, "He's called Nabal, and he is a fool." Or Peter, upon whose testimony the Lord built the Church. Or - in an interesting twist - Jabez. (Nope, I've never read the book about him, so I can't tell you if that's good or not.) He was named Jabez, meaning, "He will cause trouble." And it seems that his life would have followed that course, had he not cried out to God, asking that he not cause trouble, that he not fulfill the meaning of his name. And God granted his request.

So, in that tradition, when I write, I try to choose carefully the names I give to the characters. The names have to include some meaning for that character's life or personality or what the Lord is going to do through/in them. The names also have to be time-period correct. In The House of Mercy, I didn't include a glossary of the characters' names, but some readers have asked about them. For those of you who are curious about why I chose the names I did and what they mean, here you go, the first in a three- or four-part series! (Just the major male protagonists this week ... The villains and the ladies come next!)

Deoradhan

Gaelic for "wanderer, exile," this young man is not only a physical exile from his kingdom of Lothian, but he is also an emotional exile (from his foster-father, King Arthur) and a spiritual wanderer. Appropriately, he receives his true name...

Padriug

A Scottish form of Patrick, this originally-Latin-based name means, "nobleman." In other words, he now has his inheritance as a son of the Living God. He has reconciled with his earthly family as well. Interestingly, this is the only character - I think! - whose name never really changed from draft to draft (though, in the first and second drafts, he was Patrick, rather than Padruig).

Calum

I changed this poor character's name about four times before settling on it! The character changed so drastically as I wrote the drafts that the name change became necessary. A Scottish form of the Latin name Columba, Calum means, simply, "dove." And that was Calum's destiny, wasn't it, to be at peace at last. And also, to know that the hand of God (think of the Holy Spirit descending) rested upon him yet.

Solas

Bearing a Scottish name meaning "solace, peace," Solas became a balm of healing for his mother, Seonaid in the aftermath of Dunpeledyr's siege. Weylin had torn her first son, Padriug, from her; Solas became an atonement for Padriug and a symbol of the peace Seonaid found in Christ.

So I've a question for you:  Do you know the meaning of your name? If so, has knowing it shaped you/influenced you in any way? 

UP NEXT: What's in a Name? Part 2 - The Major Female Protagonists