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Whose perspective do you like to write from best, the hero (protagonist) or the villain (antagonist)? And why?

 

This could quite possibly be a result of TV and movie consumption over 40+ years, but I tend to dabble in both, in part because of the effects I want to play with. The other part, truth be told, is because I’m floundering-flailing about trying to figure out what and why the hero is doing this thingy over here. Or maybe I want to skip that part, but I need a reason the reader will accept for my hand-waving “and it was done” statement.

Generally, seeing the bad guy twirl his mustache (or her mustache, let’s not be sexist) makes the reader more willing to allow me to gloss over what I think of as a difficulty in perspective.

At least, I think so. I know I get bored seeing the same perspective for endless pages, so I’m willing to forgive a little hand-waving by an author if the intruding scene is interesting enough.

I want to be tantalized with the bad guy. I want to see just enough to wonder what will happen next in his/her nefarious plan. I want to know that I’m going to cheer when that sonuvabitch gets her/his come-uppance.

I can’t get that with just seeing the heroes POV’s.

Although, I will say that my bad guys in THAT PAIN IN MY ASS BOOK I’M WORKING ON Fantasy Book 3 are more challenging. They’re getting way more face-time with the reader than I’ve ever given them before. Sadly, I think they’re liking it far more than I am. It’s so easy to see them as relatively nice guys until they start blathering on about genocide being an acceptable option. And of course, it’s realish. I mean there are plenty of nice, real people out there with skeletons in their closets so fucked up even the Addams family would say “Wow, you’ve got a problem. You might wanna get some therapy for that or something.”

The hero is always fun, so long as you can keep him from being 2-dimensional. But writing a villain that’s human, someone you can sympathize with even if you don’t want to, that’s challenging.

If nothing else, it should be interesting.

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