Tango
If my reviews are anything to judge by, a major purpose of my Phantom story, "A Solo For the Living", seems to be to make all Raoul-haters fall helplessly in love with him (Raoul being Mr Nice Guy). 
This, even though my interest lies chiefly in the Erik/Christine pairing.
Obviously my real-life bias for decent, nice, uncomplicated people is making itself felt. I like nice guys. They are low maintenance. They don't drain you emotionally, they don't demand attention like spoiled children, they respect your family, visit their sick grandmother, understand when you're stressed and generally behave like adults.
Which is precisely why a nice guy can never be an interesting hero -- there is nowhere to develop him -- but he can be the perfect material for a tragedy. After all, nobody cares much if Mr Average gets dumped by some girl he kind of fancies. But if a truly good man loses the woman he loves... Ouch.
Well, perhaps that's not entirely true: in the end, it all comes down to how something is written. On a serious level, it really is incredibly draining and painful to chronicle the process of falling out of love, or of recognising that the person you love may not be the person you are "in love" with. The only thing more painful is writing the 'response' to this: the point of view of the person who is being left behind. I toyed with this once before, in my short Xenaverse story, "Into the Dawn", but this is the first 'realistic' attempt I've made at such a plotline, and it is more upsetting than I would have thought possible.
Which is fun, in perverse kind of way.
I do believe that in every relationship in drama there should be a sort of bitter shadow, a counterpoint to romance. In real life, one person's happiness often requires the sacrifice of others' -- even if it's small, even if it's temporary. It's an interesting idea to me.
Beyond all this, I'm actually very pleased that the way I wrote Raoul has been so popular with people who normally dislike his character. It indicates, or at least I hope it does, that something of my efforts has reached the audience, which is always a relief.
Tango
This, even though my interest lies chiefly in the Erik/Christine pairing.Obviously my real-life bias for decent, nice, uncomplicated people is making itself felt. I like nice guys. They are low maintenance. They don't drain you emotionally, they don't demand attention like spoiled children, they respect your family, visit their sick grandmother, understand when you're stressed and generally behave like adults.
Which is precisely why a nice guy can never be an interesting hero -- there is nowhere to develop him -- but he can be the perfect material for a tragedy. After all, nobody cares much if Mr Average gets dumped by some girl he kind of fancies. But if a truly good man loses the woman he loves... Ouch.
Well, perhaps that's not entirely true: in the end, it all comes down to how something is written. On a serious level, it really is incredibly draining and painful to chronicle the process of falling out of love, or of recognising that the person you love may not be the person you are "in love" with. The only thing more painful is writing the 'response' to this: the point of view of the person who is being left behind. I toyed with this once before, in my short Xenaverse story, "Into the Dawn", but this is the first 'realistic' attempt I've made at such a plotline, and it is more upsetting than I would have thought possible.
Which is fun, in perverse kind of way.
I do believe that in every relationship in drama there should be a sort of bitter shadow, a counterpoint to romance. In real life, one person's happiness often requires the sacrifice of others' -- even if it's small, even if it's temporary. It's an interesting idea to me.
Beyond all this, I'm actually very pleased that the way I wrote Raoul has been so popular with people who normally dislike his character. It indicates, or at least I hope it does, that something of my efforts has reached the audience, which is always a relief.
Tango
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15.05.2005 в 12:12And yes, shadowy side is a fascinating stuff to contemplate about.. and not easy.
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15.05.2005 в 12:48his reactions on its development would interest me not less than the development itself.
Actually I'm really glad you feel that way, because I agree.
And yes, shadowy side is a fascinating stuff to contemplate about.. and not easy.
I think it's easier in some ways than writing happiness convincingly.
Tango
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15.05.2005 в 13:14I think it's easier in some ways than writing happiness convincingly. - in some ways yes.. sometimes more difficult emotionally, maybe.