Writer's Fallout Shelter

I agree completely, Holly Jahangiri . And one of the things we connected to with Hannibel is the REALness about him. He was also all the more terrifying and terrible because of how we could relate to him and sense ourselves, our inner darknesses in him and see he also has likeable traits, the kind you see in others and appreciate.

I could write about the subjects that are disagreeable to me and some of the most powerful stories involve topics of rape or war etc. I just couldn't bring myself to write those stories where the bad guy wins or when the bad guy is celebrated for being and doing things that are against my morals. If I wrote a book where my main character were a drug addict for example, I couldn't finish my book with them still being a drug addict, they'd have to overcome the addiction as part of their character developement. Perhaps I have the unrealistic optimism that everyone is redeemable and I just don't want to give my readers the message that it's OK or even good to accept less of yourself.

I actually think that having more darkness in all our characters make them more interesting. I love to use the example of Dr. House from the TV series, "House". When you first see him you realise he's actually a pretty unlikeable guy. He's not particularly attractive, he's opinionated, arrogant, inconsiderate, and most certainly NOT a people person. But he's brilliant and the more you get to know him the more you see the depth to his character that IS redeemable. He's a fantastic main character because he has so much room for growth and he invokes emotion even if it's to cause viewers to hate him. I wonder what HIS writers are like.

Have fun and keep writing,
Yours truly,
Rebecca Laffar-Smith