 Drama: May 29, 2013 Issue [#5668] |
  Drama
This week: Creating the Ruthless Character Edited by: Joy  
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"That was true everywhere in the world, but it was especially true in Packingtown; there seemed to be something about the work of slaughtering that tended to ruthlessness and ferocity--it was literally the fact that in the methods of the packers a hundred human lives did not balance a penny of profit."
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
"I may safely say that Falk is absolutely true to my experience of certain straightforward characters combining a perfectly natural ruthlessness with a certain amount of moral delicacy."
Typhoon by Joseph Conrad
“He'd been given an assignment to write about teen beauty pageants..., which he'd accepted because he enjoyed blood sports as much as the next person.”
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue is on creating strong ruthless characters.
Your Drama Newsletter Editors: zwisis NickiD89  kittiara Joy
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
Note: In the editorial, I refer to third person singular as he, to also mean the female gender, because I don't like to use they or he/she.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Character matters greatly to the reader and even more so to the writer. One rule of thumb in creating fiction is the change a character goes through by the end of the story.
Yet, not all characters undergo a crucial change. Sometimes the unchangeability of a character makes the story. Rumpelstiltskin of the fairy tales realm is a good example for that.
A characteristic that is the least likely to change is ruthlessness. As such, one of the most dramatic characters a writer may choose to create is the ruthless character. This character can be a protagonist, an antagonist, a catalyst, or a secondary character.
There are, however, ruthless characters that may change by the end of the plot such as Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’s Christmas Carol, but this takes a very strong or almost supernatural reason to enable such a change.
Change or not, inside the ruthless character’s essence lies the willingness to overcome any or all obstacles in his way to achieve his goal. He may show blind determination to succeed in his career or reach any goal he aims at, and he is willing to risk the suffering of other people or himself. This is his tragic flaw, and his ruthlessness makes the conflict or adds to it, creating the drama in the story.
Ruthless characters usually find an unpleasant end. Macbeth's ruthless character leads himself to positions of power, but he can go only so far when his downfall nears. Macbeth does not only bring himself down, but he also brings his wife down with him. Yet, this too is not etched in stone. It is up to the writer and the character he creates to endow ruthlessness with a happy or a sad ending.
A ruthless character isn’t necessarily a bad person or a villain, although he may usually be written as one whenever the plot allows it.
A ruthless character can be:
 very passionate with emotions such as love, jealousy, greed, and hate
wise or not, he thinks he is always right.
conceited or overly dignified
unaware of his shortcomings
demanding of accuracy from others even if he is in the wrong himself
desperate, cornered, and trapped, but he won't turn back
extremely ambitious
relentlessly determined
fearful of failing
revengeful, vindictive
self-centered and fixated on an idea or a goal with a one-track mind
acting like an opportunist
a liar without blinking an eye if it serves his purpose or can be truthful to the degree of being militant
As nonverbal emotion is as important as the words uttered, the author can give the ruthless one a few physical signals to show his inner workings. These may be:
tight muscles
alert gaze
strong eye contact
using articulate sentences that are usually very short
asking pointed questions
offering firm handshakes
being the first to speak
moving into another person’s personal space
when under fire or in stress, laughing and making jokes to ease the situation
not hesitating to take any kind of physical action to reach his goal
Above all, it is necessary to remember that, in fiction, a strong character, ruthless or not, is not the one to conform but is the one that sticks out.
Until next time… 
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This Issue's Tip:
If any piece of dialogue starts to feel aimless or mundane, have your characters start expressing their core motivations, such as greed, lust, love, revenge, etc. This will help develop the character and move the story forward.
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 Reading Recommendation: A book with drama
If you have a recommendation, a few words on a book or a product review, send it to me or to this newsletter. I'll highlight it here.
By Unwritten Insanity 
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Fyn 
Thanking you Joy for an awesome newsletter and for featuring one of my pieces!! Nothing quite like the thrill and excitement of seeing a piece featured...never gets old, always makes my day!
Thanks for the input, Fyn. I love your stories.
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BIG BAD WOLF Feeling Thankful 
Sometimes, the End of your Life is just the Beginning of your Life.
Yes, there seems to be an abundance of afterlife books out there to attest to that idea, as well as your story I highlighted in the above section.
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Mark Allen Mc Lemore
I've never lost anything in my life, never ever; not me. Well, maybe my sanity. But that's alright, I am a better writer because of it.
Great newsletter! Thanks.
Oh, wow! I never met anyone, until now, who didn't lose anything. Hope you keep on never losing.
Thanks for the feedback.
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