Shades of Grey

Bonnie Tyler once sang "I Need A Hero" and I suppose it's the Great Romantic Fantasy - the tall, dark and handsome stranger on his white stallion - but it's not actually mine. Heroes are... well, predictable. Good guys are the ones your mother likes, and while they make great friends, they're not exactly lust fodder (that was almost something much ruder, lol).

Guys that I do lust after have several things in common, but the largest factor is they're not portrayed as good. One of them not be a very long way, but I digress. They are antiheroes. Unpredictable, morally ambiguous, complex, complicated and deeply layered.

 The first character I remember being like that is one most people consider a hero - the Doctor. But he stood with his hand on the Big Red Button that would have wiped out the Daleks and considered genocide. Not particularly heroic, is it?

However it's dealing with uncomfortable moral issues that makes the antihero so much greater than the gun-slinging hero who would cut a swathe through the Armies of Evil and come out the other side with his hair untouched (but his shirt torn) and the line "It's what I do."

Oh, please. It might be, but kindly go and do it somewhere else. You are not the hero I'm looking for.

Bialar Crais, however, is.

I have mentioned him before, but I'm going to do it again because his character epitomises the antihero for me. His was the one that made me look for more than surface actions, that taught me that bad isn't monotone, that every character has a story they are the hero in.

Up until his last moment, the viewer was never truly sure whose side he was on. His character arc is, in my opinion, the best in sci fi. Possibly in television history. He grows and develops and becomes complicated enough that even eleven years on, I still find aspects I've not seen before, that surprise me, that wrench my heart (Crais remains the only character to reduce me to a blubbering wreck)

He was also indirectly responsible for my current crush.

Because without learning to see all the shades of grey in the dark characters, I'd not have realised how layered Baal truly is.

He's supposed to be bad - hell, he's supposed to be evil. Fortuntely someone failed to read that memo and what we're given is a character that most definitely breaks out of the given box.

Without a doubt, there are things Baal does that are bad. He is self-serving, determined to survive and quite frankly doesn't give a damn as to what measures that takes (which tends to be explosive).

However there are a lot of things he does that, on reflection, pose questions not only on his motivation, but on the nature of his species. The bad things are a given, putting himself in the line of fire for the greater good of the galaxy really isn't. He's not supposed to do that, he's not supposed to care. But he does, and he does it more than once.

The trick with the antihero is to make the audience think they know what's going on, then turn it on its head. It's Han Solo leaving the Rebels to fight the Death Star, only to charge in as the proverbial cavalry. It's Mr Darcy disappearing in a righteous huff, only to be shown to rescue Lydia. Bialar Crais apparently betraying Crichton, only to put into action the sacrificial plan to save his friends. Baal risking his life to help his "mortal enemies" save the galaxy.

We all expect the hero to fight the dragon, rescue the princess and save the kingdom. Sometimes though, it's more fun to have the less heroic guy do it, grumbling all the way.

Writing for fun

I have a confession - I write fan fiction.

Some of those reading this blog will already be aware of this. Others will not. Some will, no doubt, tut and mutter about a waste of time, an infringement of copyright and half a dozen other reasons that I've weathered since 1999.

Maybe it's all of those, but it's also something else - really good fun.

Lately, I've found myself writing fanfic based on Stargate SG1 again, with one small adaptation. I suppose that, after exposing myself to certain episodes, it was a given that I would gravitate to the resident Bad Guy. Especially since this particular Bad Guy specialises in snark and natty outfits that are heavy on the black leather. (Also especially since a Google search of the actor in question brought up a half-naked photo - yum!)

His name is Baal. He's a bossy little whatsit who is single-handledly responsible for me churning out 29,350 words this month. And it's still coming (I have a fic that's currently 12K+ and not complete).

Of course on the first of November, I'll be in Proper Author mode and start on my lovely sci fi noir story. It's sat at the back of my mind, simmering nicely. I want to start on it, but right now I'm happy to just doss about and have a little fun.

Bother

After watching a certain sci fi show (not Farscape, for once) the other day, I ended up dreaming about one of the minor characters. This is never a Good Sign - it invariably means said character has gotten into my head. I managed to ignore him for most of the morning by the simple expedient of doing housework, but then came lunch and a break and almost immediately I had his voice whispering in my ear.

Still, nothing might have happened had I not browsed some screencaptures and found a picture of said character in a three-piece suit. Gangsta, I thought, and thus the bones of a plot were born.

Renaming him Nath Valentine (okay, he came up with that), I'm now in the very early stages of developing what is going to be a "science fiction noir". Think Casablanca in space and with less Nazis and you'd not be far off the idea as it currently exists.

This now means I have no less than four ideas for NaNoWriMo, one (or possibly two) of which I have to decide on so I can get plotting. Oy.

Dear Writer

Some people are so insecure about their writing that they have to justify it. Believing that what they write is somehow "better" than other genres is one way of them doing that.

Let me say this: every genre has its place. A story is a story is a story.

It doesn't matter if it's a literary novel or a western or a crime story or an erotic romance. If you write well, nothing else matters.

Writing is a venture on which everyone has an opinion. Some are based on knowing the publishing world, on real experience. Others just go on hearsay and the phrase "Well, everyone knows that..."

Being a writer means shifting through these opinions for the ones that are worthwhile. Listening to the naysayers will get you down and have a detrimental effect on your blood pressure. Such people will make sweeping statements based on very little evidence. Ignore them.

Those you need to listen to are those that believe every story is a worthwhile tale, that believe others will find it so also.

Your novel is not going to change the world, but how many books really have? If it touches one person - just one - then you've achieved something great.

Future Access for All

I'm in the [very] early stages of devising a plot for Redstone's Accessible Future contest. I haven't actually written a differently-abled character before, a fact I'm frankly rather ashamed about (another failure is my lack of coloured characters) so this contest is firstly a challenge to myself.

What I want to avoid is a plot that is "positively discriminative", because I believe that would imply a negative difference in ability. That disability is something to make allowances for, rather than accepted as fact.

It's not even a case of "disability" when you're dealing with science fiction - just think of the different forms of aliens that could be encountered. Non-humanoid aliens that might not have legs or other limbs. That have different senses.

The question is - do I make it obvious that such things are accounted for, or would that negate the point of the challenge?

As I've been thinking about this aspect, one of my favourite sci fi shows has come to mind. In Farscape, the main ship has ramps between floor levels, a natural occurence since she's a biomechanoid, but something that makes her accessable for all species. It's never mentioned, just there.

And I think that's the tone I want to aim for.

A glimmer of light

Firstly, thanks to everyone who offered me congratulations on my sub acceptence - it's greatly appreciated.

Secondly, reading a post on the Bordello stirred my muse and gave me the glimmer of an idea. It requires some research, which I'm currently doing, but it has interesting possibilities. I even feel a little excited at the prospect.