The Seven Deadly Sins and your Hero; Gluttony

Welcome to the last post on The Seven Deadly Sins and your Hero; Gluttony. On Friday I joked that this post would be about eating cake. That's not far off, but much more complex. Traditionally gluttony has meant the over indulgence of eating or drinking to the point of depriving the poor. I'd say, America is a good example of that as a nation but on the flip side, there are many, many who care about the poor and help them in a multitude of ways with food and clothes. So, I am proud that my country is not just all about one self.

In today's society gluttony used to be attached to anyone with a weight problem. Let me tell you, I know first hand about this isolating, insulting opinion. Hollywood made jokes. People would look you up and down in disgust. But the truth is, there are many with a weight problem who are not gluttons. I am one of them. My body chemistry doesn't absorb food in the same rapid method that skinny people enjoy. In other words, I've got a slow metabolism. In the past, shame caused me to go on starvation diets. I'd lose maybe 12 pounds and then nothing. Today we've learned that the body stores more when it thinks there is a famine and in essence that is what a starvation diet is. Now, I eat when I'm hungry anything I want and guess what, I've lost 60 pounds. Amazing!

What does this have to do with your hero?

Your hero may truly be a glutton. In that case they over indulge in food, drink or in material things. An alcoholic is a glutton.The attitude of 'keep up with the Jones,' represents gluttony.

Or, your hero may think they are a glutton due to family or social pressure. In this case, much of their problem will be self related and they may avoid mirrors or social gatherings.

Gluttony is a secondary plot twist in most books. Even when the story is mostly about your character dealing with this gluttonous situation, the interaction with other characters is the key to, showing and not telling, the reader how your character is dealing with their problem.

For more on gluttony go to Wikipedia. (picture link).

This concludes my series on The Seven Deadly Sins and your Hero. If you've missed any of them, or if you want to review them just click on The Seven Deadly Sins and  your Hero in my previous post link on the side bar. I've got them all in a cloud.

Next Monday I'll start a new series on Short Stories and Flash Fiction. I'm going to focus on methods of shortening your story, on opportunities for this kind of fiction and on motivation for  you to write this type of fiction. You don't want to miss it.

Not only that, but come by this Friday, Oct. 5, for my Romantic Friday Writer's post, Birthday Madness. Next Monday I'll use portions of this post to show you how to tighten your stories and make them into compelling short stories. You don't want to miss either.

By the way, it's not too late to join us and write your own Romantic Friday Writer's post on Birthday Madness. You don't have to include x-rated sex, over even too much romance, just a tad.

Hope to see  you there.
Nancy

Still looking for critique partners or Beta Readers. Leave a comment to let me know if  your interested. And leave a comment on my  post as well, I'd really like to hear what you have to say.
Nancy

The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero, Envy

Greetings all and welcome to another addition of The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero. Today we will focus on Envy.

We've all been warned. 'Do not covet thy neighbors,' (select something they have and insert it) here.

Envy is a negative force. Or in recent years it has been attached to a good motivational skill that causes a person to achieve above what they would normally do. For more on this go here.

For our purposes though, we will look at the negative and discuss how this energy, envy, can taint your hero.

Your hero is so jealous of his (friend, sibling,  parent, acquittance) that s/he can't see beyond what that character has to become a happy and fulfilled person in their own right. They are miserable. Perhaps then  you will send your hero on a quest, to discover their own abilities and overcome this jealousy. Or perhaps, some tragedy happens to the other character and compassion wells up within your hero motivating them to act for the other characters good. The story lies within the actions of your hero overcoming their envy. If this is a secondary plot in your novel, creating a 3-dimensional character development, then less time will be spent on their envy and how they overcome it, but you still must address it. Leave no unanswered questions.

Envy is a good tool to use to create a villain. Your villain will either get revenge or grow into a hero depending on your story line. It would be thrilling to write such a character.

One thing is for certain, envy is a mighty strong emotion for us writers.

I hope this helps. For more on this Seven Deadly Sin or others go to Wikipedia.

Nancy

Picture link: Wikipedia

I have two openings for a critique partner at this time. If  your interested leave your email in the comments.

Next week: Gluttony

After next week's post I will start a new series on Short Stories that will include Flash Fiction.

Genre Favorites and Seven Deadly Sins and your Hero: Lust

Ninja Capt. Alex J. Cavanguah who is not really a scary ninja but a really nice guy, is hosting the genre favorite blog-fest today. So, I'm combining this blog-fest with my usual Monday post on writing. To read other genre favorites go here.

Genre Favorites Blogfest, September 17, 2012

One blogfest, four favorites!

List your favorite genre of:

Movie

Music

Books

And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories! 

Now before I begin my favorite genre take a look at the heading of my blog. Oh...can you guess? You're almost there...yup, you got it, Fantasy.

Movies: Okay I'm not such a junky that I go for any of the SciFi Channel original movies. I want quality. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Narnia movies, stuff like that. I'm not into ancient Greek mythology. Did you see Snow White and the Huntsman, wonderful, but the one with Julia Roberts was so bad I forgot the name. 

Music: Do you see my book cover over on the right hand side. My heroine is a flutist, and yes, you can say either flutist or flautist according to the University of Colorado Music Dept. Well folks, it's a flute. I love flutes. Any kind of flute. I may learn how to play one. I also like a mixture of jazz, rock and nature sounds. When I'm writing to music it has to be instrumental. My favorite artist currently are, Josh Groban, Celtic Woman, Sarah McLaughlin, John Denver and a few others too.

Books: Repeat the movie titles here. But I love good writing and my second favorite book to read is Mystery. I also really enjoy Dean Koontz.

Guilty Pleasure: Castleville, a Facebook game. Two T.V. shows, Grimm and Snow White, I don't have HBO or other pay to much for channels so I can't speak for those shows.

And now...

The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero: Lust

Oh what a day to visit my seven sins post. If you're new, I've been posting every Monday on a subject for writers. Currently we are in the middle of 'The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero.' In previous post we have covered' wrath, greed, sloth and pride. Today we are looking at lust.

You don't have to say anything. I know where your brain went, the same place as mine. However, lust doesn't just refer to sex. It can also refer to any thing that your character is obsessed with. Power, food, knowledge, an intense desire for something they don't have and may not be able to get. Lust is similar to greed, except your character desires lust but doesn't have it.

So, how do you take a lustful character and transform them into your hero? To address this sin as a sin you must make this an obsession. I know I repeated that word, but it's important. Your character simply can't let it go. The 'just say no,' campaign won't work here. To change, your hero must recognize their problem and overcome it. You know what they say, pile on the problems for your hero to overcome. Lust is an excellent secondary problem. I say secondary because it is usually not the type of difficulty that can carry an 80,000 or more word count manuscript.

Example:
Your character is in love with your best friends boy/girl friend. S/he thinks of nothing else. To the point of spying on the couple while they stroll through the park or (need I say it) are engaged in another activity. There went your brain again! What happens next is up to you. Does your character recognize their problem and join a therapy group? Run away to a new place? Get shook up by a new love who is prettier, or average to the object of their fascination?

Or perhaps your character really wants a T-bird in baby blue. The same as his best friend.

If it is knowledge, well...our society regards knowledge as a positive force. To make your character lust after knowledge means that s/he will disregard everything else in their life in the pursuit of knowledge. So your character is always working, always in the library doing research or running away from powerful wizards when his/her attempt to steal the magic book fails.

You get it. Stick something into the slot for their obsession and you have lust. How your character overcomes their desire to be a hero or heroine is up to you.

Picture link: Wikipedia  
Genre Favorite blogfest

Next week: Envy and after that it is gluttony and our Seven Deadly Sins will be over. I will start a series on short stories and flash fiction.

I hope you enjoyed my genre blog-fest entry and my Seven Deadly Sins post. Let me know what you think.
Nancy

PS I'm looking for critique partners, if interested say so in the comments. Thanks.

The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero; Pride

Welcome to another edition of The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero. Today we look at Pride. You may wonder about pride as a sin. In fact, pride is a complex emotion according to Wikipedia. At the negative end, pride is a sense that 'I'm superior, better than the other guy.' In the positive sense, pride is the result of a good sense of ones self, not over indulged, simply positive self-esteem.

Shall we look at the negative?

If your character is proud, and/or carries themselves in a superior manner...nose in the air, barely acknowledging other characters than you will have a problem establishing this character as the hero. The Bible says, 'Pride goeth before a fall.' Keep that in mind. Your proud character must suffer a loss of some kind in order to see the error of  his or her ways. Or they must come face to face with a humbling experience, take a visit to a starving village in Africa or another 3rd world country. Or even here in the USA, in a downtown urban neighborhood where the jobless rate is above average and crime rules the streets. However you decide to handle this character flaw keep in mind, many readers will immediately have a negative reaction to your hero. This is because we all know one or more  proud and obnoxious individuals. Sometimes they are members of our family. You have your work cut out for you. My guess is that the change must begin before the end of Chapter One.

If your character is blessed with a good sense of self esteem and you want to enhance the readers understanding of this then your character is likely involved with some charity work or has nothing but encouraging words to say to others. I think this is just as difficult. Unless you add a conflict that threatens their well being you will end up with a two dimensional character and a weak story.

However you decide to use 'Pride" in your manuscript, it is a viable emotion that can be a challenge.

I hope this post was helpful.

PS: I'm looking for critique partners. If interested leave a comment with your email and we will chat.

Thanks,
Nancy


Pictures linked; Wikipedia.

The Seven Deadly Sins and your Hero: Sloth

This week our Seven Deadly Sin is Sloth. Nasy word isn't it?

For Sloth I've copied the definition because I find it helpful. This seven deadly sin will depend on your society. Is it current? Advanced? Or sometime in the past? Much of the attitude for your slothful character by other characters in your world will depend entirely on the societal makeup of your world.

 Definition

Look up sloth or lut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Sloth is defined as spiritual or emotional apathy, neglecting what God has spoken, and being physically and emotionally inactive. Sloth or lut can also indicate a wasting due to lack of use, concerning a person, place, thing, skill, or intangible ideal that would require maintenance, refinement, or support to continue to exist.
Religious views concerning the need for one to work to support society and further God's plan and work also suggest that, through inactivity, one invites the desire to sin. "For Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do." ("Against Idleness and Mischief" by Isaac Watts).
In the Philokalia the word dejection is used instead of sloth, for the person who falls into dejection will lose interest in life.

For example: Currently we recognize that depression is a serious illness that people cannot control. Rather, it controls them. In the past, the slothful person, was a person who did nothing. Now we know that a person who suffers from depression is often unable to motivate themselves, thus there is a change of attitude in society for this illness. However, not all will share this compassion. A small town, for instance, may still hold strong religious beliefs about this condition.

You will need to ask yourself why your character is slothful. Are they bullied? Even adults can be bullied by over powering personality types in the family, work place or in their social connections. Have they just had a child and suffer from postpartum or are they recently back from the war and suffer nightmares? Perhaps they have inherited a tendency for depression. I have and suffer from this illness. St. John's wart works for me and a series of mental exercises I do, but my case is mild. Is your character suicidal? Have they been sexually assaulted?

If your character lives in medieval times or Roman times or earlier, then they didn't know about depression. People still suffered from it. I'm sure that herbal healers used St. John's wart, but those healers in certain times were burned as witches and your character would have to use caution when visiting them.

Of course, there are truly lazy people and always have been.

Your job is to decide what kind of person your hero is and then work out how they overcome their slothful or depression prone personality to become a hero. He have real life examples of this. Think Abraham Lincoln. One comment made about him before he was President and after he and his wife lost a child was; "Melancholy dripped from him." What an excellent description that instantly made me feel sorrow for Lincoln and his wife Mary. Even more remarkable is that this man, with no medication available for his depression except St. John's wart, (and we don't know if he used it), became the President that lead The United States of America through one of the most turbulant times in our history and overcame. That's hero stuff in my book.

Any thoughts? I hope these post are helpful for you.
Nancy

Wikepedia: picture link.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed and your Hero

Today I'm continuing the Seven Deadly Sins and  your Hero with the sin Avarice (Latin) which means Greed. This is one sin that many of us are familiar with. Society is ripe with Greed. Greed drove Wall Street and the Big Banks to ruin our economy and got away with it because (in America) the government lifted the  restrictions that kept them honest. However, business' are not the only place to find Greed. Every place people are, there are those who are Greedy. Not just in our time but throughout history Greed drove many to do terrible things in order to better themselves and those they loved. With this kind of character flaw inhabiting  your hero how do you handle the changes that must happen for your character to see the error of their ways and become a hero/heroine?

Whatever you decide it must be Big. No small event can change such a person. Do they have a near death experience? Do they or a loved one have health issues. Does your character climb a mountain to prove their worth and have an epiphany? You get the picture.

In the beginning of your story you must invest some time establishing their Greedy nature and perhaps all the luxury they have because of it. I'd say no more than one chapter. Then bang, perhaps their investments go south (slang for they lose everything) or perhaps they realize that the homeless woman on the corner is suffering do to circumstances beyond her control.Thus they get involved with charities and take their business savvy into a different arena.

An alternative to this situation is when another character or a group of characters perceive your hero/heroine to be Greedy when they are not. You are still dealing with the same character flaw and  you must establish the reasons others think this. Once again, you go Big with your logic to  paint a  picture that is false. Then you must go Big to change the minds of those around  your hero/heroine.

In every example I used you will find books, movies and television shows. However, only you can write your story, in your voice and make it original.

Any thoughts? I a movie, book or television show come to mind? I hope this was a little help to you.
Nancy

Picture Link: Wikipedia

The Seven Deadly Sins and Your Hero: Wrath

A re-post. Despite the original post I am back and blogging from home.

One delay after another, but now I am back on a limited basis using the library computer. So to retrace what I promised here is the first "deadly sin" and your hero/heroine.

Wrath:

Wrath is over the top anger. I bet you know someone who fits this description. They are unable to control their anger and violence usually results. Your hero or heroine may suffer from wrath. The question you must ask yourself is: What triggers their wrath? How does s/he control it?

Many villains suffer from wrath, but our heroes? Once you make this choice for one of your character's traits, than you must use skill and understanding to weave the scenes where your hero or heroine loses control. Build tension, just as you would with any other crisis. Make sure that their wrath is justifiable. It's my guess that breaking plates, or throwing an object is more acceptable than beating someone. However, much depends on your characters position in life. If they live in current times, stress can be a trigger. They would probably have some psychological training in dealing with their anger so you have a strong tool at your disposal. If they live in Medieval times, or Victorian times, or some other time in the past, I'd recommend a little research on your part to determine what was acceptable behavior back then and make sure that you weave that information into your story in a way that is natural and not a lecture.

Above all, entertain your readers. Make them sit on the edge of their seats. Give them a page turner at the end of every chapter via a strong hook. As you write, enjoy what comes out onto the page, if you don't, it's likely your readers won't either.

More sins are on their way: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

Critique help? Check my blog schedule to learn more.



I hope this helped.
Nancy

Character Traits: The Seven Deadly Sins

Greetings. I'm reposting to bring us all up to date on this weekly writer's post. I need the refresher as much as you do. I will cover all seven sins and your hero. Next Monday will also be a re-post, then after that it's all new. Hope it helps you in your writing.



It's May, welcome back to Character Traits. Sine we have been talking about Hero's and their character traits I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss the Seven Deadly Sins and your hero. Like it or not, these Catholic based "sins" are part of our society and serve to bring layers upon layers to a hero. We expect the villain to have major flaws, but I submit that it is the struggle to overcome our failures that make a hero who they are. If you are not familiar with the seven deadly sins I have posted the Wikipedia definition below. Starting next Monday I will cover our hero and each of the sins one at a time. I hope that you all will join in a discussion on these flaws and let me know what you think.
Nancy

Seven deadly sins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices (part of Christian ethics) that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin. The currently recognized version of the sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: venial sins, in which guilt is relatively minor, and the more severe mortal sins. Theologically, a mortal sin is believed to destroy the life of grace within the person and thus creates the threat of eternal damnation. "Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished [for Catholics] within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation."[1]

Biblical lists

In the Book of Proverbs (Mishlai), King Solomon stated that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth." namely:[4]

A proud look.
A lying tongue.
Hands that shed innocent blood.
A heart that devises wicked plots.
Feet that are swift to run into mischief.
A deceitful witness that uttereth lies.
Him that soweth discord among brethren.

While there are seven of them, this list is considerably different from the traditional one, with only pride clearly being in both lists.

Another list, given this time by the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), includes more of the traditional seven sins, although the list is substantially longer: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like".[5] Since Saint Paul goes on to say that the persons who commit these sins "shall not inherit the Kingdom of God", they are usually listed as (possible) mortal sins rather than Capital Vices.

So, this is the run down. Next Monday we will start with number 1, and ask the question, does my hero/heroine have this fault and if so how do they respond to it? I hope you will join me. Nancy

Update: We are moving today to a bug free, mold free and clean apartment. Plus I'm saving over $200.00, a much needed amount to help with all the expenses. I won't be around much and all post planned for this week will be delayed. However, I am sure that when I return I will be able to do a lot more blogging and visiting and writing. Yea!

We moved, I'm better! Do you need critique help? Check out my  blog schedule in the pages above to see what I'm doing.

Nancy