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