Writing Excuses 8.47: Roguishness with Scott Lynch

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Writing Excuses 8.47: Roguishness with Scott Lynch

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2013/11/24/writing-excuses-8-47-roguishness-with-scott-lynch/

 Key points: Sympathetic roguish characters are usually very charming. We like transgressive performance -- strong warriors, fast fighters, amazing magicians, and social transgression, too. Boundary and rule breaking can be attractive! Charming rogues and antiheroes are closely related. Part of the appeal is getting away with stuff we wish we could try. How do we do this? Time compression! Charming, witty, exactly right can take months of writing for just a minute of action or dialogue. Go back and punch it up -- you don't have to do it all in one afternoon. Awful is in the eye of the reader, and what the author intends may not have the expected effect. Often antiheroes are seen as good in comparison to the people they are going up against, who are worse. Have a foil hang a lantern on the behavior.
( Nothing up my sleeves... )

[Brandon] All right. Let's... We're out of time. This has been a wonderful podcast. I'm actually... I'm very sad we're out of time. But we do need to wrap it up. Let's go ahead and do a writing prompt. I think Scott... Let's be roguish and give us a writing prompt.
[Scott] I have to... Okay, a writing prompt. Well, for research purposes, locate your nearest bank...
[Howard] Oh, my gosh.
[Laughter]
[Howard] Stop! Stop him! [We need some?] People who are bigger than Scott Lynch.
[Scott] Okay. For legal purposes, I can't say that. You know what would be interesting, if you went to the closest bank and attempted to withdraw $20,000 by means... Okay, I can't do that. I will give you one directly relevant from my day. Complicate a scene or story by adding an unexpected injury or illness that completely flips the protagonist's perspective on what they're doing.
[Brandon] Very nicely done. This has been Writing Excuses. You're out of excuses, now go write.
[Applause]