Opposites exist only in relation to one another.
Ahhh, the wisdom of Wikipedia. :)
But there is wisdom in that statement. Without love, could we have hate? If there were no poor, would there ever be rich? Weak and strong? Diet and regular? Chocolate Frosty and Vanilla Frosty?
You get the idea. So, if all of that holds up, well, except the Frosty one (or especially the Frosty one...), then Miss Yin and Mr. Yang exist in our writing. Good boy and bad boy. Dark and Light. Good and evil. And the opposites intrique us. Take Lisa DesRochers's PERSONAL DEMONS. Luc and Gabe (Lucifer and Gabriel, Hell and Heaven) are after Frannie. Luc has dark hair, wears dark clothes, drives a black muscle car. Gabe is a blondie bear in light colors with all white furniture in his house. By the way, the author admits she included the cliques on purpose. But my point is that without the distinct opposites, we may see, GASP, similarities and be tempted to ride the fence.
But isn't it more thrilling when the cut-and-dry falls away. When the villain shows us a hint of something, just a whiff of goodness, and we start to think, 'Wait a minute...did he just...but I...' Or the hero narrows her eyes when she shouldn't. Decides not to show mercy when she knows it's right.
Yeah, you know what I mean. It's the gray area that hooks us and reels, reels, reels us in.
Do you ignore Yin and Yang in your writing? Prance about in the wonderful world of gray? :) What do you prefer as a reader? Are 'gray' characters more realistic? Do you expect to see the more black-and-white characters in books for younger readers? Do they deserve the gray as much as us old-timers (for the record, I'm twenty eight and seriously kidding about the whole 'old-timers' thing)?
Completely unrelated! I owe you all an apology. I've been a terrible blog follower lately, and I can't even blame the fact that my Blogger dashboard has been wiped clean (although, oddly enough, that has happened). Busy month, post A to Z laziness, new WIP. Pick your excuse.
I'm sorry! I love you all! I promise to try harder!
-Marie
5 comments:
Hmm, I never thought about setting up my conflict like that--but this is definitely something to consider while I'm revising. :)
Even the Yin-Yang symbol holds a bit of the opposite in it's grasp. The idea that there is a bit of the opposite in everything makes for a good read. ; )
What I know about good and evil is that, in any practical sense, they are completelt subjective. Determined both by the perception of the individual observing the action/person and on the intent of the individual performing the action.
I admit I like yin and yang. Even though I don't consciously pick up on it, my subconscious recognizes it right away in writing. Great post!
I think that you can't ignore the Yin and Yang aspects in writing. Even if you don't use both in print, you have to at least explore both to grasp concepts of the one you gravitate toward. It's like the Newton's Law of Writing!
Ava
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