Hi, first proper post here and I've already made an introduction in the New Member bit too. So, anyway, I was -- and I loathe this word -- `musing` to myself about the persona and applications of that persona that a character who is cynical, a bit of a loner and sardonic in nature, could be useable as a main character. Just to be clear, this is not a character for a full-blown story or novel/novella, but more in general for the various ideas that find their way in to the madness that is my mind. Developing them is something I do naturally whenever my brain wants to `escape`, I suppose. So, no help right now needed there. I suppose what am I pondering is whether or not a character as described above, could be used in any setting that warrents it. Let's say, for instance, that the persona above was used for a character that is a... `professional criminal` of sorts. A life that requires tight organisation, an ability to think business-like and also get the job done as efficiently as possible. That kind of life drives many types of people away; it's dangerous to associate with them unless you're in the business yourself. It's these kinds of things that contributes to someone becoming a loner when they're in the criminal business. Business in question might be thieving, hired killing and so on and so forth. It may also lead to an attitude to life that is bitter and skeptical without hard facts/evidence/cash up front. Sound perfectly resonable, I suppose. Anyway, that's my first little collection of assorted thoughts on here. To more experience members here, it probably makes no sense. So, what do you think?
the cynical, hard-boiled hero/protag has always been the mainstay of the noir genre... hammet, chandler and later, macdonald nailed it to a faretheewell and writers have been trying to equal them ever since...
Sam Spade and the Maltese Falcon. Nice. I tend to stay away from the Noir genre. I prefer it when the setting isn't about th archetypal hard-boiled gumshoe and more when it is the reserved, lone criminal or maybe even a party not belonging to either of those two categories. I just find them to be more interesting characters than a whisical optimist or a happy-go-lucky `free spirit`. These kinds of characters, I find, are harder to write for/about. They generally like everything, without being skeptical and can be oblivious even to obvious bad. Just doesn't mesh with me, I guess.
