1. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    Feelings towards a character trying to "rewrite" his/her past?!

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Marthix2016, Nov 21, 2019.

    I'm pondering a good question with one of my characters in the story I'm currently writing and would like to collect some thoughts. What are your thoughts and feelings towards a character (hero or villain) trying to "rewrite" his or her past? Now...the definition of "rewriting the past" can go in many different directions. Perhaps a character lost a loved one and they feel really bad about they could've done to prevent it and they can't get over that part. Maybe they hate who they were to that person who passed away and they changed their name to start fresh. I'm just saying this is a character who is very conflicted with himself/herself. They can be really hard on themselves over things gone wrong in past times. Potentially could lead them down a dark path. Anyone know of any good examples of such a character that lived a very damaged past and tried to make amends to cover them up or such?
     
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  2. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    Well rewriting their own past is a lot different than trying to forget something that happened in the past. What exactly are you trying to do? These are actually fairly standard characters, and you find that most every character except for the insufferable Mary Sues have something they either don't want remembered, or are actively trying to hide. If someone is trying to actively rewrite their past, they may fall further down the villain route, say as a false king trying to rewrite his past as a beggar, or a politician creating an alibi for the time he was bribed to vote a certain way. If you were possibly a bit more specific to what you intend to do, we could give a more solid answer. Anyone even considering rewriting their past needs to have to something to gain with that past being gone, and that past needs to be strong enough to warrant the rewriting, if you will.
     
  3. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

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    Senua from the video game Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. The story was a brilliant hero's journey about that very thing.
     
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  4. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I think the idea that a character wants to pretend that the past didn't happen—or was different from what actually did happen—is very common in stories. Usually (but not always) the story's plot revolves around this true past finally coming to light. The character may be in a much better place after the Big Reveal, or may be in a much worse state.

    The reader may—or may not—be aware of what the truth is, at the start of the story.

    There are so many nuances. The character may simply avoid talking about his past when dealing with new people. At some point he may admit that there ARE things about his past he doesn't want to talk about without revealing what they are. He may lie by omission, getting people to assume things about himself that are simply not true. Or he can actively work to create a new past for himself by inventing details, even producing 'proof,' of a past that actually never happened.

    Any of these measures can make him a sympathetic character (somebody we sympathise with) OR they can make him someone we despise. Part of the reader's reaction depends on what the character is concealing, of course. But part of it also depends on what his reason for concealing things is. Does he simply want to start his life anew, or is he trying to manipulate people for his own gain?

    Was the character who experienced this 'past' somebody we would have liked back then—back when the past was happening? Or is he somebody we would have run a mile to get away from?

    The protagonist in my own novel is somebody who had things done to him in the past and who retaliated in ways he wishes he hadn't. When he becomes involved with a new group of people later on—people who know nothing about him—he bypasses any mention of what happened in his past. He actually tells lies a couple of times. He is essentially a very honest (but reserved) person, so telling these lies doesn't come easy to him, and he's not comfortable telling them. He lies both by omission and also by denying the truth whenever his new acquaintances wander too close to it.

    My readers are sympathetic to him because my Prologue makes it clear what happened to him when he was younger. The reader is aware from the start that he's deceiving his new acquaintances. We assume that sooner or later the past will come back to bite him—and it does. However, all he is trying to do is make a new life for himself and protect a certain individual from his past. He doesn't want to hurt anybody. So he's a sympathetic character.

    I also had to confront the issue about the Big Reveal. Does he eventually reveal everything about his past to his new friends and family? Or does the novel end with a few secrets he's still keeping to himself, even after most of it HAS been revealed?

    Answer: I'm not telling. :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2019
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  5. OzeeManDias

    OzeeManDias Member

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    As someone who's currently writing a protagonist that attempts to rewrite their past after a traumatic event, I can present only my experience in writing him.

    Like I said, my character was known under one name for most of his childhood, but after a traumatic event occurred where he killed a mentor in self-defense, he forced himself off the grid, so to speak, only to re-emerge years later with an entirely new identity, treating himself as though he has no ties to his former life and acting as though the person he left behind has passed on. The only individuals who know his true identity rejected him for tribalistic reasons.

    Ultimately, how I intended to write this character was not so much that he was trying to become a better person or that he was erasing elements of his past that might incriminate him, but rather that he's running away from the demons that exist in that former life of his, and part of the thrust of the story is him being forced to confront those demons in different ways.

    So it all just depends on where you intend to take a character, really.
     
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  6. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    I'm trying to write a villain who I want the audience to sympathize with, I want to make her feel very human. I know from experience what it feels like after a traumatic event like losing a loved one and how it can change one's mentality/lifestyle/personality. Depression and all that stuff too. I think my villain feels the need to change her identity after she loses a loved one (fyi it's not a boyfriend/girlfriend) in the story, she becomes very hurtful towards herself at first but then slowly switches that anger to those surrounding her...like all of her closest friends who gave her the most comfort after her loved one's death, she begins to hate them over a slow period of time. She thinks they're pressuring her to do things she doesn't want to do in her life and a bit of the anger sparks from that. Inside her head, she thinks she's becoming a better person by burying her past and starting from scratch (or square one) but she's running away from her demons instead of confronting them. It'll be a sad story for her ultimately, tragic. However, in the end she will become redeemed but fair chance she will die. I was going to write her as an antihero but I feel like having her as the villain would be more powerful.
     
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  7. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    Great words. I have a villain who will hide a lot of her past from her friends, she'll cover up a lot of things. But eventually she'll start to slip and it'll end up coming back to haunt her. I feel the audience will sympathize for her and how she becomes trapped in this abyss inside her head from what happens earlier in the story. She used to be a hero, everyone loved and admired, and turns into someone with a very dark heart. She is an extremely intelligent woman but at the same time there are cracks in her armor from her past that she fails to see. She will be a lot of fun to write, though I will be able to relate to her feelings as well as others I know.
     
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  8. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    Good to know! I'll look Senua up! Thanks for the suggestion!
     
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  9. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    I'm moving towards the villain route with the character I have in question. Her self-inflicted pain from how she thinks about her past sends her down the wrong path and she begins to turn on those she used to love or had alliances with. What does she want to gain by rewriting (also...covering up) the past? Well, her family has a big reputation so she needs to look good in the public eye...she's more or less in a situation where the weight of the world feels like it's on her shoulders after the passing of a loved one and it begins crushing her emotionally and physically. She more or less does this rewriting to save herself because she cannot look weak in front of others. May sound a bit ominous but she's the last of her bloodline as well. Her ultimate fate is not too promising, she will probably be a tragic character. Makes sense she's the main villain. I want readers to connect to her and relate to her.
     
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  10. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Just curious. Is the audience going to be aware of the truth from the beginning, or will they need to discover it along with other characters in your story?
     
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  11. Marthix2016

    Marthix2016 Banned

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    Good question. I think it'll be towards the middle of the story (climax). Along with the other characters in the story. My villain will originally be on the good side and I feel the audience won't be able to tell her slipping....my villain is good at wearing a mask. I actually think I'll have her wear a physical mask when she slips, makes her feel more comfortable since she's an introvert/shy..makes her stronger. When she inevitably sheds her mask, I hope that might shock the audience. I want my readers to connect with my villain (when she's on the good side) so when she flips there will still be a connection.
     
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  12. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    A classic example of this is Jay Gatsby, the erstwhile James (Jimmy) Gatz.
     
  13. Tralala

    Tralala Active Member

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    Tricking the reader like that sounds problematic...

    I'd build in some hints, so they don't feel the author has pulled a fast one. Better if they think, at the point where she unmasks, Oh yeah... I knew that (even if they didn't).
     
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  14. cosmic lights

    cosmic lights Contributor Contributor

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    I've never seen it as a worth while goal to be honest. In stead of using the power to re-write what's happened and done why not use that power to write a future you want for yourself. Things that happen in the past shape you. My past is in my past. If I had the ability it would be my future I'd like to write in stone and have total control over. Since the future is unknown and scary.

    Plus, if you re-write the past it doesn't guarantee you a secure and happy future.
     
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