From Hero to Villain

[kimo333]

OK, so I've wanted to start writing for a while, and i think i finally have an idea. so far i have only the earliest skeleton of a plot, but in the story i want to write, something happens to the main character, so far i think he'll find something that belonged to someone evil or something, he'll use it all the time, and he will slowly start hearing a voice, and become slowly corrupted, until he is completely corrupted and he hears the voice of his good personality trying to stop him, until that voice dies out.
"When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you"
kind of like this
so my questions are, do you think this would work for a story? and is this too similar to any other fantasy?
and any criticism

 

[Leif GS Notae]

Hmmm, there has to be something redeeming to this character for us to feel everything he is going through, so that is a major point you want to keep in mind.

He should be the mirror of every person, an individual that anyone could be. Of course, that makes me less than unique.

So, you have to work on this character being unique and sympathetic. You have to play on humanity and corruption, the ease of which these things dance and sing.

It's tough going, but I am sure you can do it. I'd advise reading other works that are like it (I love me some Lord Soth in Dragonlance, he is the quintessential doomed protagonist turned antagonist), and see if those strike your fancy. Then outdo them.

Best of luck, hope that helps!

 

[Telcontar]

Similar in that it has been done before? Yes, of course. Don't let that bother you.

I think it could be very intriguing (with the eternal caveat "if done well") to have that "bad" voice speaking up constantly and his own conscience or "good" voice answering it, and then towards them middle of the book they sort of switch places. His conscience becomes the fainter voice, losing the battle as you implied.

It will also be important to make sure they are not always so easily distinguishable. As the old saw goes, "no one thinks he's the bad guy." The "bad" voice needs to be seductive, not outright evil all the time. There needs to be times when it seems to be talking sense whereas the "good" voice is being foolish, so that listening to the "bad" voice is something the reader could even see doing themselves.

 

[Ghost]

do you think this would work for a story? and is this too similar to any other fantasy?
and any criticism

Superficially, an object with a corrupting influence reminds me of the ring in LOTR (and I guess Der Ring des Nibelungen) and the horcruxes in Harry Potter. Other things came to mind, but they had to do with locations rather than an object.

It obviously works for a fantasy and with different results. The bad effects weren't the focus of the plots, so I'm not worried about it being similar to those stories. My concern would be the "voice of his good personality trying to stop him." Is it like his conscience? I can't tell if it's his good side vs. the bad parts of himself, his true self vs. foreign influence, another identity vs. evil object, etc. What else is going on during his descent? I don't need to know the details, but I'm curious whether he's going about his normal life while this is going on.

 

[Steerpike]

Hmmmm. I disagree generally with the idea that a bad guy as MC has to be redeemed in any way, sympathetic, seductive, or any of those other traits. He certainly can be, but it is not required. That is speaking in general terms. Here, I do think you are dealing with a common theme, but it is common for a reason - it can be a very effective way of showing a human decline (followed by salvation or not) that resonates with an audience. The idea will work. Making the transition believable will be the tough part.

 

[Penpilot]

This is basically a fall from grace story. It's kind of a classic story arch-type. I believe Shakespeare's Othello would fall in to the same category of story. A very-very bad, but famous, example is the Star Wars prequels, Vader's seduction to the darkside. It's been done, but just like anything, if it's done well it can be awesome, but when done poorly... yikes.

 

[Devor]

I'd like to know what it is you mean by evil. If Fred picks up your one-ring, would it be the same evil voice which Rob would hear if he were the one to get it? People, I think, have different "evil versions" of themselves, and I think it'd be interesting to see an item which played upon that idea instead of the voice-with-an-agenda concept we usually see.

But you've probably already got that part figured out by now. I suppose I'll never see a fantasy book about the evil voice of gluttony and sloth plaguing our wizard until he no longer fits into his robes and is too tired to carry his staff.

 

[Ireth]

I for one love a good hero-to-villain story, and I'm in fact writing one myself. It's a lot of fun seeing a character whom I'd initially conceived as a villain actually have a past as a perfectly decent man, and then over the years slid deeper into evil as he became a vampire and started drinking human blood, and went insane partly as a result of that. It makes working on the stories in which he is a villain all the more tragic in my opinion, to know how far he's fallen.

 

[Jon_Chong]

Does the hero realize what this thing is doing to him? If so, how does he react to it? Like maybe he thinks he can control it at first but as he uses it more and more, he realizes just how much sense it all makes and before long he's rationalizing his actions. Another thing to consider is the ending. What's the punchline? Will the hero be defeated by a new set of heroes? Will the hero's best friend sacrifice himself to remind the hero that he was always good? Or will the hero bask in his new found power?

 

[Ankari]

I have some questions:

1) Is he a hero in that he actually fights for the just cause and abides by a higher moral code?

2) Who is the voice he is hearing? Is it another entity or ir is a manifestation of his suppressed desires?

3) Does he know the item is evil? If so, why did he willingly use it?

4) Why didn't his good voice try to stop him initially?

 

[The Dark One]

I'd like to know what it is you mean by evil. If Fred picks up your one-ring, would it be the same evil voice which Rob would hear if he were the one to get it? People, I think, have different "evil versions" of themselves, and I think it'd be interesting to see an item which played upon that idea instead of the voice-with-an-agenda concept we usually see.

But you've probably already got that part figured out by now. I suppose I'll never see a fantasy book about the evil voice of gluttony and sloth plaguing our wizard until he no longer fits into his robes and is too tired to carry his staff.

Lord Festoon in William Horwood's Hyddenworld. I thought this book started superbly but fell away disappointingly in the second half. I loved the slow build up and sense of real evil in the first half...but when they actually entered the hyddenworld it all became a pathetic cartoon. Lord Festoon was this grotesque and repulsive glutton who rejoiced in his own obesity...even used his obesity as a weapon!

Do better Horwood!