Limyaael

08:45 pm: Flaw-scrubbing rant
The title of this rant refers to a process that happens to characters who start off genuinely flawed—usually the heroes, but sometimes villains or random minor characters who need to learn a lesson. The author scrubs them throughout the book, turning every flaw or possibly murky incident into its best possible interpretation, and insisting that some other things that made the character who he was change completely. Now, I’m all for character arcs, but only if they don’t produce a shining, flawless stereotype at the end.

( What not to do when dealing with flawed characters )

This ties in with redemption stories, but so often the hero really has nothing to be redeemed from; the author just thinks he does, because my gosh, he’s not Mr. Perfect yet, and winds up blotting out all the shadows that actually make him human.

Tags: author's darlings, characterization: protagonists, fantasy rants summer 2004

06:04 pm: Special ability rant
I would have said, a little while ago, that I have a low opinion of characters with special abilities, but that’s not true. I have a low opinion of the way that most authors handle them.

( Better ways of handling them )

I’ve grown more and more allergic to heroes with special abilities. Too often, it seems as though the story were written for the ability, not the hero.

Tags: author's darlings, fantasy rants summer 2004, worldbuilding: magic

01:12 pm: Author's Darlings, and murdering them in their cradles.
Author's Darlings are not, for me, the same as Canon Mary Sues. Canon Mary Sues I consider those characters whose perceptions are perfectly in accord with objective reality, who are always right, who don't make mistakes. Author's Darlings are the characters who, when I read them, make me able to hear the author going, "Teehee! Isn't he cute?" in the background, or "Awww! Isn't she wonderful?" in the background.

No, they are not cute. They are not wonderful. They need to die now, and people need to learn the difference between loving their characters and falling in love with their characters.

To show more clearly what I mean, I'll use a character who could so easily have been an Author's Darling, but instead turned out pretty damn good: Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos.

( An Author's Darling this way comes... )

Having seen enough truly creepy character obsessions in fandom, I have no desire to see more in fantasy fiction.

Tags: author's darlings, fantasy rants spring 2004, stupid clichés rants