|

Conflicted Characters – Guest Post 2 – Branwen OShea

ByGuest Author

While I love all my characters, my favorites to write are the really conflicted ones. I love showing the internal tug of war between their urges and their beliefs because I can so relate. It seems with the upsurge of villain and serial killer shows on television that the public enjoys watching these internal battles as well.

In my latest book, there are two majorly conflicted characters. One is the villain, who wants to save humanity at any cost, but then pays a price he wasn’t willing to pay. The other is an alien who has nearly reached enlightenment and then experiences a trauma that makes him rethink his pacifist ways. Yes, I’m being a bit vague because I don’t want to give spoilers. Do you enjoy reading really conflicted characters? Why or why not?

Branwen OShea author photoAbout the Author

Branwen OShea has collected unusual stories and animal friends since childhood, when wild creatures waited on her porch for help. She helped found a cat rescue and has shared her home with an opossum, skunks, raccoons, and a crow. Her interest in communicating with animals was matched by a keen urge to help people connect with themselves and the natural world through stories.

Visit her website: branwenoshea.com

Similar Posts

Theosophy and Visionary Fiction, Part Two

Theosophy and Visionary Fiction, Part Two

ByVictor Smith

[In Part One of this post, we discussed the similarities and differences between theosophy and theology, the two forms of theosophy (Blavatskyian with a capital-T and generic with a small-T), and that the spirituality prescribed by theosophy has the elements of universalism and perennialism in common with the definitions of Visionary Fiction.] Theosophy (Small-t) Proper…

Reincarnation as an Element in Visionary Fiction: Part 2
|

Reincarnation as an Element in Visionary Fiction: Part 2

ByVictor Smith

The stranglehold that Justinian’s Council of Constantinople placed on the concept of reincarnation and the Gnostic approach to truth through personal experience held fast for about a millennium. But there’s an odd thing about truth, especially those dealing with fundamental principles. It is resilient; it keeps coming back until it is recognized as valid. And so it happened with the doctrine of reincarnation.

The Roles of Character and Spirituality in The Hidden World of Wysteria Series – Owl Willows

The Roles of Character and Spirituality in The Hidden World of Wysteria Series – Owl Willows

ByVisionary Fiction Alliance

Since The Paperback Writer of Central Park, I have self published two more novels in The Hidden World of Wysteria Series, with more to come. They are Into Wysteria, and Beneath Rain and Stars. When I first wrote The Paperback Writer on my old Thinkpad computer, I did not imagine it would be the first…

3 Comments

  1. Yes, all of my characters are conflicted. It breathes life into their character arc, their transformation.

  2. “I love showing the internal tug of war between their urges and their beliefs because I can so relate.” Yes, fictional characters can help refect us back to ourselves.

  3. Yes! The more conflicted, the better. Humans are complex, multi-faceted beings, capable of desiring and loathing the same thing. The best stories come from that tension.

Comments are closed.