Thomas Sullivan: HOW TO LOVE A VILLAIN, RIDING DRAGONS ON PANDORA & AVATAR
I don’t know if I can do this. I want to, but I don’t know if I can. I want to tell you about characters, about heroes & villains and the necessity of empathizing with them, but I think it’s a lot like telling you to go through psychoanalysis.
That’s because you have to be bigger than your characters. You have to contain them. All of them. The ones of the opposite sex, the sinners and saints, the cowards and fools, the twisted and the pure, the children, the obese octogenarian of another culture or another race, the thieves, the liars, the cheats, the Einstein, the Forrest Gump, the suicidal, the politically opposite of what you believe, the warrior and the pacifist. Fight or flight must be in you in every possible equation. Fear and desire in all proportions. You must be in a wheelchair and you must train with Olympians. So, if you want to be a writer — or even a complete, empathic, insightful, creative human being — you need some serious psychoanalysis.
Whatever makes you snuggle comfortably into your demographic works against this, of course. Whether you are Joe Sixpack camped in front of the TV or the bored woman who was promised it all when she hauled her advanced degree to the altar, you won’t outrun your own borders without a mental overhaul. It’s relatively easy to sympathize/empathize with yourself. Even if you are filled with self-hate, confusion or depression, you can probably recall specific things and events that changed you from positive to negative and therefore you remember a time when whatever you were seemed justified and worthy. But as an exercise, think of your worst enemy or someone you hate and try to empathize with them. That’s the acid test if you’re going to assume the God power of creating people, or even the insight to understand the human blueprints for every person. Creativity doesn’t fit a mold or follow a stereotype.
But how do you achieve such broad-mindedness without sometimes compromising or even contradicting your beliefs and values? And doesn’t the inherent contradiction in trying to represent everyone’s POV convincingly where they differ from your own threaten who you are? Ya, you betcha it does. Small writers — small people — who reach mindlessly in that direction are almost doomed. They are at risk of losing their souls, of becoming intellectual and emotional whores, or of simply drowning in more life than they can sort out. But I’m not making a pitch for you to become some giddy, singsong, bleeding heart, all-inclusive, ex-patriot hippie who is so open-minded that their brains are lying in the road behind them. What I’m saying is that you can let go of your demographic without abandoning it. You can reach across the aisle into truth about the human condition in all its stripes; you can walk the walk, share the passion, talk the talk. All you need do is drop prior expectations, judgments (and maybe even a few biases) as you meet/create characters with unique histories and independent motives. And at the end of the day you can still flee back to familiar things you have chosen to define yourself.
Of course, that’s where the psychoanalysis comes in. Because you may not want to go back. Not completely. You may change, learn, grow, if you open up in this way. It’s really quite emancipating — and sometimes even a relief — to go outside the appearances of your life. And it’s exhilarating to work in the same industry as God, Nicholas Sparks and Dr. Frankenstein. You never know what you’ll come up with, plus — oh, boy, here’s the door prize — know that above all you will learn to live more honestly within yourself. The genuine, authentic, uncompromised, absolutely core Version 1.0 of YOU may re-emerge and trump the accumulated Version 99 with all its patches, fixes and updates. But I hasten to repeat that it doesn’t have to shine a new light over your entire outward life. It may be enough if it just shines a new light in your head, heart and soul during those times when they are up on deck. True, you will then be schizophrenic. Sort of. But hey, you aren’t all that real when you’re living mostly appearances, if you want to know the truth. Now at least you can be honest about it half the time. And for all you know, that might be the best half of your life.
S’pose I should finish off here with a little show ‘n’ tell by way of example. I’ve never been in therapy, but I’ve been in way deep self-analysis all my life. Can’t tell you exactly why. Maybe I was the class clown who got attention by being different; maybe I couldn’t win anything so I took my bat and ball and went home, refusing to play the game; or maybe I really was just different. Doesn’t matter. When you don’t belong anywhere, in a sense you belong everywhere. I had circumstantial help. A certain rootlessness anchored me to the broader universe — I had lived in a dozen countries by the time I was six, and maybe the different languages were part of the reason I seemed to be tuned to shadows and echoes rather than taking everything at face value. But whether or not you have circumstances conducive to force you to look over walls, you DO get to choose where to put your borders. Probably at critical or even life-defining moments. As Jake Sully (no relation) says in Avatar, “Sometimes your whole life comes down to one insane move.”
The movie Avatar says quite perfectly some of the things I’m trying to say here. It’s one of those films in which you can find what you want, and its premise is an ancient Hollywood cliché, but the real magic is in its fantasy culture (the Na’vi) and how the characters relate. The Na’vi are driven by tradition, but their individualism trumps mere appearances of tradition. Though the chief’s daughter is socially ordained to marry the heir apparent to the chief, the reality of her love for Jake Sully wins unhesitatingly. They simply mate after vowing their mutual love in a natural setting one afternoon and that bonds them for life. When a clash of cultures annihilates their home, the Na’vi begin again without looking back. There is a kind of freedom implicit in their openness to all of nature. And because they are open to all of it, it is open to them, from messaging through tree roots to riding dragons. They embrace reality without losing their souls. They will survive any change because their minds and their spirits are not narrowed into a subset, a demographic. They live by the truth within themselves, as we all secretly yearn to do.
That’s the kind of childlike honesty that flows through the veins of creativity. Purest reality and yet, because of its searching honesty, it becomes the hyper-reality of romantic idealism, of perfect empathy. It is not a short-term perception that fits mere circumstances. It is an unfettered perception that links beyond one’s circumstances and thus opens the door to understanding and creating truly believable characters. Any and all characters.
When your writing drags on, try riding dragons.
May I invite you to follow me on Twitter? It’s just something fun you can peep at without having to interact. Samples of recent Tweets: Valentine’s Day: I shall visit a place where a woman once married me in her heart, mind & soul, and loved me with her body. And… I keep seeing what I think is the same deer in the same place. The buck stops here… And… Just driving around all night, dodging recalled Toyotas. Missed Toyotas but witnessed a disaster while listening to Howie Day’s “Collide.” Here’s the link: http://twitter.com/thomassullivan . I’ll also be happy to put you on the mailing list for free newsletters packed with stories and adventures, including photos, if you email me at: mn333mn@earthlink.net . Past newsletters w/photos are archived at the author’s website below under News & Articles (http://www.thomassullivanauthor.com/News.htm ) and usually go up within 1 day of being sent out. Your thoughts are welcome, your attention valued.
Thomas “Sully” Sullivan
A beautiful start to my day! You did it! You managed to speak about something that is so complicated and so personal, yet you left me awash with understanding in just a few paragraphs.
I also think that a lot of people miss the hidden treasures to be found in Avatar. I agree with everything you said, Sully. I just wouldn’t have known how to say it out loud.
[This comment of David Niall Wilson's is transferred from the main blog]
David Niall Wilson
February 16th, 2010 at 4:48 am
I think you’ve also hit directly on the head why so many authors choose to cookie-cut characters and give them just enough individuality to separate one from another without breathing life into any…it’s one thing to be greater than a single character. Being greater than the interaction of two magnifies it exponentially…a novel can be a powerful thing…
And you just like the character in Avatar because of the name Sully…
DNW
LOL Oh, the name just sealed it. You know, I almost never feel a film can’t miss based on the previews, but when the trailer (with no character names) popped up something like 9 mos before release, I turned to my son and said, “This is going to be pure magic…must-see.”
And your comment about exponential characterization is well taken. Greater than the sum of the parts is another level for those who would invent people and turn them loose to interact according to human nature.
– Sully
Hey, Carole, I’d trade a few of those paragraphs of explanation I wrote for any of your characters that SHOW how to do it with a few deft quirks of action or dialogue. Could’ve written another article about the use of subtle eccentricity you employ.
Avatar was benchmark! I haven’t even seen TITANIC, so it isn’t the formula of mega-film by Cameron that drew me in. And it really isn’t the premise of Avatar that bakes my bread. It’s the character level magic of innocence and romantic idealism in the larger sense. It’s exactly what I go looking for every day.
– Sully
Sully, once again I am amazed and inspired. One day when I take the giant leap into fiction, I shall study this piece. I love your Tweets listed here. And if I can ever manage to get up to speed on technology and actually know what Tweeting is, I promise you will be the first person I follow on Twitter.
Sadly lagging behind in technology, I have at last started a food blog, delightfulrepast.blogspot.com, with the second post being added later today. The name comes from something your uber-polite friend and Webmeister has said to me for years after nearly every meal (and, of course, now that he has taken over much of our daily cooking, I say it to him), “Thank you for the delightful repast.”
Thank you so much for all I learn from you through the column and the emails.
Jeani
Well, let me welcome you to Twitter in advance. Simply put, it’s just a kind of open journal limited to 140 characters per entry. But the best thing is you can peek at the entries of others without ever having to make an entry yourself. True, if you follow people who have nothing to say, you won’t be entertained. Of course, you don’t have to follow anyone — you can just go to Twitter and see what anyone has written right now by searching their name, or follow a link. Here’s my link as an example: http://twitter.com/thomassullivan “Following” just means that when you open a free account, they’ll give you a page to view, and anyone whose entries you want to read are right there. And it’s all anonymous.
Good luck on all your writing, Jeani — fiction, blog, or your successful non-fiction. And thanks much for the kind remarks.
– Sully
Hi Sully, Your column evokes dimension – it’s about creating real characters in writing , below that it’s creating the character you live, and at it’s interior the characters who are touched by these creations. There are detours where you capture an essence or image, and I linger enough to admire, but the thread pulls me forward. Not sure if it was the magical power of three, because on that reading, I write in my journal. “It may be just enough, to shine a new light in your head, heart and soul during those times when you are up on deck.” Here lies a desired character core, neatly layered as though you were writing while wearing 3-D glasses.
Anne
Ooh, I like the 3-D glasses element. Thanks for such a lucid extension and simile, Anne. All fully functioning artists are at heart students, and your steadfast explorations of your own creative journey reflect that. Write on!
– Sully
[transferred from main blog]
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast | MelClub
February 16th, 2010 at 12:07 am
[...] Thomas Sullivan: HOW TO LOVE A VILLAIN, RIDING DRAGONS ON PANDORA … [...]
Reading your February essay reminded me that, although the index of refraction can be defined simply as the ratio of the speed of light to the phase velocity, when dealing with substances that absorb as well as refract, the index becomes much more complex. (It is defined as the square root of the speed of light squared multiplied by the wavenumber squared and divided by the angular frequency squared.) Your mind’s eye, mon ami, definitely absorbs as well as refracts while focusing. And, when you direct your artist’s gaze, you take in a whole spectrum of details, which you then arrange and harmoniously extrapolate to illustrate phenomenal perspectives that most never notice. It takes one “rootlessly anchored in the broader universe” to even attempt that.
Again, you have given us powerful insights to use, not only in our writing, but in our daily lives; and you have given us more insight into the phenomenon known as The Sullivan.
Amalgam
Oh, how I want to believe that! Truth be told, if my mind had an eye, it would be wearing glasses — well, at least a monocle. But I ain’t too proud to grab up your kind remarks. Thank you very much. And too much insight into The Sullivan, I fear, would get me arrested. This is why I practice flight on the ski trails every day. Man, I wish I could speak the language of math like you, Nash or Feynman just so I could read the find print of stuff you bring up.
– Sully
[this comment by VICKI is transferred from the main blog]
Vicki
February 16th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Thanks for the self-psychoanalysis tips, Sully. As always, an insightful and thought-provoking post.
Love this: “True, you will then be schizophrenic. Sort of. But hey, you aren’t all that real when you’re living mostly appearances, if you want to know the truth. Now at least you can be honest about it half the time. And for all you know, that might be the best half of your life.”
Ah, schizophrenia. I have to believe it’s a rare person who doesn’t have a whole unknown inner self that builds up over time, making outward honesty problematic. In my experience, most people either default into paralysis or are driven by the pointlessness of appearances to find a way to be real at least some of the time. What you do about it ultimately determines how much of your life you waste and how much you fulfill.
Thanks, Vicki.
– Sully
[This comment from WAYNE ALLEN SALLEE is transferred from the main blog]
Wayne Allen Sallee
February 16th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Don’t forget the people who talk to their dogs, Sully. No, not Berkowitz. I’m thinking me and my collie, Buddy the Mitch. I’ll talk to him like I’m demonstrating cooking food to a TV audience, but its better than talking to myself. More to your point, if you’re not schizo, then you’re working for The Man. Are you PK Dick or any of the corporate bosses–pick one–from his novels? If a writer sticks with his default reality, odds are we’ll see the cookie-cutter characters Dave mentions above.
Re: Avatar. I saw Book of Eli then snuck in on Avatar about a third in, there was a huge box for recycled 3-D glasses. I know I can’t see in 3-D, even with the glasses, but it was free (well, against the law), but I had heard about a guy named Sallee, then found out it was Sully. But, and this is true, I went into the bathroom and vomited through my mouth, nose, and eyelids. Then went back for more, really only to get my pal Paul, who was having headaches, too. Plus, we had already seen the movie we wanted. I got the answer I wanted, that I’m still not able to see in 3-D, no matter how advanced the form is now. But, darn it all, if there was a summer release of Sully and Eva Mendes in Super 3-D, I’d have to go.
You do know “Avatar” is simultaneously shown in regular format as well, don’tcha? The ones that get me are the “Blair-Witch” head cam flicks. I walked out of “Cloverdale” a half hour in. Felt like I was riding the luge at Vancouver. Lots of 3-D coming this year, including Johnny Depp’s “Alice.” Having seen “Avatar” a couple of times in 3-D, I was struck by the fact that the effect (and the glasses) were different in each theater. More pronounced the second time around. Apparently the optics are somehow variable, as I sat in roughly the same area of the theater from the screen. Eva ain’t my type (oh, I am really particular!). I’ll give her your e-mail address…
– Sully
[this comment by WAYNE ALLEN SALLEE copied from main blog]
Wayne Allen Sallee
February 17th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Actually, Sully, it is nigh impossible to find Avatar in non-3D around here, theaters far north of me. But I have never had stuff come out of my eyelids before. I’m assuming it was the butter from the endless popcorn bag. Around here, they give you a cup and let you fill it with butter. If I had bacon for dipping, I’d be a happy man.
Aren’t you glad you weren’t watching one of the original 3-D classics “House of Wax”? You’d think you were melting. Popcorn is damn dangerous.
– Sully
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Brian Hodge
February 18th, 2010 at 2:41 am
Heya, Sully … I’m later to the table than usual, after a 5-day workshop, but better late, etc. Another entry here that will reward repeated reading, although that’s just Sully hitting par.
>A certain rootlessness anchored me to the broader universe — I had lived in a dozen countries by the time I was six
Well, there’s a revelation! I’m reminded of the old quote attributed to the Jesuits and seen in at least a couple of forms: “Give me the boy and I’ll show you the man,” and “Give us a boy until he’s 7, and we’ll have him for the rest of his life.”
You were a good deal more slippery than that. I’d say it’s served you well in the great masquerade.
Or maybe it just takes wee-hours delirium. At the moment, in my Olympic fever, I can’t tell whether I empathize more with the Canadian women, the Japanese women, or the curling stones.
“The great masquerade” — wish I could steal that for the title on those re-reads. An apt summation of life. Whatever you empathize with from the Olympics make it a highly individual sport and give yourself a gold. Don’t know about curling, though. Seems to me you could make mixing drinks with ice cubes a winter Olympic sport with as much justification. Hmmm. Podium toast?
– Slippery Sully
[This comment from JANET BERLINER is copied to the main blog]
There must be something really wrong with me. I have no trouble sliding into the shoes, heads, and hearts of my characters.
Janet
Spoken (written) like a true eclectic whose passport reads “Citizen of the Universe.” You’ve fought apartheid in South Africa, endured terrorism, danced with aristocracy, written first-hand from the world’s 20th C. stages of history, and sailed a pea green boat in Granada. Are you sure you even NEED imagination for your creations, Janet?
– Sully
[this comment from JANET BERLINER is copied from the main blog]
Janet Berliner
February 18th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Thank you, Dear Sully, for seeing into my soul.