Today, I am thinking about the Snow Queen.
Get back to your edits. Do I LOOK like I'm kidding?
As I'm doing my edits for the *mumble mumbleth* time, I am concentrating on making certain that not only are all the tenses and punctuation and timelines right, but that each character comes off with that first impression that then grows richer as the story moves on, giving more shadow to serve as relief, confirming or denying that what we experienced in our gut upon first meeting was true or false. Given the high percentage of strong female protagonists already out there with dashing hotties to swoon over and epic-scale badness to avert, I like to be sure to concentrate on the family members, the mentor, the supportive best friend and, of course, my favorite: the antagonist.
Okay, it's not like I "root" for the bad guy, but I like to *understand* what motivates them. While not above enjoying the evil cackle for evilness' sake, the best characters are ones that could be the hero if they were twisted right-side-out (and this is also true for the best heroes who could be the villain if it wasn't for this one pesky bit of honor or ethics inside of them). And so in order to best understand our heroes, it's only right that we understand our villians, too. They are not only a foil, but also a mirror; they are not simply an obstacle, they are the hero of their own story and, in order to have a story (not to mention a character) have real meaning, their struggle must be as sympathetic--albeit twisted, warped, or just plain wrong--as the ones that we *do* root for. In essence, it's all about who's convictions are stronger and who has the best supporting cast. Both sides need their followers, but those who do so out of love or fear can be the ones who ultimately save or doom the world. It was true in Narnia. It was true in Middle Earth. I am hoping that it is also true in the Twixt.
And as I'm re-reading Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books, I am reminded that for some readers, sometimes it's all about the witch.
Back to edits!