Saturday, November 10, 2012

Adversity


 

Today, with help from Kien, Scythe/Pet, and Ela, (in an imagined scene from PROPHET, courtesy of awesome artist, Katharin Fiscaletti) we are contemplating adversity.

We’ve already discussed villains and antiheroes—those characters who drive the plot and add tension by keeping our heroes and readers in suspense.  But what about pure, simple adversity--the trials and travails that force us out of our comfort zones?

What is adversity’s role in our stories and our lives?

From a literary perspective, adversity provides the means to explore our protagonist’s views of life, and tests his or her reactions to life’s slingstones of misfortune.

Adversity, be it spiritual testing, physical ordeals that wear upon us over time, or personal battles with emotions, force us to become stronger, better people (or creatures, as in Pet’s case) and hopefully compel us to become fascinating characters who delight others.

What do we cherish as we journey through life? What makes us whole spiritually? What gives us strength?

True adversity, dear readers, compels us to choose our values. Knowing this, what will Kien decide?

Is love worth destroyer-style pain?