: Re: How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group? If the villain of your story is a member of a certain group, how do you keep the story from being offensive

You either don't emphasise on him being a veteran, or use it to your advantage to convey a story which makes the reader actually emphasise with him, such as flashbacks to the horrors of war which "skewed his mind".

I see that your story is also fairly futuristic, perhaps you can create a scene where he uses his robotic powers to save people faced with the same scenario that crippled him (saving people from a sinking ship?)

A good story is a good story regardless of so called "stereotyping" which exist for a reason. I've even read studies that conclude people who are aware and acknowledge stereotypes (commonly observed behaviour) are less likely to be prejudice towards various individuals. I'm actually not aware of too many stereotypes of veterans. Certainly not veterans being murderous assassin psychopaths. If a stereotype does not even exist, do not make it out to be one.

This is just my 2 cents. I'm an individual who is very aware of various stereotypes (many which are true), hold minimal prejudice, and would not care if someone makes an attack on me based on me stereotyping. I like a good story and I am able to differentiate between fantasy and reality, there is no way a story based on stereotyping people of my kind or type will ever offend me. So perhaps my opinions are biased.

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: I agree, subtext is something the author does throughout the work, in various ways. It is not necessarily a psychological leaning of their own, it can be an explicitly formulated principle.

@Mendez196

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: To me, Stephen King's advice (as seen in a live interview, and asked what advice he had for aspiring writers): Basically he said, if you want to write, write. Every day. Don't worry about

@Mendez196

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: Their own distinct personalities and motives for villainy. Would this be a good way to write a Complete Monster? It's a start. But there are only a few motives that really apply to

@Mendez196

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: Alternative sources of drama/tension when the setting is low-violence So, I think I might just have turned my fantasy setting into a Saturday morning cartoon. I just, don't want people to die

: Re: How do you keep a villainous character from being offensive to a particular group? If the villain of your story is a member of a certain group, how do you keep the story from being offensive

More posts by @Mendez196

: I agree, subtext is something the author does throughout the work, in various ways. It is not necessarily a psychological leaning of their own, it can be an explicitly formulated principle.

: To me, Stephen King's advice (as seen in a live interview, and asked what advice he had for aspiring writers): Basically he said, if you want to write, write. Every day. Don't worry about

: Their own distinct personalities and motives for villainy. Would this be a good way to write a Complete Monster? It's a start. But there are only a few motives that really apply to

: Alternative sources of drama/tension when the setting is low-violence So, I think I might just have turned my fantasy setting into a Saturday morning cartoon. I just, don't want people to die

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