Sorry to be so late with this. A quick health update, because I think you guys worry, so….

About a month and a bit ago I was diagnosed with a kidney infection, which in retrospect had been going on for about a month and unless I completely screwed up my understanding of what the doctor said (highly likely, unfortunately) was a result of the big upper respiratory infection that laid me low before. So I was put on very strong antibiotics, had a clean test, everything lovely. Except the symptoms returned, worse, about 3 days later, and became clear last Saturday. I went in to emergency clinic, and was given truly absurdly strong antibiotics. There is an appointment booked with a specialist.

The first thing is: do not be alarmed. This happened before ten years ago and I ended up on the stupid-strong antibiotic for a month. This means it’s probably the same.

The second thing is: probably most of the symptoms right now are from the antibiotic. At this strength, like llamas with hats “It kills people.” It’s antibiotic and we’re made of biology. So it’s just “kill the bacteria before it kills you.”

I hate this, because it makes me … goofy. No, really goofy. Like today I couldn’t figure out how to post on the interface, then there was a big problem on how not remembering how to set the image. Just…. insanity on insanity.

But now I’m here, and we’re going to talk writing. I might be mildly incoherent, so if it makes no sense, ask please.

A person who comments here (and on ATH) has given me a gift called “the villain arc.”

She apparently has the habit of taking books and mentally recasting them so that the hero is the villain and yet it still makes sense. She did this for Eerlen in No Man’s Land and actually shocked me.

If you haven’t read the book, it does contain some spoilers. So if you INTEND to read it, be advised. If you don’t intend to read it, and haven’t read it, it might not make a lot of sense, but I’m sure those who’ve read it can explain in comments.

Eerlen is one of the two main protagonists in No Man’s Land and is closer to being a traditional “hero” than Skip. So I was very shocked when the fan turned the whole thing on its head to make him the villain. Like this:

[Start possible spoilerage]

Recruited by the then-archmage who is romantically attracted to him, Eerlen becomes archmage when that guy “Vanishes mysteriously.”
He then immediately seduces the king who is in a post-healing haze, manipulates the king to swear to him– exactly who was it that was scheduling the healing duty for the king?– and is sire to the only surviving body-child and only surviving child at all in reach of the castle. Somehow, the King is rendered womb-sterile at some point during this. Eerlen proceeds to be in charge of essentially all aspects of the reign that are not directly related to the King being physically present. After some years go by and the King’s one surviving body-child is almost grown, there are attempts made to kill the king, and the king is suspicious of Eerlen. Then, before he manages to send a letter explaining his suspicions, the king dies, and Eerlen’s sireling becomes king. After a brief investigation by the head of one of Eerlen’s subordinates, who is well known to be carrying a torch for the King’s sworn, it is declared murder. Soon afterwards, that judge vanishes with Eerlen and the new King, leaving Eerlen’s adopted body-child, who was adopted after Eerlen slaughtered the child’s sire that had raised him since his parent’s death, in authority as the only means to contact any of them.
When they reappear, it is obvious that Eerlen has seduced the head of the guard into swearing to him, the same Elyan who was also the head of the investigation for the King’s murder and who was well known in the circles of gossip around the throne to harbor an utterly bugnuts devotion to Eerlen, in addition to being competition for the throne, being the King’s sireling, and in charge of the King’s personal security.

Oh and Eerlen openly bribes two other Lords of the Land using his power as archmage to allow them to swear to each other in spite of knowing perfectly well they’ve been addressing each other as “cousin” for longer than Eerlen has been at the palace, and a third Lord by not cutting his power from the Brotherhood in spite of his being sworn to by a Draksall.

Eerlen– oh, EXCUSE me, Eerlen’s sireling, the king who has been out from under Eerlen’s thumb exactly never– then sends unknown numbers of magicians into Draksah. They discover an advantage in the form of an envoy from the stars, who is then hauled back with this select group. He teaches Eerlen how to alter the Ruby, has his pattern eaten by Eerlen, and Eerlen throws his sireling into the bed with this :shudder: Male from the stars.

And when the King births a male heir, he does not kill the defective offspring, and uses that to pull the Star People into alliance– under Eerlen’s capable guidance, of course.

Oh, and the one leader and the previous leading heir for the throne who isn’t on Eerlen’s side by the time he’s regained power is accused of horrible wrong doings and goes on the run to a different faction of the Star People. Eerlen’s female offspring appears and is dramatically killed, after being declared to be the one who killed Eerlen’s first sworn.

Does it hold together? Surprisingly well. I mean I know that’s not what happened, because I was in this critter’s head. BUT it could have happened that way.

Why was this a gift? Well, we live so long with these critters in our head, we start being wholly on their side. And they must have opposition, of course. i mean, that’s plot. But there’s a strong temptation to make the opposition not wholly believable, etc.

The villain arc helps immensely. How would you see this person, if you had no visibility into his/her head? Can you build a believable villain arc?

Not only will that help you understand why the other side hates them, it will help you create a rounded, living character.

Because living people can be viewed as more than one thing. And so should your main characters be.