Off the Path and Frustratrated

I'm supposed to be writing about creating believable antagonists today, but I need a break to talk about something else. I'm totally frustrated. Here's why:

I finished reading a book today, but the story didn't end. Now I have to wait at least a year before the book continues. I'm not talking about a single cliff-hanger, where the main story is neatly wrapped up but something juts out at the end (screaming "SEQUEL"!). I'm talking about a Nothing Got Solved type of ending. It's obvious that the author had a huge story, maybe 600,000 words long (no exaggeration) and just decided to split it into two at the mid-point.

What makes it worse is that this author is notorious for writing trilogies, and the book I finished today is book 3. I thought it'd be all wrapped up neatly, all those dangling plot points from the first two books would have resolution, the good guys would win (but with scars), the bad guys would lose (maybe even their lives), and I'd be satisfied.

Nope. This author didn't write a trilogy this time, she wrote a "chronicles" - which could mean that even book 4 doesn't wrap up the story. Why did she do that? Why did she take the risk of ticking off her fans by giving us HALF a book? Granted, it was a billion pages long, but it didn't tell a complete story. It set up a complete story, to be finished in the next book (or the one after that), but at the end of book 3, all these plots points were converging BUT NEVER MET!

In every writing book I've studied, there's the rule that goes something like this: TELL ONE STORY PER BOOK. Even if it's a series, each book must stand alone. It must introduce a protagonist who wants something, an antagonist who stands in the protagonists way, and a resolution to that conflict. It's a good structure. It's what readers expect.
So I'm wondering how this veteran author, with a boat-load of books to her name, could pull such a stunt? It's Just Not Right. Do you agree with me, or am I overreacting?

-Sonja

Sadistic Personality Disorder

This is the last post on the thirteen mental illnesses discussed in Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think. In it, Mactire offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. The last illness is the Sadistic Personality Disorder (SPD).

Mactire says, "These are the ultimate destructive individuals. This is not to be confused with sexual disorder. Sadists live assertive life-styles with self-righteous manners. They are motivated by power, which is typically displayed in individuals committing acts of spouse or partner abuse and/or child abuse. At least four of the following factors must be evident:"

• Uses violence or cruelty to establish dominance in relationships
• Enjoys demeaning or humiliating people in public
• Enjoys inflicting physical and/or psychological pain on humans or animals
• Disciplines persons under his or her control with excessive force and/or harshness
• Tells lies for the purpose of causing pain and harm
• Uses intimidation, or even terror, to force people to do what he or she wants
• Has little regard for the rights of others and tends to restrict the freedom of those with whom he or she has a close relationship
• Has a fascination with anything involving violence, torture, death and destruction

I went online for further information and found examiner.com. Theodore Milton (don't know who he is or what his credential are, but it's on the internet so it must be true. I'll give you a minute to stop giggling...) says that there are four types of sadistic personalities:

1. Explosive sadists: uncontrollable outburst sof anger followed by feelings of contrition

2. Tyrannical sadists: brutal, inhumane, verbally abusive, menacing

3. Enforcing sadist: merciless, barbarous, judges others harshly

4. Spineless sadist: insecure, cowardly, selects weak victims, relies on group support

He goes on to say that "sadists rarely use physical force in the commission of crimes. Rather, their aggressiveness is embedded in an interpersonal context and is expressed in social settings, such as the family or workplace. Sadists strive to humiliate people in front of witnesses. This makes them feel more powerful. Power plays are important to them and they are likely to treat people under their control harshly: this includes a subordinate, a child, a student, a prisoner, a patient, or a spouse. Sadists like to inflict pain because they find suffering, both corporeal and psychological, amusing. They torture animals and people because, to them, the sights and sounds of a creature writhing in agony are hilarious and pleasurable. Sadists go to great lengths to hurt others: they lie, deceive, commit crimes, and even make personal sacrifices merely so as to enjoy the cathartic moment of witnessing someone else's misery." 

You don't want this guy for a family member or a boss, that's for sure. He will make an awesome antagonist, but he'll easily become unbelievable just because he's so disgusting. I found Milton's assertion that sadists rarely use physical force contradicting Mactire's number one factor, which is violence. However, I can see where a sadistic antagonist could use verbal abuse as easily as physical abuse. When choosing a personality type to base your SPD antagonist, I'd avoid all the Introverted personalities, and the Feeling personalities (the SPD guy will have absolutely no empathy for anyone but himself). That leaves you with six personality types to choose from. The Field Marshall (ENTJ) is a natural fit for this character.

Whatever you choose, this guy will be nasty. He will humiliate and hurt everyone around him. He's incapable of loving anyone, but he'll definitely be attractive to someone with the Self-Defeating Personality Disorder, so if you give your SPD a spouse, she will likely also be mentally ill. You will create immense reader sympathy for any children of this couple or other victims of this guy's wrath. 

Do you have anything to add? Feel free to share.

-Sonja

Self-Defeating Personality Disorder

I'm building believable antagonists using Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think. In it, Mactire offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. So far, I've covered a bunch of the thirteen mental illnesses Mactire covers. Today is the Self-Defeating Personality Disorder (SDPD). There's only one more after this, then we move on.

Mactire says, "These are chronic self-perpetuating victims. At least five of the following factors must be evident:"

• Chooses situations and/or people that lead to disappointment, failure or mistreatment, even when better options are evident and available
• Rejects or subverts the efforts of others to help him or her
• Responds to positive personal events with acts of guilt, depression and/or a pain-producing nature, such as having self-induced accidents
• Causes others to reject or become angry at him or her, then feels devastated
• Avoids or rejects opportunities for pleasure or has difficulty accepting personal enjoyment
• Sabotages own plans or activities
• Engages in unsolicited self-sacrifice 
• Rejects or is uninterested in people who treat him or her well

I'll admit, this is a hard one for me to wrap my mind around, as this person has a serious masochistic bent, which directly contradicts most people's self-preservation instincts. When I first typed the list, I thought of women who stay in abusive relationships (I am NOT stating that all women who stay in abusive relationships have a mental disorder, but some definitely do), and yet, I think this disorder goes beyond that. The person with SDPD seeks out abuse. They seek out people who will humiliate them, or offer criticism, or even offer physical violence.

When using this personality disorder in an antagonist, I'd pair him up with a dominant partner. Someone who will issue demands, choose victims, direct the torture/killing, then punish the SDPD partner after the victim's been polished off. The SDPD antagonist will derive their pleasure from that end punishment, rather than the abuse of the intended victim, which would also increase the dominant partner's pleasure--he gets twice the fun, first with the victim, then with the partner. I'm feeling a bit nauseous just thinking about this pairing, but it would definitely make for a nail-biting suspense thriller by having these two unleashed on an unsuspecting population.

When applying the SDPD to a specific personality trait, I'd avoid all the extroverted types and stick with the eight introverted types. I think I'd also avoid Feeling personalities, mainly because the SDPD personality would not be capable of weighing what other people care about or other points of view in their decision-making. That still leaves six personality types to choose from.

Do any of you have further insight into the personality disorder? Can you think of other ways to use this person as an antagonist in your writing? Please share.

-Sonja

Histrionic Personality Disorder

I'm building believable antagonists using Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think. In it, Mactire offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. So far, I've covered a bunch of the thirteen mental illnesses Mactire covers. Today is the Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD).

Mactire says, "These individuals are fickle and overreactive and tend to be overly dramatic in social situations. At least four of the following factors must be evident:"

• Constantly seeks or demands reassurance
• Inappropriately sexually seductive
• Is overly concerned with physical attractiveness
• Expresses emotion with inappropriate exaggeration
• In uncomfortable when not the center of attention
• Has rapidly shifting and shallow emotions
• Is self-centered and is easily frustrated
• Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacks detail

This disorder reminds me of Jenna Mahoney from 30 Rock. Keep in mind, to make an antagonist, you combine the disorder with the four basics listed above and some sort of catalyst from childhood (physical or drug abuse, poverty, etc). Jenna isn't a violent person even though she suffers from a personality disorder, and your antagonist won't be, either, unless you fill in the other parameters. I looked at wiki.answers.com to find a long list of celebrities who may have HPD, including Princess Diana, Paris Hilton, and Pamela Anderson. This disorder is much more common in women (every name on the wiki list was female), and an extremely high percentage of them were actresses. Keep that in mind, if you want to use this disorder.

I'll apply HPD to ESFP, "The Performer," as that seems to be a natural fit. She's fun, friendly, outgoing, adaptable, and can't resist putting on a good show. She wants to stimulate everyone around her, arousing their senses, offering pleasure, and creating a feeling of well-being. With her contagious good humor and irrepressible joy of living, everyone wants to be around her. When she walks into the room, everyone gathers. Her tolerance for anxiety is the lowest of all the personality types, and she will avoid it by simply ignoring it for as long as possible. "Always look on the bright side" is her motto, and if forced to endure a tense situation (at work, in a relationship) she won't make waves or put up a show of resistance. She'll simply walk away. This personality trait is ultra fun to play with in fiction because of their intense dislike of anxiety or confrontation of any kind. 

Now throw in a big dose of HPD, and you've got an interesting mix of non-confrontational bright-side thinking, shallow emotions, and a deep desire to be the center of attention. How do they deal with a situation when they are not the center of attention? What would this woman do when her sister's having a baby, and there are complications, and everyone is gathered at the hospital to await news of the mother/baby's health? Someone better post a guard on that nursery, because the HPD antagonist might just remove that little attention-stealing bundle of madness. The HPD antagonist could also become a serial killer with a visionary bent: remove all people who criticize her, or make fun of her "shallow" lifestyle, or don't show the proper adoration at all times. She would also make an interesting sexual predator (which I did not cover in my posts, due to the "ick" factor, but you can check out Mactire's book from the library if you need more info), in which she targets men who should be worshipping her but instead ignore her, or worse, scorn her advances. She'd seduce those who worship her appropriately, and kill those who don't.

Did I miss something? If you can think of another way to make add this personality disorder to an antagonist, please share.

-Sonja

Malignant Narcissist

I'm building believable antagonists using Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think. In it, Mactire offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. So far, I've covered a bunch of the thirteen mental illnesses Mactire covers. Today is the Malignant Narcissist (MN), which is number 10 in the list.

Mactire says, "These are the Hitler, Stalin, or Saddam Hussein types." (You'll remember from my last post that wiki.answers.com identified Hitler and Stalin as suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is slightly different from MN. Since I'm not a mental health expert, I'll let ya'll decide which of the two personality disorders fits Hitler and Stalin). Anyway, here are the for major characteristics of the MN sufferer:

• Strongly suspicious, bordering on paranoia
• Extremely inflated sense of self, often grandiose
• Exhibits sadistic cruelty directed toward a "higher goal"
• Absolute lack of remorse

He's not someone you invite to your Christmas party, that's for sure. When applying MN to a bad guy, you have to be extremely careful or you'll come up with a character so thoroughly evil he will be unbelievable. The key, in this instance, is to make sure your character has sufficient motivation for doing what he does. It's not enough that he's sadistically crazy and wants to strangle kittens for the fun of it. There must be an underlying motivation. Think back to the post where I outlined the four categories of serial killers: vision killers, mission killers, pleasure killers, and power/control killers. Maybe your MN killer is targeting prostitutes because he's on a mission to wipe out women who remind him of his horrible mother. Or maybe your MN killer targets people who are small and weaker than he is because he finds pleasure in having power over the victim. 

You can be extreme here, as this disorder definitely results in extreme people. An antagonist who's paranoid of alien abductions might go around killing people he thinks are targeted for snatching. It makes sense in his mind, he's found his mission, and he knows he's the perfect guy to "fix" whatever the problem is. Or he finds joy in the feel of warm blood on his hands, much the same way Cleopatra bathed in warm milk. (I'm starting to gross myself out, here). 

Whatever you come up with, it need to fit his background, and the motivation has to be something a reader will understand (not agree with, but understand). Without that understanding, the character will be cartoonishly evil. Can you come up with a believable character suffering from MN? Share it in the comments section, please.

-Sonja

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Pardon me for missing last Friday's post. Summer is a convenient excuse, so I'll use it. I'm still working on building believable antagonists using Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think. In it, Mactire offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. So far, I've covered eight of the thirteen mental illnesses Mactire covers. Today is the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

Mactire says, "Narcissists have little concern for the welfare of others, but then pretend to care. At least five of the following factors must be evident:"

• Has inflated sense of self-worth with related fantasies
• Has constant need for attention
• Becomes emotionally unstable after being criticized or defeated
• Lacks ability to empathize
• Assumes others will treat him or her well without the need to reciprocate, feels entitled to "special treatment"
• Needs to exploit other people
• Believes his or her own problems are unique
• Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success and power, beauty, brilliance, or love
• Preoccupied with feelings of envy

PubMed Health says it "is a condition in which people have an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with themselves." Sounds like every teen-ager I've ever known (including myself). However, this disorder goes beyond simple self-involvement and selfishness. There's an element of obsession to this delusional person. They react with rage, shame, or humiliation when criticizes, and have no concern of other people's feelings. Wiki.answers.com says Hitler and Stalin were both NPD's, and suggest that Joan Crawford and Simon Cowell may also be sufferers. (I bring these people up as examples, not to humiliate them, but to get this personality trait more firmly anchored in your mind.)

For fiction, I'll apply this disorder to a personality trait and see what happens. Today I choose the ESTP, or "Promoter." He is witty and clever, bringing excitement to even mundane events. He always has tickets to the latest shows or sporting events, he knows the best restaurants (where the waiters know his name), and he has a hearty appetite for the finest things in life: wine, expensive cars, fashionable clothing. He's attentive to others and smooth in social settings. He knows exactly what words to say, when to say it, and what everybody's name is. He's so in tune with people that some mistakenly believe he has empathy. Reality is that he's really good at reading people's faces and body language. He watches people, collecting data to use for his own purpose: sell the customer. He's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.  (The first character that came to my mind when researching this personality type was Patrick Jane from The Mentalist.)

Now add NPD to this character, and you have someone who will use violent methods to achieve his goals or exact revenge on someone who offers the slightest criticism. He may even take a partner and ruthlessly direct their actions. The NPD Promoter will demand special treatment when he goes into his favorite restaurant, and pity the waitress who forgets his name or what his regular drink order is. Equally at risk are family members who don't recognize his greatness. If Mom forgets that today is the anniversary of his first "great success" (however he defines it), she may be in danger of his wrath.

Can you think of other ways this personality disorder could apply to antagonists? Please share in the comments section.

-Sonja

Dependent Personality Disorder

Sean Mactire's book  Malicious Intent: A Writer's Guide to How Murderers, Robbers, Rapists, and Other Criminal Think offers three factors in creating a great antagonist: the Four Basics (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule-breaking), a mental illness, and one or more characteristics from the list I posted on June 22, 2012. So far, I've covered seven of the thirteen mental illnesses Mactire covers. Today is the Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD).

Mactire says, "These people are naive and docile and need to cling to stronger personalities who will make the decisions for them. At least five of the following factors must be evident:"

• Unable to make everyday decisions alone
• Allows others to make decisions
• Is overly agreeable
• Lacks initiative
• Volunteers in order to gain acceptance or approval
• Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone
• Easily upset or panics over minor losses
• Is preoccupied with concerns about being abandoned
• Easily hurt by criticism.

I find myself feeling really sorry for this person--this guy would make a handy victim in any story, real or fictional. But I'm trying to use these personalities as antagonists, so I'll do my best to make this guy a criminal. I'll plug him into a personality type and run with it. Today I'll choose INFP, "The Healer," since that personality type is opposite of this disorder and yet fits so neatly.

INFP's are curious, helpful, and values-oriented. They strive to mend divisions, restore lost unity, and establish integrity. On the outside, they're easy-going and serene. On the inside, they're going nuts trying to help everybody achieve world peace and wholeness. They see the world as an ethical, honorable place, and strive to make all that idealism come true. More often than not, they are let down and take it badly. They love fantasy, and love to please everyone at all times.

Now let's throw in a big dose of DPD. Now this healer sees that changes need to take place to improve lives, but is unable to come to any conclusions on how to make those changes a reality. If he does offer a suggestion, and it's met with indifference, or worse, criticism, he'll be crushed. How can he restore unity and establish integrity if the hurting person won't listen to him? Or worse, what if he has no advise to offer? That poor, miserable soul will remain in a state of disunity, disorder, and misery. Maybe it'd be best if he could ease their pain by removing them from their misery permanently. It's for their best. My DPD antagonist is now on a mission to "save" all of mankind and bring peace and wholeness by killing them all. He's going to be fighting against himself, too. He hates being alone, but if he kills off everyone around him, he'll definitely be alone. Also, he may waver in his decision to "help" people - he may begin a killing spree, change his mind and stop, then start up again at some later point when his inability to "help" drives him back to his original "helpful" plan. 

Can you think of other ways this personality disorder could apply to antagonists? Please share in the comments section.

-Sonja