On a recent trip, I made the spontaneous decision to stop at a magical place called Luray Caverns in Virginia and my inner writer was so glad I did…
When I first walked in, I noticed water pooled on a ledge nearby. I thought the reflective surface of the perfectly still, unmoving water made for a pretty cool photo–and it ended up one of my favorites from the trip. As I kept walking, I saw this water pool further ahead and I took another favorite photo.
What made this so incredibly fascinating to me was the mirrored surface of the still water. What you see in the bottom half of the pool (see below) is actually a reflection of the stalactites above–not the floor of the water pool. It reminds me of a magic eye puzzle from middle school, the image appears simple until you realize what you’re looking at is actually incredible.
This got me thinking, but writing and reflecting is really the easy metaphor here. Don’t worry, I don’t see it that simply. I think what it meant to me had more to do with what was reflected, or even recognizing the reflection in the first place.
When we write a villian/hero story (or in my case villain / heroine), we create conflict. I have to make these two characters in some way as opposite reflections of one another. If you look closely enough at the heroine, you’ll see where the source for the villain is drawn and vice versa.
The charm and charisma of the villain, at least for me, has a lot to do with this interplay. My villain gives the heroine exactly what she needs–even when this is not what she wants. Ruthlessly. He shows her the stalactites within herself–the sharp edges and grit she didn’t know was there.
The villain, however, focuses only on this refection. He looks within her and sees exactly what he wants to see–familiar grit and ruthlessness. The thing he misses, is the reflection. What Santo brings out of Anna is only one aspect of who she is. He sees that sharp, dangerous edge and assumes it’s all of her when in reality, he’s only seeing the reflection of himself within her–what he wants to see.
If Santo looked at my photo, I don’t think he would realize it was a reflection at all. To Anna it would be still water showing a dark side, but to Santo it is merely the dark side. As one of my very favorite authors said in her intriguing and unexpected series of fantasy novels:
“Some people are bad and struggle every day to keep it under control. Others are corrupt to the core and don’t give a damn, as long as they don’t get caught. But evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it’s good.”
Karen Marie Moning, “Shadowfever”
I didn’t learn to connect with my villain by sitting at my desk in my office at home. I did it by going somewhere new and doing something I hadn’t ever done. Reflecting, it seems, is good for your twisted little inner author, too.
Love and Gratitude,
