Category Archives: Ethics

Writing Life: Characters in Fiction

© by Raymond Alexander Kukkee     [caption id="attachment_1624" align="aligncenter" width="584"]Characters drive both shadows and light... Characters drive fiction in  shadows and light...[/caption]

Characters in Fiction are Essential

"In writing fiction, characters drive everything  --plot, action, direction, reflections, flashbacks, natural selection --and in some cases  doing so, eliminate, break or stretch rules, inhibitions, morals and logic. The author is merely the messenger. "

Characters in fiction are the backbone

With careful analysis, it is easy to see that characters are the backbone of any novel or short story. The writer merely has to ensure a few ribs, arms, hands and legs --and a brain--become attached for display purposes to bring them to life.  Characters drive both shadows and light in any story,-- in fact characters  drive other characters, and  passion in all of it's forms. Unusual characters add incredible value to perhaps otherwise mundane content. Carry on, write as your characters in fiction direct To not tell the story your characters wish told  may be hypocrisy,  less than honest, or perhaps, in the extreme,  even unethical.  Be brave.  Your readers will not kill the messenger, although a work of fiction may not seem agreeable,  with a premise disliked or misunderstood completely, some individuals may be outraged, indignant, and unforgiving. "Some" being the key. Others will passionately enjoy your story line, your premise, and  your characters, either loving or hating them--but at the very least, understanding them.  The point is, they touch the mind of the reader --which is the name of the game.   Bottom line, as an author, be fearless; be unrepentant; be true to your characters--and most importantly,  be true to yourself as a writer. #   Is that Incoming I hear? Photo by author #
Posted in Crafts and skills, Ethics, Publishing, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A-Z Challenge: ‘S’ is for Saboteurs and Sabotage

© 2013  by Raymond Alexander Kukkee [caption id="attachment_1336" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Spy and Saboteur? Spy or Saboteur?     Deadly Black Widow[/caption]  On any ordinary day, any ordinary week,  have you ever wondered why things have gone inexplicably wrong? What happened?   Did you open both eyes and look around?   Apply logic first.   Maybe Murphy did it. Lady Luck ran out screaming, leaving you with the luck of the draw. Circumstance. The challenge may be to  recognize the fact that  S can be for saboteurs and sabotage. Maybe.  Perhaps you are the victim of a spy, or genuine sabotage,  destructive action taken against others  by saboteurs of any description;  crabby neighbours, political enemies,  or misguided, arrogant control freaks individuals with a lack of people-handling skills.   Perhaps they are highly-trained mercenaries or everyday ordinary  sex-starved people with low self-esteem, jealousy,  anger issues. Wiley planners.  How about an unresolved guilt complex? Let's throw that in.  Include less than stellar ethics, too, and you may be dealing with saboteurs. 

Who are Saboteurs?

Those who deviously pretend innocence, but are enabled  by circumstance and character to arbitrarily choose sabotage;  evil instead of good. What are the people who conduct sabotage?  In the extreme contemporary view, they might be considered mindless terrorists or plain, ordinary, common people of any description.   Often and erroneously stereotyped as foreigners  and /or religious lunatics,  an individual saboteur may indeed  be slightly crazy, mentally unbalanced,  unhappy, terribly insecure.  He or she may feel alienated, ineffective and helpless with the status quo. Madmen do come self-made, or  in pairs, factions, and sleeper cells too, brainwashed every one.   They may imagine themselves to be victims of society or purveyors of their own utopian beliefs, however extreme. No matter, their own inadequacies turn and fester to ultimate destruction. Human beings are capable of doing anything possible to hurt, destroy or impede the lives, dreams of  others--even those close to them..  Saboteurs purposefully destroy as much as possible, minimize the successes, happiness and well-being of others and society itself,  believing it enhances their own ego, cause,  power, and image.  Viciously and habitually abusing  their authority from  whatever position they may hold in life, they may strike out unexpectedly with bombs,  betrayal, malice and forethought.  Do you know people like this? They may be 'changed' somehow, a fact that is often recognized after-the-fact. Individuals so inclined will do anything to wreak vengeance upon the innocent at all cost, even murder or mayhem, to effect their program at will.   Any place, person,  project, establishment, company,  program, social construct or country may be arbitrary targets.  Most interestingly, individuals or groups of people working toward the end goal of sabotage,  a hidden agenda-- tend to ensure anything they do is beneficial to themselves, seeking power,  fame, fortune, or self-entitlement. Where are these people?  Everywhere.  The world of personal, business, political and international sabotage is shrouded in darkness. Devious minds crawl out of secular shadows, old industrial buildings, the latest spy movies from Hollywood. Some boldly take the elevator to the 37th floor of a high-end condo if they they do not already  live in the cottage behind the white picket fence across the street from you.   Really?  No kidding. Who are these people, you ask?  Sometimes it's better not to ask.

It can be anyone. Anywhere. That's why S is for Saboteurs and Sabotage.

History can be changed in a minute by people you may or may not know.  People with issues considered unresolvable--in their own minds. Humanity weeps a true state of paranoia, boots  filled with vitriolic fear, self-doubt and propaganda.  In our society, saboteurs and sabotage can grievously affect anyone. Here at IncomingBytes we prefer to heed good advice.   Let us equally look for the good in people.  Do something constructive for the better.      Should I just go back to "R & R."?    Hmm....I could become a rookie recluse.  Eat beans from a can. Not  too likely. I'm bold and fearless.  I'm out there in the sunlight.  Highly recommended.  Try it. It works.   Is that Incoming I hear? Photo credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. +
Posted in Business, Ethics, Humanity, Life, Major Issues, Publishing, Writing Life | 4 Comments