I, honestly, can’t help but to love a story about character redemption! We all do to some degree, don’t we? There’s just something about it that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Considering that we all have fears and insecurities, flaws and weaknesses...it’s extremely easy to relate and empathize with characters who find that special moment in time when they’re able to overcome the odds and find the courage to grow and evolve and navigate their way beyond what’s been holding them back all this time. Especially if it’s an underdog. I mean, it’s a seriously fun part of the whole hero’s journey, isn’t it? We all love to see that in the stories we allow to take a special place in our hearts, and we all secretly wish we could find those special moments in our own lives that would allow us to achieve the same level of rebirth. Who wouldn’t, right?

And yet, at the same time…I definitely have my darker side. Hehehe! I mean, anybody who’s ever read some of my “Gone From Daylight” spinoffs (https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/world/gone-from-daylight/) or my ebook exclusives like the horror themed “Darkness Waits” or the first two books of “The Boys Of Widow Lake” (https://imagine-magazine.org/store/comicality/) already knows that my mind can go to some really dark places sometimes as well! In an entertaining way, of course. Hehehe...ahem! So I also have quite the affection for stories of someone being totally wrecked as a human being. Something that I’m sure happens a lot more than any of us would like to believe, and could possibly happen to any one of us at any time. I mean, it just makes for a compelling story...seeing someone completely fall apart to the point where it’s just like, “Fuck the world! The rules don’t matter anymore!” It’s one of those ‘stare into the abyss’ situations, and I’m always intrigued by tales of people being pushed over the edge beyond the point of no return.

So what is it about these types of stories that makes them so engaging for readers, how do we create the allure for them, and why is it so difficult to combine the two themes together when it comes to building a project around both of them at once? That’s what we’re going to tackle today. So grab some popcorn and your drink of choice...and let’s get into it.

The thing about writing a good ‘wreckage’ story is that you want your audience to actually relate to the main character and find some sort of mirror between your protagonist and themselves that will allow them to fill in the gaps and find some level of understanding that they can follow along with, and maybe even respect on some level. This is key when it comes to a good wreckage story. You have to take someone doing some very BAD things to people...and somehow paint them as the hero of this story simultaneously. Well, maybe the word ‘protagonist’ is a better term to use here. This may sound like a difficult task, but to be honest, it’s actually pretty easy. Hehehe! I mean, I’ve always been a die hard optimist, and I do have a lot of faith in humanity...but a lot of people suck. Seriously. And don’t tell me that it hasn’t crossed your mind on a weekly, if not daily, basis!

Have you ever watched a compilation of those frustrating ‘Karen’ videos on Youtube videos, and thought to yourself, “This bitch needs to get punched in her fucking mouth and dragged out of this store by her hair?” Like...how do adults get away with acting like this in a civil society. You can call me wrong for saying it out loud, but I won’t take it back. FUCK those people! Hehehe! But...would I be the ‘good guy’ if I were to haul off and throw this loudmouth brat through a plate glass store window? Probably not. But I’m willing to bet that people would applaud me if I did it anyway. People have limits. Everybody knows it. And the entitled pieces of trash who get in people faces without expecting any consequences to follow their outrageous behavior...a lot of people would cheer to see them finally learn a lesson about how to treat other people. If you’re writing a wreckage story...that’s the exact emotion and feeling of harsh justice that you need to tap into. Something that’s needed. Something that feels deserved. Even if the actions of your protagonist are irrational and possibly even criminal...your readers will be intrigued and cheer them on anyway. That’s your ‘in’. Think about what really aggravates and disgusts you about certain people in general...and translate that into conflicts and stressful situations that will get your audience to side with the ‘villain’ of the story. It’s like watching someone getting bitten by an angry dog after they’ve been poking it with a sharp stick for an hour, just to cause it harm and hear it holler. When that guy gets a bloody bite taken out of him...it’s like, “GOOD! That’s what you get, asshole!”

The idea of instant karma is a powerful tool when it comes to stories like this.

I think a couple of great examples of an awesome, well written, wreckage story...would be Michael Douglas’ “Falling Down” and Kevin Bacon’s “Death Sentence”. Watch both of those movies! Amazing! And again...they’re doing some really bad things, but you can’t say that (on some level, maybe on many levels) it wasn’t justified. You actually understand why they’re doing what they’re doing...bad guy or not. And something about that taps into a part of you that makes you root for them the entire time. It’s crazy.

With these movies you get to bear witness to the breakdown of someone who has, basically, been leveraged out of their sanity in a lot of ways. It’s almost like watching a road rage situation unfold, where people could have just left them alone and gone on with the rest of their day. It’s a dark ideology for sure, but it isn’t one that readers can’t understand once you’ve gotten them engaged in the thick of it. Accomplishing this just comes from really going into detail about the ever present pressure on your main character and the people he or she cares about. And how that pressure seems to be swelling to the point where it almost becomes unbearable for your protagonist to deal with. I truly believe that there’s a trigger within each and every single one of us that can be flipped when we’re pushed beyond our limits to contain the fury that comes from being pushed and pressed against the wall one time too many. But if you’re going to make this a major part of your story...you’re going to need to take some time to explain, in detail, why it got to that point. Otherwise, your protagonist looks like some kind of an unhinged psychopath. And that’s fine, if it’s the vibe that you’re looking for...but if not, you get the readers on your side by getting them to understand why their questionable actions could be considered an act of ‘justice’. On this side of the equation...’justice’ is your focus. K? That’s your bonding agent, right there.

Now, when you swing the pendulum back the other way, and decide to tell a story of triumph and redemption...the opposite is true. In this case, it the ’INJUSTICE’ that needs to be the focus of your project, and how unfair your protagonist is being treated. It may sound backwards to some of you, but it really isn’t. By using injustice and struggle and pain as the main tools in your fiction, you tilt the path that they’re on upward, making it an uphill battle...something that seems insurmountable. A task so monumental that your main character has force their way through to the top and win despite all of the obstacles that are working so hard against them. The big the obstacles, the bigger the wins.

The obstacles can be homophobia, domestic abuse, being exploited at work, sexual harassment, nuclear fall out, poverty...something that isn’t easy for your main character to ever hope to beat unless they can find strength within themselves that they never even knew was there before. This is where the injustices included in their situation connects your characters to your audience and creates that same bond that you’re looking for.

A few great movies to check out as examples for this one (Out of many) would be “Colin In Black And White” and “Unbreakable”. It’s a great feeling to see someone fighting against the whole world, and to keep fighting until the world itself begins to struggle to hold its power, and is eventually forced to yield.

One thing that you may notice is that these examples all share something in common. They have a heavy ‘Man Vs Society’ feel to them. Which, in my opinion, is the best way to tell both a wreckage and a redemption story. I feel as though it is a much more dramatic way to go. How do you fight the whole world? When it just keeps pounding you down over and over and over again? That’s not to say that you can’t apply the same ideas to a much smaller arena when writing fiction like this and writ something just as dramatic. You can narrow the conflict to a single group of friends, a family feud, an office full of cubicles, or just two or three people. I just think the whole society thing is a bit more grandiose, so the stakes feel bigger. That’s just me, though. Hehehe!

The last thing that I want to talk about is the idea that you can have both a wreckage and redemption, or a redemption and wreckage, theme in a single story. However, if I had to give a tiny bit of advice...I would say that you should change your theme from one side to the other...and then leave it there. Don’t start off as a redemption, have it spiral down into the abyss, and then try to redeem your main character again afterwards. The reverse is true, starting low, surfacing up to the light, and then going dark again. I’m sure that it can be done, and I was trying to think of an example or two that I might be able to use...but I couldn’t. I think it’s kind of a tricky thing to pull off in fiction. If you guys have any ideas, let me know.

The thing is, you can start off with a noble character and have them fall to the dark side...but when you try to bring them back, it can be done...but you’ve already demonized a big part of that character’s redemption. Even when you think about Darth Vader, it’s like...hehehe, well...

See what I mean? Takes on a bit of a different feel when you spend any time thinking about it. And, the other way...if you start out dark, then go to redemption route...then stay there. If the protagonist falls a second time, then the theme behind the story is ‘he failed’ in a lot of ways. And if that’s how it ends...”He tried to go straight, but had to fall back into his worst habits in order to get things done”...then it’s almost like you reward the behavior. And it saps all of the light and triumph out of the short while that your main character struggling to do the right thing. So be careful if any of you guys try mixing the two extremes. It can make for a destructive concoction if you’re not careful.

Anyway, I hope this helps you guys out! And remember that there are always exceptions to every rule. So if you think you’ve got the answer and can work things out on your own, by all means, go for it! I’d love to learn, myself. Especially since I’ve experimented with it a few times in the “Savage Moon” storyline, but I tread carefully between having my protagonist travel too far on the wild side so I can still retrieve him when I need him to come back to his rational mind. Hehehe! So, we’ll see how that works out in time.

Take care! Love you all! And stay beautiful, k? Seezya soon!