Kernel of Insight: Duality

I'm hopeful this will be my last Kernel of Insight until 2014.  I've finished the re-writing of my latest chapter and revisions are going well, but the holiday rush is threatening to overwhelm me, so...we'll have to see how things go, I suppose.  I said I'd get it out in December and I damn well plan to.

In the meantime, enjoy this look at duality and the conflicting sides of characters I tend to write.

Kernel of Insight: Duality

            One common theme within every piece of literature I write is duality.  I love characters with a dual nature.  Often times, this is represented physically, with a deformity or a character who is in some physical way torn between two worlds.  A half breed.  An undead who still clings to life.  A scarred character.  These create a dual nature between human, or civilized, and something other.  Something dangerous or sinister.  And, that's no exception in Chronicles of the Frozen Shade.

            Mina's duality will become more apparent later on, but just on her own, she has a dual nature where she is torn between nationalities.  Aeon is torn between his memories of life and his time as a lich, Deminos is part demon, etc.  All the characters, major ones at least, have a separate nature that makes them different or dangerous.  I enjoy this aspect because it creates a lot of internal conflict and tension.  Not necessarily all the time, but if someone brings up neeg around Celine, the fur starts to fly because of her time between being a slave and a free woman.  The dual nature of it.  It is an integral part of their character and helps them to grow, in my opinion, because they need to either overcome or reconcile with the dual nature they have been saddled with.

            For me, this is just a personal touch I add to many of my stories.  I grew up in a fine home and had a relatively decent upbringing, save for a few glaring exceptions, but there was always a pull between what was socially acceptable and what I, as an individual, wanted for myself.  I think this internal tension is why so many of my characters deal with this struggle and ultimately work towards overcoming or reconciling with it.  I had a terrible time emotionally because I had a lot of beliefs and values that may not have been the norm.  A video gamer, liked anime, fond of esoteric novels, dragon fan, etc.  Nothing too out there, but high school in particular is a crucible and if you're different, you're fodder.  That experience created a rift in my mind between how I perceived myself, as some kind of demon and outsider, and how I thought I wanted to be perceived or how I should have been perceived, in a normal, less discriminatory light.  For the longest time, this struggle was a part of my very being, but as I grew older, characters stopped being defined by their duality and started to be defined more by who they are at their core, very much like how I reconciled with myself about my own differences.  I like me.  Insane fandoms, weird preferences, and esoteric likes all around.  This, I think, has helped my writing because as we grow, our characters can grow with us.

            I don't think a good character should ever be completely defined by one trait.  Duality included.  Duality can make for an interesting bit of reading and character development, however it should not be the end all be all.  There are many facets to a character, not just too.  So, while I do include duality for the sake of a general theme, it doesn't define my characters.

            Some people might be scratching their heads about some of the duality with characters who don't seem dual natured.  For those who haven't figured out Vincent's little secret, he probably seems like your average, dapper gentleman undead.  Yeah, I just said that...anyway, he does have a secret that is explored later.  Same for Gadius.  Yuka's duality, I think, is probably the least stated of the whole group, largely because it's so subtle.  Yuka is a Neeg, raised by a hodgepodge collection of other races, so her duality is not truly overt, but comes down to upbringing.  She might know some slang from living with Merkel, but she also is a bit more civilized, intelligent, and reliable than your standard neeg.  That sounds racist, huh?  Well, that too will be explored later, so stay tuned.

            I like to think that moving on from both physical dualities and dualities as a defining trait has made my characters stronger.  There are multiple different types of duality to be explored within a character, including mental, emotional, national, racial, etc.  It doesn't have to come down to looks, but I do tend to find the physically unusual or asymmetrical to be more interesting just from an aesthetic standpoint.  It's why I tend to root for them.

            Anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there.  A short Kernel of Insight this week.  Bleh.  Now I'm just padding.  Well, this whole section is just my rambling anyway, so...take of that what you will.