Well, I'm hoping this is the reason my writing is stalled...but I'm having trouble not demonizing the mother in my YA.
The plot is basically Harper is a 15 yr old struggling with all the normal high school stuff (bullies, crushes, fights with bffs/siblings) while living in a broken home. Financially, the family is very well off but emotionally it's very destructive. Anyway, Harper's sister turns 17 at the beginning of the school year and decides to live with their dad, only leaving a note explaining where she's gone. A few months after that, the mother kidnaps the sister from school and has her renditioned to a correctional facility for teens in a different state. So the predominant plot of the book is Harper trying to pretend everything is fine while at school but fearing the people she's supposed to trust.
The mother is most certainly the "villain" but I'm having trouble presenting her with more dimensions and complexities to make her actions a little forgivable, no matter how evil she is. I want there to be some understanding.
I decided to write the story in the 3rd person so that might help a little bit but as this is still from Harper's perspective, I want to keep in the limited 3rd instead of the omniscient. I don't want the mother to fall into a lazy trope.
Any suggestions on what to work on and avoid would be helpful!
How Do I Keep From Demonizing the Antagonist?
The plot is basically Harper is a 15 yr old struggling with all the normal high school stuff (bullies, crushes, fights with bffs/siblings) while living in a broken home. Financially, the family is very well off but emotionally it's very destructive. Anyway, Harper's sister turns 17 at the beginning of the school year and decides to live with their dad, only leaving a note explaining where she's gone. A few months after that, the mother kidnaps the sister from school and has her renditioned to a correctional facility for teens in a different state. So the predominant plot of the book is Harper trying to pretend everything is fine while at school but fearing the people she's supposed to trust.
The mother is most certainly the "villain" but I'm having trouble presenting her with more dimensions and complexities to make her actions a little forgivable, no matter how evil she is. I want there to be some understanding.
I decided to write the story in the 3rd person so that might help a little bit but as this is still from Harper's perspective, I want to keep in the limited 3rd instead of the omniscient. I don't want the mother to fall into a lazy trope.
Any suggestions on what to work on and avoid would be helpful!
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