QOTD Sunday June 5

I love summer. Even if it's not summer quite yet. Or not even near it, if you live in Australia.

QUESTION: What is your favorite 'bad guy scenario' to write: man against circumstances, man against man, or man against self? Do you lean toward one in particular? Why? What do you find yourself drawn toward while reading?

Examples-

• Man against circumstances: MC trying to survive on a dying planet
  
• Man against man: MC against a villain, usually just one person
  
• Man against self: MC is too angry and anger is hindering their journey, thus they need to fight against themself

Because this one's a bit more confusing perhaps, I'll answer first. My favorite to write is man against man, but I have to say a close second is man against circumstances. Sometimes I'll do a mix of both, like I'll have a villain but then there are some things my MC must conquer about themselves as well.

As far as reading I don't really care what the situation is so long as it grabs my interest and is well done.

My favorite is actually when I combine all three. Fighting against man in difficult circumstances while struggling with the self over some moral issue. Though if I had to pick one as my favorite to write, I'd have to say that man vs. self is pretty much always the most fun for me, because it's often the most complex and hard to deal with, for the character.

I mostly write man vs. self & a little about man vs. circumstance. I like to write about inner struggles, whether it's about a loss they're dealing with, being guilty about something, or not feeling comfortable in their own skin.

I usually don't write about villains. Not really my thing, I guess.

Amanda wrote:My favorite is actually when I combine all three. Fighting against man in difficult circumstances while struggling with the self over some moral issue. Though if I had to pick one as my favorite to write, I'd have to say that man vs. self is pretty much always the most fun for me, because it's often the most complex and hard to deal with, for the character.

I definitely agree! The harder it is for the MC the better.

Shahira wrote:I mostly write man vs. self & a little about man vs. circumstance. I like to write about inner struggles, whether it's about a loss they're dealing with, being guilty about something, or not feeling comfortable in their own skin.

I usually don't write about villains. Not really my thing, I guess.

That's totally cool! I love stories like that. And yeah, it totally makes sense. With what you write, there usually aren't villains.

Isn't a Man's greatest enemy, himself?
If a Man must fight against himself then, they are there own enemy and, you only fight against yourself in certain circumstances. So I think the three should be united to show the worst and the best of the Human nature in circumstances they cannot choose.(this is a subject I have thought a lot about in the past, and I have at least one scene in my novel that combines at least two of the three situations.

I like combining them all. I LOVE reading/planning/writing man-vs-self, but with the flaws I give my characters, I walk a VERY thin line of likeable/unlikeable, so it's hard to figure out a sympathetic man-vs-self.

Lizzy wrote:I love summer. Even if it's not summer quite yet. Or not even near it, if you live in Australia

@Lizzy
: D> (That's not a little goatee thing, that's an icicle hanging off the smiley face's face because he's really cold.)

I almost always read/write man v. man. My stories always have a clearly defined antagonist. My next favourite to write would be man v. circumstances, although I haven't written one before. It seems interesting though.

@Stephen I can tell you've given it a lot of thought. *likes*

@Taryn Very interesting! And yes, I love the flaws you give your characters. They're realistic, even if there might be issues with unlikeability. (Just invented a word, guys!)

@Scribbler LOL! That face made me chuckle. And that's neat. I tend to do the same thing. Mostly man vs. man, second man vs. circumstances.

I think man vs. self kinda comes in on its own a lot, just in the things the MC goes through and learns during the journey about themself.

A blend of all three makes for a really good story, so I generally try to do that. But I still tend to focus on one. My favourite is man against man, but for some reason my stories don't always do that. My last novel was man (well...woman) against man originally, but turned into men against government. My current WIP is man (well...men. Well...men and women. Well...man woman and dragon. And...nevermind.) against circumstances.

So it really depends on the story, for me. But my favourite is man against man. ^_^