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One of my Justice Wing characters is named the Lieutenant. He's barely shown up so far. If Paragon could be said to be my Superman, or the Nightwatch my Batman, the Lieutenant would be my Captain America. The ultimate embodiment of Law Enforcement and the Law and the principles and justice behind it. The ultimate Good Cop, who believes with all his heart in the principles he fights for, never lets vengeance overcome his conscience or his sense of right and wrong--
In short, he's my True Believer character. The incorruptible. The one who gets it all right, every time. The one who wrestles with hard issues because they're hard, and never once takes the easy way out
(For those who've wondered what I mean when I say Paragon, though obviously meant to bring Superman to mind every time you see him, is not Superman, this is why. Paragon would make choices Superman would never make. This is not to make Superman sound like a one-note character: this is the intentional decision to make a failed ectype of the Superman archetype.)
I've been strugging with the right kind of story to really bring him out. I have stories in mind for almost all the JW characters, but the Lieutenant I didn't have.
Today, it hit me. It crystalized in my brain as if we were discussing sugar in a supersaturated solution -- from zero to GLEAM all at once. It would be powerful. I think it would be moving. It is based in the real world, and it would deal with an issue that is painful and emotional and say desperately unpopular things about it.
And right after it crystalized, I thought "if I do this, I will lose three quarters of my audience. And though I'll get some other readers, I won't like some of them."
As God is my witness, I don't know what to do.
Maybe I'm just a coward.
In short, he's my True Believer character. The incorruptible. The one who gets it all right, every time. The one who wrestles with hard issues because they're hard, and never once takes the easy way out
(For those who've wondered what I mean when I say Paragon, though obviously meant to bring Superman to mind every time you see him, is not Superman, this is why. Paragon would make choices Superman would never make. This is not to make Superman sound like a one-note character: this is the intentional decision to make a failed ectype of the Superman archetype.)
I've been strugging with the right kind of story to really bring him out. I have stories in mind for almost all the JW characters, but the Lieutenant I didn't have.
Today, it hit me. It crystalized in my brain as if we were discussing sugar in a supersaturated solution -- from zero to GLEAM all at once. It would be powerful. I think it would be moving. It is based in the real world, and it would deal with an issue that is painful and emotional and say desperately unpopular things about it.
And right after it crystalized, I thought "if I do this, I will lose three quarters of my audience. And though I'll get some other readers, I won't like some of them."
As God is my witness, I don't know what to do.
Maybe I'm just a coward.