For anyone who doesn't know what a psyche is, it's basically a person's mind. Psyche, like psychology, eh? Get it? It's kindof scientific, or greek, or latin- I dunno.
Anyhow, the one thing you need to know about psyches for a story is this: scraeed psyches reel in more readers.
It's true. Honestly, when have you ever seen a story on Wattpad where everyone is normal and no one is just a tad bit messed up? Ok, so you ight have- but answer e this: was it interstesting? Ok, so it might've been. But did it get a hell-bunch of reads?
No!
Neither do I!
Do you know why?!
Because none of my stories so far have anything exciting in them! (though I don't write anything much these days except this book and let's be honest here- I never update this book.)
Excitement can come from a lot of places. Adventure, danger, love, intrigue, mystery- you name it. A cup of tea can be exciting if you know how to lay it out well.
" This was it. I had done it. I had found...(music wells up dramtically) The Fabled Tea of Fury!"
Ok, yeah maybe not so much. But excitement is a big part of writing an interesting book people will want to read. You want to write something that'll kepp your readers hooked, something so good it'll have you yourself wanting to write more even after five. freaking. hours. of. editing. (Grrrrrr)
One of the most popular (and for good reason) ways to generate excitement on Wattpad is the Scarred Psyche. This can be your hero's mind, your antagonist (which is the bad guy), your sides or your whatever. On Wattpad, Scarred Psyches can most commenly be found in Badboys.
Ah Badboys, every teenaged girl's wet dream (and a lot of older women too). We've had plenty of epic badboys, from... uh... for some reason Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation comes to mind.
By 'definition', a Badboy is a boy who is bad. (Eehehe- there's more to it than that)
On Wattpad, people tend to paint Badboys in a very weird way. Writers like to make them outspoken jerks that wreak havoc without a care, but then overly emotional on the inside because of some horrible homelife they try to cover up, or a rebellion, or a divorce, or their mother being possessed by a demon and burning the entire house down, dying in the process.
My regards to Dean Winchester.
If you want to use the house abuse reasoning to create a bad boy persona, I will point you to Bender from The Breakfast Club. Straight up jackassery with credible behaviour when you look at what he suffers at home. No sappy revelation of sentiments, no 'cute' behaviour which any self-respecting human being would adopt- just Bender being a bad person because his family are bad people.
By the way, the whole word bugs me. 'Badboy' sounds like you're scolding a puppy.
Bad boy Zuko, bad boy!
Coming back to our delightfully scarred prince. (If anyone tells me Zuko is anything less than charming I will punch them through the internet. Because such a thing is possible when your rage is at the level mine will be if you dare say it, even as a joke. And it will hurt, because the legions of Zuko fangirls wil rise with me as one to slay you.)
Zuko is what I think of as a template for all badboys out there, except better. Whereas the 'badboys' you'll find in Wattpad stories will spill their guts as soon as the Main (usually a girl) shows them that 'she cares', Zuko is a bit of a tougher nut to crack like you would expect from any rational human being.
Though Zuko does in fact give us some moments of exposition, he keeps a solidly cold attitude for the entire first season and a good part of the second one. You can see why he's struggling and what he's feeling through the desicions he makes, he remains so recluse on himself that his uncle has to explain to the other characters on the show what Zuko went through. This shows that Zuko is hurt, and that he is struggling with his emotions towards his father and himself- for pete's sake he has a freaking Existantial Crisis!
This is how someone who is closed up on themselves opens up- by breaking down! If you have a character that bottles their emotions up like most badboys are described to do, facing those emotions will hurt them. Let's take any John Doe badboy for example:
Imagine seeing - god if I know- your mother being beaten every day, or you yourself being beaten everyday. You're scared, and maybe you feel like it's your fault as most victims of abuse do- you're not going to share that easily! And as so many anti-bullying groups believe, maybe you choose to rebel at school because of your troubles at home.
Maybe one day someone comes along that you feel a real connection to - but they know you as this big, tough guy, the school Badboy. And then you start wondering if maybe they won't like you anymore if you admit your weakness, so you bury it deeper.
Imagine that for moment.
Now go and find any Badboy story in the romance section and compare.
NO.
These 'badboy' idiots share as soon as they meet the girl! (Let's face it it's always a girl because badboy authors are convinced only a pure young woman can soften a big hard man. Heh- riiiiiight.)
Someone with the life issues I've just described or that these stories describe will never share this easily! Psychological scars resulting from abuse can take years of therapy and support to get rid of and even then they never really leave. If one could be cured of psycological trauma simply by kissing some generic fifteen-year-old, then the world would be a better place. And a definitely more dangerous place for generic fifteen-year-old girls, who would probably spend their days being chased by random people with psychological trauma. I've got to admit, it would be hilarious.
And you know what, it's not only that, it's just the entire Badboy persona we generally have on Wattpad that is wrong- but of course that's for another Tip.
All this to say that when you write a character that has some sort of trauma on their mind, you have to understand the scope of what you are commiting yourself to. Sure you can go and write some other unrealistic 'badboy' to join the ranks of plastic robots to be dealt out randomly into generic fifteen-year-old girl stories. Or you can understand that writing a bad boy means writing his issues and his feelings and waiting, and waiting, for the moment to unleash the hell that it will be for them to get better.
Because that wait will make them seem all the more real. And that hell will make them seem all the more real. And your character won't be just some 'badboy' anymore.
He or She will be someone plausible, someone that might actually exist and someone your readers will be able to relate to.
Like Prince Zuko of the Firenation.
"Teach me the advanced firebending set!"
Yeah, totally realistic.
Vote if you think badboys should be more like Zuko, scars, breakdowns, fireballs and all.
