Something miraculous happened to me last night.
I finally relented and got around to watching Squid Game: The Competition.
(Bearing in mind, I am yet to watch the actual viral-hit TV sensation itself.)
Have to admit, I was impressed. It has to go up there as the best competitive game show I’ve ever watched (and I’ve seen many). It had everything. Plot twists, drama, fist-pumping triumphs, soul-sinking lows, “frienemies”, manipulation, and a lady who lost the entire prize pot of $4.5 million because of a foolish mistake.
As an FYI, I’m not a social affairs guy, but even I knew this wasn’t going to end well for her.
Long story short:
Unhappy there were a lot of blokes left in the game, she felt compelled to create a female-only alliance that vowed to cull the men walking among them. For context, the guys — from what I could tell — were cool dudes.
None of them went out of their way to be mean to the women or gang up on them.
Sure, there were some “cliques,” but there was no sense of “boys vs girls”.
Not by a long shot.
They were basically targeted for the simple reason they possessed crown jewels.
Anyway, this lady succeeded in forming a female alliance, only… it didn’t pass a single stress test. In fact, not only did the women break their “pact” on the first test, but the ring leader got taken out near the end by — you guessed it — a woman from her alliance.
Some will call it karma. I simply say:
“Such a silly sausage.”
I can’t speak for you, but gender (like race, sexuality, political preferences, or even if you’re a Legionnaire) is NOT a prerequisite of whether I can trust you. Character and actions determine that.
Alas, not everyone can share such a sensible worldview.
And to play devil’s advocate, life would be pretty bland if we all did.
(Variety is the spice of life and all that…)
The same is true in books.
If characters all felt the same, we’d soon DNF that novel and pick up the next.
We want characters that have their own unique quirks and personas. We want the worlds they inhabit to be anything but predictable. We want them to have flaws and redeeming traits.
These things are what make stories rich, believable, memorable.
And it’s something I’ve worked hard on crafting in The Divided Region.
This is no truer than in The Great Betrayal, which is not even a month old yet. (I know, crazy. Seems like several weeks ago I published it.)
Anyway, if you’ve not already added it to your digital bookshelf, you can do so here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/The-Great-Betrayal
DJJW