Is this a bad time to say Lolita is one of my favorite books?

[pettycoat]

I've just been told to avoid writing protagonists with problematic views because their status as the protagonist means I'm automatically supporting their actions.

... I think I need to find a new writing group, guys.

Comments

[masu_trout]

That's... huh. My sympathies, I'm not sure what you could possibly do with writing advice (or, uh, 'advice') like that.

(I honestly can't think of any protagonists who don't have at least some problematic views - I'm really wondering what this person considers Problematic Enough to disqualify someone from protag status now.)

[pettycoat]

They've given me good advice before, but... yeah. (In their defense, the "problematic" character is downplaying another character's sexual abuse, but it's in the context that the problematic character was abused himself and plays things down as a coping mechanism, and he tries to make amends for it later. If that doesn't come across in my writing, it's completely my fault, but the person giving this advice has a history of writing heroic characters with zero flaws, so I'm not quite sure what to make of this.)

[mudousetsuna]

I apologize for jumping in on this thread, but... I personally don't think it needs to be explicitly clear that the character is using it as a coping mechanism, not like, spelled out to the reader. That is something they gain FROM READING MORE OF THE STORY. And through reading more of the story, it's quite possible your narrative may have him grow or at least discover he's not in the right. If the story's purpose is not to be a parable, then it's literally just about the journey of your protagonist and what he experiences. That may or may not be what your beta or whoever this is is looking to read, but that doesn't make your protagonist a bad character.

[pettycoat]

No worries. I agree with you! The character's abuse is only ever implied (heavily implied, granted), but I think the reader mostly had a problem with the character's behavior because the implications don't start coming in until much later in the story. I strongly disagree with this person's reasoning, but I think my draft can still be tightened a bit in that regard. I had an earlier draft that was less subtle about the abuse, but I ended up throwing it out because I thought it was too heavy-handed. I think I just need to find a happy medium. It's a sensitive subject.