Bloodthirsty Revenge ~ #MondayBlogs

You’ve been wronged, lied about, betrayed, ignored… how bloodthirsty are you? At what point will revenge taken ever be enough?

When we are hurt by the actions of another, angered by the pain that was inflicted, and frustrated because we NEED vindication, our imaginations soar with a need to Get Even.

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
~ Confucius

Will revenge really ever even things out? We can certainly ensure that someone else feels the pain we felt, but will that ever erase our pain? More importantly what ELSE could we have done with our lives in the time it took to plan and successfully execute our horrible revenge?

When you are totally absorbed in what you THINK will make you feel better and devising ways to make someone suffer as much as you did, you are wasting your own precious life — and you only have one life. What joys did you miss out on, what beauty did you fail to see, and who else (quite possibly innocent) will suffer because of your obsession?

Turn the other cheek you say?! How many times can we do that and still feel worthy of happiness? There are times we just want others to pay for the callousness, the crime, the wrongs inflicted. Sometimes we just want things to be righted. We want justice… or is it merely revenge? Will we get “pleasure” from taking revenge? And if so, what does that say about us? Maybe we are due some JUSTICE, is that the same as revenge? No.

It is essential that justice be done; it is equally vital that justice not be confused with revenge, for the two are wholly different.
~ Oscar Arias

Justice should be logical, thought out, and fair. Revenge is a gut reaction, it’s emotional and most often can be an overreaction. Justice should have a positive effect, perhaps a rehabilitation, a wrong corrected to some extent, removing a danger from hurting others. Revenge is negativity, it can become a blind hatred that goes overboard hurting anyone who comes in contact, revenge only leaves more scars. Any satisfaction felt from meting out revenge is usually short lived and often replaced with guilt.

A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.

~ Francis Bacon

Revenge can steal your life if you allow it. It’s been said that the best revenge is a life well lived and it is true, enjoy success, beauty, love, and friends. Don’t let all these good things pass you by because you can only focus on revenge.

When you feel as if you’ve been stabbed a hundred-million times in the heart and the pain seems more than you can bear, just saying “get over it” sounds so much easier than doing it. When the need for revenge consumes you, when it is always in your mind and heart, you can’t just wave some magic wand and cast it out. Replace it.

Get involved in a positive activity, a project, a cause – find something GOOD to throw all of your passion, your angst and that driving need to make things right. The need for revenge is not healthy; it can grow like a tumor until it strangles you. Replace the UNhealthy obsession with positive drives and action that will benefit others. You will feel better about yourself.

And that is a WIN.

Revenge and Getting Even - #MondayBlogs

A good friend gave me a T-shirt with the following emblazoned across the front. “Be careful what you say. You could wind up in my book.”

There’s a special bonus for writers, we can write someone into our story and then give them whatever we feel their just desserts are. That mean old bully can finally “get his” with no repercussions. In real life we may not wish someone irrevocable harm, even when they’ve angered us; but in our make believe world that we put on paper we can have all sorts of fun and satisfaction.

Revenge doesn’t make us bad people… just writers.

How many villains have you known in your life – real life villains? Now admit it, you’ve fantasized about the revenge you’d like to take, haven’t you?

The biggest problem with inflicting the ultimate revenge – death, or at least unrelenting torture – is that each character an author puts into the story is a personal creation. (Surely we change our characters enough so we can’t be sued for using someone’s true identity.) How can we harm our creations?

It isn’t easy, but I admit, sometimes it is just so much fun! And yes, sometimes there are a few “faces” I imagine when I am dealing out horrible endings. Okay in REAL life I am really not a horrible person, but…   (it is cathartic to write my form of justice into my books).

Do you have any favorite story villains? Did you object to the justice they did, or didn’t, get? And be honest, haven’t you ever fantasized about dealing harshly with the real-life villains you’ve met?

Some of my story villains I don’t feel (much) guilt about for the destinies they met include the stalker in FinalSin, Hal in Bartlett’s Rule, Dunlop in Within the Law, and Charlie in CommonBond, Tangled Hearts.

…just remember, YOU could wind up in one of my books – how do you think I would portray you?

Books by Chelle Cordero