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| The Man, the Monster and the Myth | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writing Spike | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| �By | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1stRab-id/Rabid/Raeann* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boy, talk about hubris.� I was so quick to volunteer for this gig it made the bloody room spin.� Truth is, I love Spike!� And not in that 'warm tingle in the nether parts' way either...or to be perfectly honest...not exclusively in that way, at least.� I love Spike because he slips under my skin like an Initiative doctor's hypodermic, wraps himself around me like a SPF 1000 blanket, and whispers in my ear like an illicit lover.� In short, he is easy to write.� But it isn't very helpful to an up-and-coming fanfiction writer for me to say, "Let Spike inhabit you and writing him will be a breeze."� So, the question then becomes, "How?� How do you get inside Spike so he can speak to you?" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| And in that respect, I may be able to help.� My advice is simple: watch the show.� I know that seems obvious, and many of you are about to click onto the next lame article by some "self-declared expert" but bear with me for a minute.� I don't mean for you to be a passive observer.� So, maybe it would be better to say, "Study the show."� Study the historic Spike and his evolution.� Try your darndest not to judge what you see as good or bad.� Rewind, freeze-frame, replay the Spike lines and listen for nuance.� Because those nuances (the contradictions, in effect) are the key, in my mind, to writing Spike. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I know this is hard for a lot of people to accept.� They want to write Spike from a single neat perspective.� As you read the majority of fanfiction, you find parts of the whole, a dark knight or a big bad or a fluffy goofball.� And while you may laugh or be chilled or sexually stimulated by the portrayal, somehow, you find it isn't quite as satisfying as the show.� But why?� Sometimes, this is a result of a lack of skill in the writer.�� But, far more often, it is because the writer is simply conveying what they love about the character. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It is human nature to form opinions, to have fixed ideas and to like one thing better than another.� But beyond that, we tend to analyze a situation, label it accordingly and move on.� Unfortunately, it is also human nature to avoid being labeled.� We say one thing while meaning another.� We hide our insecurities and weaknesses.� The problem with Spike, an unusual one for a mass media character, is that he is all too human.� And to write him well, you must not only write what you see on the surface but what lies beneath the veneer.� You must write, not only what you love, but also what you loathe. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Let's look at Fool For Love, because I know, if you have read this far, you most likely have it on tape.� The episode is always mentioned on "Best of Buffy" lists.� And the reason might now be plain to you.� It is an episode of contradictions.� The swaggering, pool playing, cigarette smoking, lime sucking, 'Slayer Killer' Spike in the Bronze is contradicted by the eyeglass wearing, poetry writing, hopelessly romantic William.� The former is a visceral monster and the latter is a vulnerable, literate man who was killed by a lunatic in an alleyway while nursing a broken heart.� Later in the episode, the murderous, shotgun toting, "bitch won't need a death wish" Spike is sharply contrasted with Harmony's comment, "You're so sensitive" and the memory of cuckolded Spike, unable to let go of his unswerving devotion to the Slayer.� | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Now, let's move on to the freeze-framing part of the equation.� Take the last two minutes or so of Fool For Love and go frame-by-frame.� Once you can move past the sheer beauty of James, try to look at him solely as a vessel for Spike.� Study every change of demeanor, every shift of his body and look for the thoughts and feelings.� Because James is, in that scene, what you, as a writer, are hoping to be: the conduit for the character.� Spike is under his skin.� It is okay to have no dialogue here because you are now looking for the descriptive part of your character portrayal.� In other words, "what lies beneath the spoken words." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ask yourself, "Does Spike intend to shoot Buffy?"� Freeze the image and frame-advance it, slowly.� Note how Spike moves.� He strides out of the dark, gun hanging loosely in his hands.� As he cocks the weapon, the answer is there on your screen.� Yes, he intends to splatter her brains all over the side of the house.� It is the demonic thing to do.� It will free him.� It will feel great.� Even the horrid headache that will haunt him for a week doesn't matter to him.� Well worth it, as far as he is concerned.� There is nothing warm and cuddly about Spike in that moment.� He is the monster, capable of murder or rape or any number of other vile things. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So, why doesn't he do it?� Well...Buffy looks up.� It's as simple and as complex as that.� Her eyes are full of unshed tears just spilling over her lashes.� And you can see her pain twist in Spike's undead heart like a knife.� He is confused, suddenly uncertain.� The Slayer is in pain and every fiber of his being knows he should be happy about it.� It is, after all, what he came for and yet...he isn't happy at all.� Buffy isn't welcoming.� She still treats him as an annoyance rather than an armed and soulless killer.� Yet, watch the awkward confusion transfuse James' body as he lowers the gun and asks, "What's wrong?"� | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is the mythic moment for Spike.� The moment when he becomes the "dark knight" pitting his great love against overwhelming opposition.� The dog-like tilt of the head is especially effective here in conveying the message of an inwardly conflicted predator.� The upper echelon of fanfiction tends to draw on moments such as this because this is the most romantic, idealistic part of the character.� Spike, as the mythic figure, torn by his inner battle to love or kill the Slayer.� But if we watch the rest of the scene, we see Spike move past the simple myth and step up to an even more complex level of characterization.� | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffy lies to him.� She covers her emotions, but she does so ineptly.� "Nothing" is wrong and, yet, something so obviously is.� Spike, the dark knight, is helpless.� He doesn't know what to say and so he asks, "Is there something I can do?" The blank look in Buffy's eyes says it all.� He cannot defeat or overcome the situation.� There is no room here for heroics.� Watch as James allows the mythic Spike to dissolve into that sense of helplessness.� | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Letting William, the overly sensitive, socially awkward man, rise up inside, Spike finds a sense of sympathy for an equally socially-challenged fellow warrior.� It gives him tenderness.� He moves forward, hesitantly.� He sits beside Buffy and shyly pats her shoulder.� Then, he stares into space, mirroring her hopelessness and offering only companionship in her hour of need.� They both sigh, in unison, and we know in our gut that Spike is the man for Buffy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So, who is Spike? Is he a monster, a man or a mythic figure?� As we study the show, we learn he is all three and when we write him we must try to bear this trinity in mind.� Whenever I write a line or scene for Spike, I envision the character like a triangle, putting one part of his persona on the surface and the other two underneath.� If, for example, I have him sweet and loving, then just beneath the surface, reflected in his thoughts and movements, lurk the monster and a dark knight fighting the beast.� If he is brutal, then underneath he is also a bumbling human being, wrestling with his ineptitude.� And finally, if I write him as a heroic figure, I try never to forget that what he is and what he will become will be built on twin foundations: the fragileness of William and the savageness of Spike.�� | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *my psuedonyms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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