Featured Post

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Revenge: A Driving Force


Revenge: A Driving Force
By Margaret Daley

I was in the middle of writing Scorned Justice (out this month) when the show Revenge came on last year on ABC--a show about a burning need to seek revenge on someone who had hurt the lead character. At least that was the impression I got from the ads about the new show. I have to confess I actually haven't seen the show. But it summed up my story--to what lengths would someone go to get back at another. A person takes the first step in a path of revenge, and before he/she knows it, there is no turning back. The need consumes him/her.

When revenge starts consuming the character, the fun really begins. The stakes are heightened. The villain starts to lose it and make mistakes. A show I do watch--Once Upon a Time--has revenge driving the plot. The Evil Queen wants to make Snow White pay for what she did as a child. This revenge dominates the Evil Queen's life.

Revenge is one of the basic motives for a person murdering another. There are others like greed, hate/love, the need for power. When I wrote this book, I wanted to show how far someone could go, how it changed his/her life. And since this is an inspirational romantic suspense, I needed a happily ever after ending so there is a consequence for the revenge beyond going to prison.

The faith element in the story is the opposite of seeking revenge. If a person forgives rather than holding a grudge, then there is no revenge. The Lord wants us to forgive trespasses against us. From experience when I've let go of my anger, I'm much better off. Anger has a way of festering and feeding off of you. Negativity can take over your life, destroy it.

What movie, book or show you've read or seen that has revenge at its core?

3 comments:

  1. Great post, Margaret! It's so hard sometimes to let go of the need to "get even" and just let God handle it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lynette, I know. But as I've grown older, I've found it is easier. Hate takes a lot of energy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Margaret,

    I just finished reading The Survivor by DiAnn Mills and that was all about revenge. Revenge of a psychopath who didn't kill a young girl when he left to to die and revenge of the young girl all grown up wanting to make the psychopath pay. It was a great book.

    Have a blessed day!
    :) Smiles & Blessings,
    Cindy W.

    ReplyDelete