tarisilmarwen replied to your post:
Inspiration for Slade’s dialogue… where and how does one get it? Specifically motive rants and psychological mindscrews. Holy cats I have the hardest time writing those when it comes to Slade.
Slade is a tricky one to write well. A common mistake I see in TT fanfiction is Slade depicted as a sadistic douchebag. However, his psychological mindscrews really drive the plots forward in the show, not his physical beatdowns of the characters (though they are a plus lol).
Writing older male characters is difficult, even for me. Hmm…trying to explain how I write him is difficult, even though I’ve been told that I do it well.
Concerning diction:
- I try not to use modern slang. Contractions are fine, and older slang is fine (80’s slang for Slade…lol).
- I imagine Slade to be very precise with his words. Words are powerful and different kinds of words hold power over certain people. While not an English prof, I still imagine Slade to be literate in his own way.
- For example, his diction may be littered with military terms.
Motive rants:
- Internal monologues help in fanfiction. The trick is to think exactly as Slade thinks. The reason why I incorporate Deathstroke into TT fics is because it’s easier for me to understand this Slade.
- TT!Slade tends to monologue out loud. He thankfully does this less often over the seasons.
Psychological mindscrews:
- Ok. Here’s the thing: I’ve never taken a psychology class in my life. I’m not sure how to explain this, but I’ll give it a shot.
- I did a bit of research on psychological manipulation. Check out the different ways people manipulate each other (without violence) and then think about what Slade would do.
- Some examples from the list: Lying, guilt-tripping, charm, rationalization
- Here’s another good webpage for info: http://www.psychologicalharassment.com/psychological_manipulation.htm
- And yes, I do admit that I find this all very fascinating. I’m very excited to study Michel Foucault this week, who has also written on this topic (focusing specifically on the effect of prisons)
- I hope this helps!
