Cruelty

Read Exodus 1-4

Exodus 1:16 "And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live."

Cruelty is a hard thing to witness, even from afar. Whether reading a newspaper article, watching a movie or television show, or especially writing a scene involving cruelty, it makes us cringe.

But a story needs a compelling catastrophe for a believable motivation. Both the protagonist and the reader are catapulted to action when faced with cruelty.

 

A convincing villain is cruel. The degree of heartlessness will depend on how much the story’s target audience can take.