At Least They're Committed

If I must begin practicing my craft and delve my sordid soul into the depths and darkness of literacy, then I should begin my studies with something methodical if not mythical. And so the seven deadly sins — in this case seven in-depth character assessments and psychological profiles of these Cardinal sinners’ souls — would be a fascinating study. Oh, me, whichever could I, should I start with? They’re all so — heh — tempting.

1. Lust? Eh, too easy.

2. Gluttony? Hmmm. Too familiar.

3. Greed (avarice . . . a much more powerful word, don’t you think?)

4. Sloth. Still close to home.

5. Wrath. Now we’re talking! Want to save that one for something special, though.

6. Envy. I’m not familiar with that, so I guess I’ll be forced to study up.

7. Pride. Funny that it’s at the end of the list. Most definitely it is my own, personal, undeniable, twisted deadly sin. This should be great. Already know the story. I’ll write it last.

A lot has been said, done, made, theorized, conceptualized, televised and cinematised (oh, have I finally found a word to make up?) about the seven deadly sins, but not many realize that each sin has a counterpart. There are also seven sacred virtues. Think of Sir Galahad. Quite virtuous! Or so the stories say. Mother Theresa? No doubt! Here they are:

1. Chastity

2. Temperance (patience and self restraint)

3. Charity

4. Forgiveness

5. Diligence (stick-to-itiveness)

6. Kindness

7. Humility

Were I really to expand and explore myself as a writer I would probably leap headfirst into the more difficult set of the sanctities, examine and create splendid stories of virtues and the virtuous as opposed to the all-to-easy “Deadly Seven.” But, methinks, you can’t start a story with virtues, methinks they are the end result. For if your character begins with virtue there is either no story at all or the character quickly is destroyed, martyred. Corruption, I suppose, is always an intriguing option. Still, the deadly sins are far much too delightful and wickedly easy to enter, assess and entertain.