Character Development - The Dark Side

We've been talking about character development and how we use our life experiences, memories and emotions to create characters who are vibrant and alive.

Let's look at developing our antagonist or dark characters.

I have to admit, I enjoy writing Tzmet (my witch) very much. She's evil in the beginning, but there's also something humorous about her. She's so vain and she speaks her mind. She holds nothing back. And I've enjoyed her character arc, as I never intended keeping her totally evil. Being a selfish person at times, I draw on my inner thoughts and desires in creating her. Am I like Tzmet? No. But there are times when I wish I could be like her without any bad consequences. HA!! Fleeting thoughts, to be sure, because I really am a nice person.

Her father, on the other hand, is totally evil. I don't get in his POV or his thoughts at all. I simply show him to be cold and and merciless. Of course, I blow him up at the end, but hey, we need a fitting end for the bad guys, don't we?

Let's talk about creating the dark side of characters.

The Dark Side

We had great discussion last week about including God in our fantasy writings. Now, let’s go to the dark side and talk about villains.

All stories need a strong antagonist – one the protagonist must prevail against. And it can’t be easy. It’s even been said the villain should be stronger than the hero. Or seem to be.

What makes a good dark foe? What characteristics should you give him or her? What makes your antagonist different from all others out there?

Sauron, Darth Vader, Maleficent. Just three examples of fantasy, sci-fi and animated villains. One was redeemed. Two fell to their tragic deaths.

As Christian fantasy writers, how do we handle evil characters? How evil can we go? Can we make our dark characters likeable? Should we?

Lots to talk about this week. Spread the news! Let’s get more people on board for this potentially rousing discussion.


NOTE: if you want to get email notices of new posts, you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of this page and SUBSCRIBE.