“People are not born heroes or villains; they’re created by the people around them.”
― Chris Colfer, actor and author
― Chris Colfer, actor and author
In order for there to be a hero, there must be a villain. Writing a good villain is sometimes trickier than writing a sympathetic hero. An author can create characters that are one-dimensional or infuse them with more complex personalities, and this goes for both the good guys and the bad guys.
Complex characters are more fun to read and to write.
Back in May, YA and New Adult author Kary Rader sat down to interview one of the villains from my Mermaids of Cape Cod series, and I found the characters responses to her questions illustrate this point really well. The evil in the series isn't all black and white - but comes in shifting shades of grey.
My dark sorcerer is a main character in BLOOD OF A MERMAID. He's a bad guy, the right hand sorcerer to the most evil merman in all the oceans. And yet... he wasn't born evil. His heart harbors doubts about the path he chose.
Kary: Who are you? Give
your full name and title. Do you have special abilities?
My full name is Alexander, but most know me as Zan, of the
Adluo clan. Some call me an evil sorcerer, a wielder of dark magick, but I
disagree. I mean, I learned how to harness my powers at the University of
Atlantis, so it’s not the magick that’s dark. Magick is pure power, to be
harnessed and used like any other tool. Some of us just have better access to
their inner magick.
Kary: What are your goals?
Originally, I was excited to help Prince Demyan overthrow
the royal family in the Atlantic. Why should they enjoy all the bounties of
that larger ocean while our people starve? Demyan always said the strong should
take what they deserve. But after the debacle at the Summer Solstice, my new
goal became staying alive and out of prison.
Then I met Kae.
I know I was only supposed to kidnap her, but then I got to
know her. She’s like all sweetness and light and whatnot, and you’d think it
would be too much but no. She’s, like, perfect. Yeah, I know she’s someone
else’s girlfriend. But things change all the time, right? My only goal now is
to make sure nothing bad happens to her. My life isn’t worth living if she’s
not going to be around, so I’m not going to let anyone hurt her.
Kary: What were your
conflicts and the obstacles in your story?
Can my obstacle be a who? Because the biggest “obstacle” in
my life is Prince Demyan, the Adluo usurper. I know he saved me when I was
young, but he keeps collecting on that same debt. It’s like I have no free will
at all. He controls me – and in turn controls the magick.
At first, I was grateful he saw potential in me and my
abilities, taking me under his fin. I don’t think I ever made the mistake of
thinking he was truly my friend. Come to think of it, I’d never actually had a
friend, until I met Kae.
Umm, and did I mention that she already has a boyfriend? He’s
an obstacle for sure, that stupid half-drylander kid, Shea MacNamara. You know,
the heir apparent to the King of the Atlantic. Son of the mermaid princess.
Saved the King from the death Demyan and I had planned for him. That guy. How do I compete with that?
Kary: What did you think of
Shea when you first met him?
Everyone knew the rumors. The stories of the drylander boy
who would save the oceans? I never dreamed they were actually true, let alone
that Shea would be the boy from the prophesy.
I never even met Shea the first time I was at the Atlantic King’s
palace. But after everything started going to hell and I swam out of Nantucket
Sound, I started hearing tales. How he stood up to Demyan, how he cured the
king from certain death…. Yada yada yada. To hear Kae tell it, he was like a
god reborn. When I finally met him, I wasn’t impressed. He didn’t live up to
the hype. He’s just a guy, not a god.
Kary: What is your greatest
strength? Greatest weakness? How have they influenced you?
My greatest strength is my magick, but it’s also my greatest
weakness. Sometimes the magick has a mind of its own. The professors in
Atlantis told me I was the strongest magick user in a thousand years. They
taught me how to focus my abilities, so I control the magick and not the other
way around.
But it’s tricky. The magick seems tied to my emotions, and when I
get angry I sometimes lose control. So I stay focused. I don’t get emotionally
involved in much of anything or anyone. Well, until I met Kae. Maybe she’s my
greatest weakness.
Kary: In your story, what
moment was the most meaningful to you?
Demyan has always used me and used my magick to gain power
and defeat his enemies. There’s a point in this story where I discover that my
magick can also be used for good – to heal instead of harm. It was a revelation. Life changing. Everything could’ve been so different, given different
guidance from the beginning.
But maybe that’s true for everyone. It’s the choices we
make, and the voices we listen to that shape us into who we are.
Kary: And finally, is there
anything you would like to share?
Do I have regrets? Of course – who can live seventeen years
and have no regrets, right? Especially when you work for a merman like Prince
Demyan. There are definitely going to be regrets, and they’re going to be bloody
ones at that.
But maybe I didn’t realize just what I was missing, you
know? Meeting Kae changed me somehow. In her eyes, I can almost see the merman
I could’ve been. Should be. Do I want to be that guy? I guess I haven’t decided
yet.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
What kind of villains do you like to read or write? Do you prefer your characters to be black and white, or do you like them in shades of grey?
