A bit of writing advice

As previously mentioned, I thoroughly enjoy reading Jonathan Carroll's blog. Today's entry is a discussion of the importance of characters being likeable. Even the bad guys need some redeeming qualities to make the story really work. On more than one occasion I have stopped reading a book--sometimes I just put it down for a while and go read something else, and sometimes I never go back to it--because I dislike a character so much. Well-written characters are much more important in my world than an intricate plot. If a character's only purpose is a plot device and can't stand on his or her own as a person (or fairy or gnome or god or cockroach), then I am likely to lose interst. If the bad guy is just there to cause trouble and has no redeeming qualities, then the conflict lacks complexity. Carroll uses Hannibal Lector as an example. While Lector would certainly not have been my choice for a likable or even seductive bad guy because I find serial killers to be too creepy to be interesting, I understand what he means.

Jean-Claude the vampire is supposed to be evil and irresistible all at the same time, resulting in Anita Blake's crisis of belief. Sometimes it works better than others. When it works, the complexity of their interaction and the conflict it generates in Anita make the series worth reading. When it doesn't work, he's just another overbearing, manipulative jerk pressuring a woman into a relationship that she doesn't want. There may not be any blood flowing through his veins, but there is plenty of testoserone. It's not sexy. It's not attractive. And the story suffers because of it. (At some point, I should devote an entire post to the Anita Blake series, but this is not that point.)

Another bad guy who benefits greatly from acquiring depth is Darth Vader. In the original Star Wars movie, he's pretty much just a bad guy, and even kind of a secondary bad guy at that. Once we find out that Darth Vader *is* Anakin Skywalker, his character takes on a new dimension with his connection to Luke and Leia and with the potential for his redemption. Were he just a nemesis, the story wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

At the end of the entry, Carroll asks the following questions: "Whatever you are writing, who in your story would you want to dine with? Spend a weekend with? Take to bed?"

Try to answer those questions as you write and revise (and go read the whole blog entry while you're at it).