Jennifer Hubbard, deep thinker and the talented author of THE SECRET YEAR recently asked me a most excellent question: What’s your philosophy on good and evil in character development?
I love hard questions! Hmmmm. After much pondering I figured out a few things.
1. I believe that everyone on the planet is capable of good, and everyone is capable of evil.
2. I love reading about flawed characters who (at least somewhat) overcome their glaring imperfection to fulfill a dream.
3. If a character is too perfect, I assume he or she is hiding something.
4. The road to hell is paved with good intentions stupid proverbs. Good intentions are worth a lot!
5. Writing complex characters doesn’t mean you’re providing bad role models. Readers learn just as much from anti-heros as from heros.
6. When a flawed character succeeds, it gives hope to the rest of us.
You can read my answer to Jenn’s question here.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject!
Lauren Bjorkman 