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!
