Cecilia and I were deep into conversation (as usual) about our characters. We spend a lot of time in character development and like to hash each “person” as a separate entity and give him or her an identity, almost like a little dossier of sorts. Even small characters get some development because we like to be able to feel the character when we write his/her dialogs.
At doing so we encounter the many personality layers that make humans more than just flat two dimensional beings. People would be too boring if they were solely good or bad. Even the worst of the worst has a heart, has feelings even if they are for the wrong things or reasons.
Our latest “friend” is a villain. Cold, calculating, narcissistic type, only preoccupied about himself, his status, his position. He is vain and yet his concern about fame, money, position, status is driven by a very real thing to all of us: family.
The duality in all of us makes us real. One of the best things about writing and creating those “people” is that you can add as many layers as you need to make the characters stand out either to be loved or hated.
While we want our heroes to be good and loved, they too have faults and make mistakes. The same way that the villains although hated can be understood and pitied. It’s a fine line in the art of layering but that when that concoction comes to life in the right amount you feel rewarded and fulfilled. We thoroughly enjoy the ride through good and evil.