When the Villain Makes Too Much Sense: Writing Morally Complicated Characters

The best villains make you uncomfortable.

Not because they're evil. That's easy.

It's because somewhere between I cannot stand this person and Okay, but I understand why they did it, they start making entirely too much sense.

Those are the characters readers remember.

Understanding Isn't the Same as Excusing

A character doesn't need to be right for their choices to make sense.

Maybe your antagonist betrays someone because betrayal is the only way they've ever learned to survive. Maybe your protagonist does something unforgivable while trying to protect someone they love. Their reasoning doesn't erase the harm they cause, but it gives the reader something more interesting than they did it because they're bad.

Give your characters a why.

Readers don't have to agree with it. They just need to believe the character does.

Give Your Villain a Life Beyond Villainy

Nobody wakes up every morning, stretches, drinks a cup of coffee, and thinks, How can I antagonize the protagonist today?

Your antagonist existed before your plot needed opposition.

What shaped them? What do they want? Who do they love? What are they afraid of losing? What happened in their life that makes their current choices seem reasonable to them?

A believable antagonist should be the main character of their own story—even when they're the villain in yours.

Let Your Heroes Get Their Hands Dirty

Complexity works both ways.

If your villain is allowed humanity, your hero should be allowed flaws. Let your protagonist make selfish decisions. Let them hurt somebody. Let them choose wrong and have to live with it.

Perfect heroes may be easy to root for.

Complicated ones give readers something to argue about.

Make the Reader Wrestle With It

Some of my favorite reactions to a character live somewhere around: I know I'm not supposed to agree with this fool, but...

That's the sweet spot.

Morally complicated characters invite readers to examine the space between understanding someone's choices and approving of them. They remind us that people can love deeply and still cause harm, make terrible decisions for understandable reasons, or do the right thing for entirely selfish ones.

You don't have to make your villain secretly good.

You don't have to make your hero secretly terrible.

Just make them human.

Because when readers close the book still debating whether they loved a character, hated them, understood them, or need several business days to decide?

You gave them somebody worth remembering.

 

Want to meet some characters who'll test that moral compass? Explore the Crowned Series.