Hi Readers! Thanks for joining us today for a page from my Writer’s Tablet. This article–“Bad Guys Make Good Guys Good”–gives a small glimpse into one of the processes in my Christian Suspense novel writing.
One of the most enjoyable parts of writing for me is developing the character sketch. And sometimes, the character sketch is as far as I get in drafting some stories when I find the characters more interesting than the story I have in mind! And for the really good plots, I force myself to pause and work on my characters–especially the villain.
The villain’s development is sometimes more important than the protagonist is, though the good guys need to be fully sketched as well, of course. Good guys are usually obvious and oftentimes boring to readers, but most writers love to build the finest good guy character they can drum up. Yet, it’s the bad guy that makes the story complete, and that’s why I pay special attention to the villain’s development.
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5 Reasons a Very Bad Guy Makes a Very Good Guy Good
- The more sinister the bad guy, the more honorable the good guy seems.
- The more ruthless the bad guy, the more kind the good guy is without even explaining how good he really is.
- The farther the bad guy goes to destroy his target, the farther the good guy will go to stop him.
- The more destructive the bad guy’s goal, the more extreme the triumph for the good guy.
- The deeper the bad guy buries the good guy, the greater the good guy’s comeback.
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When writing my novels, I build up my good guys by making my bad guys extra sinister. I try to leave the reader to discern the difference rather than explaining the difference. With a good plot, the reader will be left in suspense, anticipating the end. Why? Because a really bad guy character in a story makes for a better . . . everything.
See you on the next page!
David Telbat
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Read more articles of D.I. Telbat’s writing in his Writer’s Tablet.
COMING UP: Join us on next time for a fiction story in North Korea titled “Killing Orders,” and for the following post, David shares Part VII of his “If Christianity were Illegal” Series, in “Betrayer or Confessor, when Christianity is Illegal.“
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