From the title, you may have gathered it's dark and stormy here tonight, and I'm ok with that. I like dark and stormy. The rhythm of the rain on my roof, the pounding of thunder, and the beauty of lightning are just three of my favorite things. It puts me in the mood to write a dark and stormy character. Take, for example, the antagonist of my fantasy novel, The Five Kingdoms. She's as dark and stormy as they come. When I think of who she is and what made her that way, I think of nights like tonight. She's uncontrollable like lightning, pounds the good guys with her dark magic, and has an evil rhythm where even the baddest villain wouldn't dance with her.
My love of storms and the darkness that comes from them, is probably why I love writing her character. A person so complicated is fun to write because I like to stop and think about why she became that way. What happened in her life to make her so evil? Making a backstory for someone like my antagonist has been freeing. If I've had a bad day or need to get frustrations out, that's when I get down to the business of writing for my dark and stormy character. Though she might not appreciate what comes out of those writing sessions. I'll confess, I think I love her the most and I can't wait to see where the story takes her.
I feel I have limitless possibilities when writing about my antagonist. Typically if a character is the bad guy, they don't have morals, they don't think of the consequences, and they think their actions are always right no matter the cost to others. And that's just the surface of the character. We all know that a villain can't be that straightforward; going around acting bad all the time. OK, I can think of a few, Count Olaf and Voldemort I'm looking at you. But, I like a villain that stops, even for a moment and thinks, could I be more than this? That little moment gives the reader a glimpse into the deeper part of the character; when you can tell there is more than meets the eye.
I can't wait to introduce you to my antagonist sometime (hopefully soon!) in the future. If you're into rooting for the villain while loving to hate them at the same time (it's a complicated relationship, I know.); then I think you're going to like this one.
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