Writing good – and evil
Heroes and villains lurk in mysterious places. I realized this more fully than ever before when I was asked about my own leading lights and their nemeses. Here’s some of what I learned about my characters and breathing life (and sometimes death) into them.
Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?
I like it when good wins out over evil, so I tend to embrace heroes and heroines. I can sympathize with the villains, even understand their impulses, but in the end, I want the victory to go those with purer hearts.
That said, I am not a fan of what I call the hero at all costs. The person who disobeys the rules because they are morally above them, the champion who charges in because they know best, the defender who goes to the ends of the earth to solve an injustice to the detriment of their friends and family. Excess does not appeal to me.
How do you find your heroes? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the person you want every reader to love?
Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
For me, heroes (and in the case of a few short stories anti-heroes) do not have the same origin story.
Riel Brava, the main character in Hung Out to Die, started with a bath. I’m a big believer in bubbles, candles, exfoliating scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the background. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.
My second book, Conflagration!, was a different book and a different process. The book is a historical mystery and follows the trial of an enslaved Black woman accused of arson in Montreal in 1734. I discovered the level of detail in court transcripts and the timelines set by the trial process meant I had a detailed blueprint for the book before I even began. My fictional character, court reporter Philippe Archambeau, had to fit into this world.
Heroines. How do you find them?
I have just finished the second of two new books that feature three main characters, all women – my first heroines. They meet at a yoga studio and the crime unravels mid-downward dog. Like all my characters, these women started as ideas and blurry images. They became more well-defined – and more real – as the stories unfolded. I am always amazed at the unexpected direction characters take me in. I am acutely aware at times that I am not in control of the writing.
Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal.
How do you choose one? How do you make them human?
Three-dimensional characters are important. They’re more challenging to write, but they are also more realistic. I usually start with motive. If I can understand why someone would commit this crime or act in this way, then I can begin to understand the person I want the character to be.
donalee Moulton is the author of Conflagration! — a historical mystery that won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). Her other books include a mystery novel based in Nova Scotia, Hung Out To Die, and a non-fiction book about effective communication, The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say. As a freelance journalist, donalee has written for over 100 publications across North America. You can catch up with her on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Your process for creating characters is fascinating. I compare it to being born in your imagination and growing into maturity on the page. Fictional characters, in that way, become very real.
Congratulations on your du Maurier award, donnalee. Thinking deeply about our heroes and villains is so important, and clearly, you’re doing it right. As for me, I always know a character’s backstory, even though it may not show up in the final edit.
Brilliant creative process donalee. I love that you outlined before you moisturized;) gotta get those ideas cemented before they disappear into the mist. Congrats, too, on winning The Daphne Historical contest. Tough competition, which speaks volumes sbout your writing.