Tuesday's Inspiration based on a quote by Arthur Koestler #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

When I first read what Mr. Koestler a lightbulb went on. Here goes.  "The reader must identify himself not only with the hero but with the villain  if he is to share fully the dramatic experience of the story."

What this means to me is no cardboard villains but ones with good and bad traits, just like the hero, or the heroine and villainess. Sometimes this is hard to do. Showing the human side of the villain can be hard but he or she needs to have a bit of vulnerability. I'm working right now on a villain who is rather nasty but I also needed to show that he had a human side. This is a hard thing to show. I hope I manage this by showing his desire for a son to follow him to become ruler of his land. But he has some really nasty moments. I also had to show his love for a woman who is now dead and consider how the love she gave to another man might have troubled him.

What those words did was to make me look at my characters especially the lead ones to make sure they weren't all good or all bad. A truly interesting look at what I've written. One of my mysteries shows the killer was trying to protect others who needed protected. Yes, he murdered but I felt sympathy for him during the story.

What this means to me as a writer - I must love the bad guys as much as I do the good guys. Other wise the story won't intrigue the reader and make them want to read my other books.