Q&A: The Most Fulfilling Character to Write

The Most Fulfilling Character to Write

This post is a copy of a response I gave to an ask that I received on my Tumblr. The question was:

Q: What character has been the most personally fulfilling to write for you and why?

I think the most fulfilling character to write for me these days has been Vadra from The Pirates of Sissa. It’s a weird choice, I think, because he’s definitely not a Good Guy character, but I think that’s why I enjoy writing him so much. 

 

Vadra has committed so many crimes in the name of justice and righteousness. He’s got a lot of blood on his hands, and he’s been so blinded by his hatred that he has allowed those emotions to rule him when it comes to the Qorsan in general. When he meets Sahra and is forced to work with her to carry out a peace process, he starts to learn more about them through her, and begins to understand that from their point of view, he’s as evil as they come -- and worse, they might not be wrong. 

I don’t sugar-coat what he’s done to Sahra’s people, and how unforgivable his actions have been, because that doesn’t do anyone any service. He messed up. Big time. And now he needs to carry that guilt with him for the rest of his life. 

I think what I like most about him, and what is so satisfying about writing him as a character, is that he learns from his mistakes. It’s not like he sees the errors of his ways in a revelation moment and has a complete 180-switch into a Good Guy. It doesn’t happen right away, and it takes time for him to understand that the Qorsan have been just as hurt by the Sissans as the Sissans have been by the Qorsan - and so much more so. He definitely does struggle to come to terms with the role he has personally played in that pain.

Vadra isn’t perfect in the least, but he has a reasonable personality. He’s self-disciplined, strong-willed, open-minded, and when he realizes he’s done something wrong, he’ll strive to fix it. It’s his personality, I think, that makes the transition easier on him - the acceptance that he has done something truly irrevocable, and that he must now work to undo even some of the suffering he has caused. 

I find this interesting as well because, if he weren’t the soldier (and, later on, the Commander) that sent dozens of Qorsan to their deaths, he might be a perfectly agreeable character. Readers would like him. Every other part of his character - his manners, his personality, his looks - are all quite attractive. And I think it’s hard for people sometimes to come to terms with the fact that lots of “Bad Guys” do have other dimensions to their characters that aren’t bad, that they might actually like. It’s scary, to be honest. It would be easier to hate them if they were just monsters all-around. But humans are complex creatures.

 

I guess at its very essence, this is a redemption arc. The sinner - the man with so much blood and death on his hands, so much black on his soul - he has to find a way, however possible, to make up for everything he has done to these people. He knows he could probably never truly atone, but he’s a fair man, and he isn’t so arrogant as to put aside the truth when he’s faced with it, simply because it tells him that he’s the problem. 

In a way, it’s also interesting to delve into the idea of redemption from Vadra’s POV as well. That someone like him can achieve redemption after everything he’s done is almost comforting, but can it really happen? He’s not sure - and to be quite frank, as the author, even I’m not sure, but I do know that he’s going to give it his all, regardless of the obstacles he meets on his way and those that won’t believe that a man like him could ever really change.

(On the flip-side, I actually think that Sahra, once I really get to dig deep into her character arc, is also going to be extremely satisfying to write because on her side of things, we’re going to have to deal with other extremely tough topics. For example, how can you work alongside the man that essentially killed people that you’ve known all your life? How can you come to like him, maybe even respect him? How can you forgive him? It’s definitely going to be... an experience writing Sahra’s own tumultuous character development.)

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If you haven't already, check out my eerie suspense novella Apartment.