The Good The Bad and the Unsympathetic Character
The Good The Bad and the Unsympathetic Character
Laura Elliot casts a wry, humorous eye over the creation of fictitious protagonists who are determined to be ‘bad.’
My local railway station is within walking distance from my home. Trains are my usual means of travel so I guess it’s not surprising that when it comes to transporting my characters in and out of my novels—metaphorically speaking—I use the fastest express on the track.
Releasing a cast of characters that have occupied my mind for twelve months, and more, is never easy. They are entwined in my brain, my dreams, and my reality. But with the help of a little visualisation, and some very deep breathing, I escort them to the station shortly after I’ve written those two most sweetest words. The End.
They are perfectly well-rounded characters as they board the departure train. During their time with me they have acquired confidence, eloquence, wisdom and redemption, but I bid them goodbye without regret. A new train is arriving into the station and its carriages are occupied by rows of ghostly shapes. Featureless and formless, they disembark and gather on the platform. They are going in one direction only. It’s time to write a new book and I’ve no option but to open my imagination and allow them in.
I’ve written eleven psychological thrillers so I should not be intimidated by their skeletal frames and blank-eyed stares, yet the thought of giving them bone, muscle, sinew and flesh is daunting. I know the pitfalls that lie ahead as I build them into characters that will engage and challenge my readers.
They will cosy up to me and demand that I pay attention to their needs. They want to be good-looking, that’s a given, and slim enough to slip through the reins I hold. They will challenge my authority at the slightest sign of weakness and demand the right to take a different fork on the road I’ve laid before them. By the time I’m halfway through the book, I will be considering taking up less demanding interests… like cliff diving, bog snorkelling or bungee jumping…but, of course, I don’t.
I always fall in love with this raggle taggle mob and develop all the instincts of a helicopter mother as I watch them grow. I want my readers to identify with them, to empathise and sympathise with their dilemmas, and rejoice in their redemption. Inevitably, until recently, those I chose as my main protagonists existed on the right side of the ‘good/bad’ divide. I kept my villains at a distance and allowed the point of view of my ‘good’ characters to reflect their bad behaviour and its disastrous consequences.
When I began my latest novel, The Marriage Retreat, I expected that my main protagonist, Lorraine Gordon, whose point of view was directing the story, was going to have flaws, like all realistic characters, but I never doubted her essential ‘goodness.’
I don’t outline my books in advance. When I do so, my well-planned, time-consuming summary has self-destructed by chapter two. Instead, I plunge into the action with nothing more than an idea and the belief that my creativity—alongside my grim determination—will carry me through to the end. So, I never expected Lorraine Gordon to energetically elbow her way over to the dark side.
She was a widow grieving the death of her husband, who, having been killed in a car crash, took his secrets to his grave. As Lorraine began to unravel his past, I realised that the circumstances I was building around her would make her capable of dangerous and unforgiveable acts. Being emotionally invested in her from the beginning, I was in full helicopter mother mode, hovering anxiously over her, wanting her to remain ‘good,’ even though that was becoming less likely with every page I wrote.
Writing about her became increasingly difficult but I held on, rewriting scenes that tried to make her behaviour more acceptable. I was aware of the problems associated with using an ‘unsympathetic’ character as my main protagonist—mainly my readers’ displeasure—yet, gradually, I accepted the fact that there was nothing else to do but allow Lorraine her head. No amount of sugar was going to sweeten her and, as her creator, it was my task to explore her humanity as well as her ruthlessness, and show that she was capable of deeply conflicted emotions.
Once I decided to allow the darker side of her personality to emerge, I began to write about her with more freedom. I didn’t allow her to grow horns or develop disgusting tics that signalled ‘badness.’ She experienced all the normal feelings of love, happiness, grief, shame, fear and uncertainty. I allowed her to suffer a justifiable shame in the aftermath of certain deeds until that flicker of humanity was gradually eroded.
I felt it was essential to explore her self-awareness, her motivations and her conclusions. I also worked at developing her backstory, which was essential in understanding the path she chose.
Knowing it would be impossible for her point of view to control the entire narrative, I gave voice to two secondary characters, whose lives became inextricably linked with hers. They offered relief from her intensity but they also revealed the impact of her behaviour on others, and added to the psychological tension she projected.
I won’t pretend it was easy to develop the skin of an ‘unsympathetic’ main character. It was akin to walking a tightrope and accepting that the reaction of readers would be finely balanced between an awareness, and an acceptance, as to why Lorraine made certain decisions—or being turned off by the fact that she did not fit the role of a ‘good’ protagonist. I knew it was a risk to use her point of view but it was also a challenge, which I always need when writing a book.
Finally, it was over. Lorraine Gordon had consumed my life for over a year, and my cast of characters, no longer ghostly shadows, were plump and vociferous as I wrote The End. They were steady on their pins and glowing with good health as they boarded the departure train. They never looked back. That’s the way it is with characters when they flit from a writer’s imagination.
I sighed with a feeling of exhausted relief when I heard that plaintive whistle as the train headed towards the dark tunnel of oblivion. Did I imagine Lorraine Gordon turning her head for an instant before she disappeared for view forever? As the whistle died away, was it my imagination or did I hear her send back to me these sage words of reflection.
‘Author, it would have been so much easier if you had just made me ‘good.’
—
Laura Elliot lives in Malahide, a picturesque, coastal village in Dublin, Ireland. She enjoys writing psychological thrillers and, to date, she has written nine novels: The Thorn Girl, The Wife Before Me, Guilty, Sleep Sister, The Betrayal, Fragile Lies, Stolen Child ( also titled On Your Doorstep) The Prodigal Sister (also titled The Lost Sister) The Silent House and her most recent novel, After The Wedding.
In the UK she is published by Bookouture, Sphere and Avon – and by Grand Central Publishing in the US. Her novels have also been widely translated.
AKA June Considine, she has written twelve books for children and young adults. In her earlier career, she worked as a journalist and magazine editor.
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THE MARRIAGE RETREAT
‘Welcome to Serenity Falls,’ I say, forcing a smile as I guide our new guests across the courtyard and through the doors of the old house. This should be a fresh new start for the couple, but how can I help them when my own life is being torn apart?
My husband Victor and I have been together for twenty-five years and we’ve created a successful marriage retreat business. The tranquil hotel, with its cherry blossom trees and the sound of the waterfall in the backdrop, is the perfect setting for couples to repair their fractured relationships. My own marriage has been a shining example of honesty and trust. Or at least that’s what I believed…
When a police officer knocks on my door to tell me the man I loved has been killed in a tragic accident, I’m left trembling with shock. But that isn’t all. An unnamed woman was by his side when Victor died, and she now lies in a coma. As my husband’s secrets unravel, I discover that my whole life has been a lie.
Now my future is at stake and my life is in danger. And I have to make a choice to protect myself and my family.
A choice that will turn me into a liar, just like Victor.
And will end in murder…
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