Please welcome Nick Wilford, who is here to talk about characters and his newest release!
Today I’m going to talk a bit about what happens when good characters go bad and how it might affect the rest of your story. This can be really fun for both the author and reader because it can turn everything you thought you knew about your story, and your protagonist, on its head. That opens the door for all sorts of twists and revelations, adding layers of intrigue.
There are two main ways in which a previously good character can go dark: making that choice to cross over themselves, or being influenced by some kind of outside agency so their thoughts and actions are not entirely their own. In Reckoning, my main character, Wellesbury, falls into the latter category. (He’d been so determined to fight for what’s right the entire series, I didn’t think he’d ever make a conscious decision to go to the dark side.) But even if your character has made the move consciously, there’s room for a lot of nuance. Maybe they feel they don’t have a choice: for example, doing something bad is the only way they can get what they need for their family, such as something that would save a dying relative. Maybe they think what seems bad right now will lead to good in the long run. Use this as an opportunity to add complexity to your protagonist.
At the same time, think about how their actions affect everything and everyone around them. It’s going to have a chaotic ripple effect: those close to them might try to help them, or perhaps get sucked into this different way of thinking themselves. It’ll move the goalposts if there’s a villain your good guys are trying to defeat because the line between good and evil might now be very blurry. Or if you have a “sidekick” character to your protagonist, they might have to shoulder much more responsibility by both taking on the antagonist themselves and trying to bring their associate back on the right side. This is the position Ez, Welles’s partner, finds herself in in Reckoning.
Overall, this is a case of no character being completely black and white, to borrow the name of my series. Everyone has good and bad within them. Just as your villain will be much more rounded and convincing if they’re not purely, completely evil, so will your protagonist be if they’re not purely and completely good. Have fun playing with the boundaries and you’ll end up with a much more satisfying reading experience.
Title: Reckoning
Author: Nick Wilford
Genre: YA dystopian
Series: Black
& White
Series #: 3 of 3
Release date: 20th September 2022
Publisher: Superstar Peanut Publishing
Blurb:
The time has come for those who perpetrated wrongdoing and suffering on the land of Loretania to face their judgement. Lord Histender and the other members of the deposed Reformers’ Government are in jail awaiting trial for keeping that country in a state of disease-ridden deprivation, alongside other heinous crimes.
Wellesbury Noon and Ezmerelda Dontible, the kind and benevolent new rulers of Harmonia, are looking forward to seeing justice finally being done. But nothing is that simple. Lunkin, the psychotic former Chief Scientist, has one more trick up his sleeve and is wreaking havoc even from behind bars. Soon, Loretanians who have come to make a new life in Harmonia are falling victim to hate crimes and brutal attacks. And things take a turn for the desperate when Wellesbury himself becomes compromised.
Can Welles and Ez turn the tide of public opinion and secure justice for the people of Loretania before it’s too late?
Purchase Links:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
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Author bio:
Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a
journalist, he now makes use of those early morning times when the house is
quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and
formatting thrown in. When not working he can usually be found spending time
with his family or wrangling his six adorable dogs. His first traditionally
published novel, a YA sci-fi adventure entitled The Becalmer, will release from
Creative James Media in August 2023. His other books include the Black & White
trilogy, a YA dystopian series, and A Change of Mind and Other Stories, a
collection featuring a novella and five short stories, four of which were
previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also the editor of
Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew.
