Villains are easy to hate. In stories, they bring harm to heroes and cause as much destruction as possible. Heroes are good; villains are evil. It’s simple. It’s easy to understand. But in all honesty, it’s anything but . . . There are various levels of villains. For example:
Robert is evil.
Susan is mean.
Robert and Susan are two characters from Catherine’s War. While both aren’t the best of people, I cringe when anyone lumps them together. Yes, Robert is terrible. From the beginning, I knew he needed to be. To avoid the risk of spoiling anything, I’ll leave his story for another time. Susan, however, is someone who morphed into her meanness. Initially, she wasn’t mean. Annoying, yes. Snobby, naturally. But mean . . . no.
How, then, did she become as horrendous as readers claim her to be? It took quite a few drafts and several revisions. Susan was originally three characters, none of which were entirely terrible. When I decided to combine Susan #1, #2, and #3, she took on a whole new depth. It got easier and easier to put every bullying experience people suffer into her. As a result, hating her was simple.
Liking her? Not so easy.
As readers finish Catherine’s War, their disdain for Susan is pretty unanimous. I’m fine with that. It’ll make what’s in store for Susan in the next book that much more meaningful my site. . . When a reader complains about Susan’s darkened soul, I’m quick to point out how Olivia, a sweet and lovable character, was once close friends with Susan. At some point in Susan’s past, she was pleasant enough to have Olivia as a friend.
That’s a big deal. Susan wasn’t born a villain. Her life circumstances helped create her to be one. It’s the same for us. Things happen, and it’s our decision how to react when they do. Sometimes we make good choices, other times we don’t. With those poor choices, a little bit of Susan emerges in us.
So while Susan is mean and easy to hate, realize she’s also human. Does that mean she’ll redeem herself? Only time will tell. But it might make us, myself included, adjust our level of hatred for her – especially when we realize there are bits of Susan in each of us.
I can’t wait for Susan’s war!! Any idea in when?
Thanks for taking such an interest in Catherine’s story! As to your question about SUSAN’S WAR. . . you know I’m going to try and give a vague answer, right? 🙂 I didn’t immediately dive into writing it when I finished CATHERINE’S WAR. It took a while to realize I still had more of Catherine’s story to tell. But now that I know there’s more to tell, I’m working on it as much as possible. I can tell you that I’m nearly finished with the first draft. While this may not be quick enough to make my beta readers happy, I assure you it’s coming along more quickly than CATHERINE’S WAR did. Keep checking back, and I’ll post updates as soon as possible!