: Re: Why do readers enjoy reading about "bad" or evil characters? I've changed a secondary character into a murderer, and it changes everything. This change also opposes my core philosophies, that

It can serve both base and higher instincts.

On one level people appreciate a character whose response to provocation is more dynamic than the response they think they would have themselves. This seems to work best when supported by a compelling back story (Hannibal Lecter, Dexter Morgan), though there's always an addictive glee in the classic moustache-twirling pantomime villain (oh no there isn't...).

On a higher level, people like to see consequences. Even if the murderer continues to get away with the crime, the struggle to remain undetected (or, like Raskolnikov, to reconcile their actions with the sort of person they think they are) appeals to a sense of karmic justice.

A story about someone who always did the right thing would soon start to read like a sermon. On the other hand, illustrating why people might not - and what happens when they don't - is a classic piece of show-not-tell.

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: Is it a bad idea to mix psychological horror with action? foreword: I'm writing for a game, however it's (mostly) irrelevant to my question. Just FYI. I have three main characters in my story.

@Karen856

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: Indent dialogue to make text look less blocky I am writing a story but I am trying to indent the dialog because right now it looks like a chunk of text. My text is Then a figure under

@Karen856

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: Finding a cause when you already have the effect? In the story for a graphic novel Im working on my protagonist is cursed by a witch (or other magic wielding person) to wake up in a new

@Karen856

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: Multiple ways to emphasise words tl;dr : I need a way to emphasise the names of special skills without it becoming annoying or it overlapping with the formatting already present in the story.

: Re: Why do readers enjoy reading about "bad" or evil characters? I've changed a secondary character into a murderer, and it changes everything. This change also opposes my core philosophies, that

More posts by @Karen856

: Is it a bad idea to mix psychological horror with action? foreword: I'm writing for a game, however it's (mostly) irrelevant to my question. Just FYI. I have three main characters in my story.

: Indent dialogue to make text look less blocky I am writing a story but I am trying to indent the dialog because right now it looks like a chunk of text. My text is Then a figure under

: Finding a cause when you already have the effect? In the story for a graphic novel Im working on my protagonist is cursed by a witch (or other magic wielding person) to wake up in a new

: Multiple ways to emphasise words tl;dr : I need a way to emphasise the names of special skills without it becoming annoying or it overlapping with the formatting already present in the story.

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