Writing Negative Character Development
I LOVE writing negative character development! Fallen heroes, morally grey characters, characters who want so desperately to make the right decision and do the right things but can’t shake their old habits. Ugh!!!! It is absolutely incredible! Gimme, gimme, gimme! It’s so underused in my opinion, and it just has so much potential! I have two negative character development arcs that I’m working on in one of my current wips, and my villain actually undergoes a negative character arc that leads them to become the villain. Negative character development can add a lot of nuance to your story, so without any further ado, here are some tips on writing negative character development!
What is Negative Character Development?
Negative character development is hard to define. It could be moral decline or the character making a bad decision they already learned was a bad decision. The way I look at it negative character development doesn't necessarily mean that your character turns into a villain or an anti-hero even though it's often a part of the story. It means their character development has gone against what the story is trying to teach them. Plot and character development should go hand in hand. The choices your character makes affect the plot obviously, but they also affect them. Overall, at the end of the story, your character shouldn't be making the exact same decisions as they did at the beginning. That means no development took place, and they learned nothing from their journey.
Here is an example I just made up, so bare with me if it doesn't make since. At the beginning of the story, Character A looses a family member. They then spend the rest of the story either a. learning they can save their family by being selfless and taking responsibility for their actions, or b. learning that relying on dark magic has dire consequences no matter how noble the cause. Now at the end of the book in the middle of the final battle, they are faced with two options, Character A can either finally step up, take responsibility, and sacrifice themselves in the name of love for their family, or turn to the dark magic no matter what the consequences are. (I love examples like this because they make us think about what we would do in this situation)
Positive development would be option A because the story has consistently told them that this option yields the most positive outcome. Negative development would be option B. The story has told them that this option normally doesn't end well even if you have good intentions. Character A knows option B is bad for them, but they cannot bring themselves to make the sacrifice. This is a great example of negative character development that isn't morally wrong. Choosing the dark magic isn't morally wrong, but its negative development because the story has been set up to tell them over and over again that it doesn't end well. Character A saw what happened to those who chose dark magic and went through all of this growth in the story, but in the end, they ran away from it all. If the story stays consistent, Character A faces severe consequences for that. That might eventually turn them into a villain or an anti-hero, but their initial choice wasn't morally wrong.
Questions to Ask Yourself
What does your character want more than anything else in the world? (usually it’s something like peace, safety, love, family, etc.)
What is your characters Tragic Flaw? (pride, naivete, self-loathing, etc.)
What are your character’s personal values and moral beliefs?
What would your character do to protect their family/friends/loved ones?
What line would your character never cross, even under extreme duress?
What would make your character cross this moral line?
What would it take to push my character over this moral ledge?
What repercussions will you character face for crossing the moral line?
How does going against their moral code affect the character?
