Me!! I love playing around with them as they have no expectations. I think that is the best thing to be honest. The baddy is as important the story as the main character. I also like writing in the perspective of a baddy. Well, i don’t know. When ever I think of my baddies I think of them not being evil as such, more like curious. I quite like it when there is some romantic attachment but then a reason why they cannot be together. I love the idea of that, lol. I often have them giving a helping hand to the main character though, I like to build a relationship between the baddy and the copper, rather than it just being “it is my job to catch you, that’s it” If you get me. I know what I mean at any rate. Heather
my original bad guy became an anti-hero and made my story run for 8 more chapters than it was going to.
Evil and good are pretty simplistic labels, and writing does not thrive with shallow characters. That is not to say that absolute evil cannot be a solid story element. Sauron of the Lord of the Rings is pretty much an absolute evil, but he isn't really very important as a character. He is more like a weather pattern, or a force like famine or fear that drives the enemy to attack the Free Peoples. He has just enough depth to respond to fear and doubt and lust for power. But Smeagol/Gollum is a much deeper character, driven by greed and fear, but with a core of humanity and a yearning for companionship and acceptance. That depth is what makes characters interesting to read, and fun to write. No one would want to meet a character I created for an RPG here on the forum; he is a brutal cold killer who trusts no one and places no value on any life but his own. But he is interesting because he isn't at all random. He is always thinking about two steps ahead, and never does anything without a purpose. So not all characters will be equally balanced between lovable and despicable, but I'd recommend resisting the temptation to label them good or evil. Just worry about them seeming real.
I havent realy explored my evil guy for my novel. he's supposed to be the avatar of the god Chaos on Earth. and Chaos isn't quite evil, just ... chaossy? so this avatar guy is not necesarily bad he's just got some compulsions that come with that little corner of his soul. He'll do good and bad deeds depending on what suits his chaos side. it'll be hard for me to put on paper, like finding a senario where chaos turns out being a positive thing. But i'll enjoy the chalenge
Will he or she come back for the last chapter? I would see it in terms of how invested you are in the conflict. Often the bad guy will be weak at one part and strong at another. It is just important to make them strong when the big conflict areas arise. I always thought that a story was about the conflict, so the person or thing (as in stories where nature or the character's own mind causes the conflict) are really the most important part of the story. So the protagonist's relationship with the antagonist is the whole cause and reason to write the story in the first place, so I would think that keeping him or it in the game is the best thing you can do. I have seen stories where the antagonist "seemed" to be one person but in the end was ambiguous, in cases where the main character is psychotic but likable and so on. I just finished reading a book where the main character is a psychiatric case, who finds and imagines many bad guy characters throughout the book. The reader desperately wants to believe in the main character, but he keeps doing "mental" and untrustworthy things.
