The Hardest Character to Write (Comments Wanted)
By Chris Lindberg
As much as some of us won’t admit it, every author has a favorite character in each and every book they’ve written. And they also have a favorite character to write: whether it be the hero or villain, the character they relate to most, or just the one they had the most fun developing. If you’ve written a story or two, I’ll bet as you read this, you’re thinking about those particular characters right now.
But what about the hardest character to write? There is always one of those, too. It could be a character of the opposite sex, or one of a much different age, or one with a mindset that is difficult to understand, or any number of other things that make writing them a tall task. Now you’re probably thinking back to those characters and nodding your head as well. Wasn’t easy to write them, was it?
In my novel Code of Darkness, the most difficult character for me to write was the secondary (though some would argue primary) villain, Elias Todd. Elias Todd was a character that had it all: he was rich and he was gifted in many ways, but he was also a sick and evil man. As a professional killer, he ended peoples’ lives for profit, but also for the sheer, twisted joy he felt in making others suffer. Because Code of Darkness is ultimately a story about good versus evil, it of course would need a good bad guy. In many cases a good villain is more important than a good hero. After all, which characters do people remember the most from classics such as The Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men? Exactly.
So, how do you write someone who is so evil and disturbed, a cold-blooded killer whose mind dwells in places you’d never want to go? You have to start someplace. I started by doing some character studies, putting Todd in different situations: hunting a target, putting his back against the wall, etc. I even wrote a chapter about his past, to help me figure out how a person could become what he’d become. (The chapter didn’t make the final cut, but I still have it and may post it someday if anyone’s interested.)
After all that, it was time to write some actual scenes for the book that showed what Todd was capable of. One in particular is Chapter 37, titled “The Curtain,” where readers get a glimpse of Todd’s evil, and it serves as a foreshadow for what he does later in the book. I won’t tell you what happens obviously, but I will say that I had to rewrite the scene six times until I was satisfied with how disturbing it was.
And that’s my hardest character to write. Who was yours, and what made them a challenge? 
During a deadly hostage standoff, Chicago police officer Larry Parker witnesses a heroic act by a mysterious intervener. But when the Samaritan disappears, Larry is left only with unanswered questions. Suddenly vigilante activity begins popping up all over the city. Larry finds evidence pointing to the Samaritan, and discovers his identity – a loner known only by the name Rage. But Rage has also drawn the attention of a covert Black Ops division within the Pentagon itself. Seen as a liability to their secret operation, Larry finds himself in the crosshairs as well, and must find answers while on the run. The deadly chase leads cross-country to a top-secret military facility in Virginia, where Rage and Larry uncover the greatest danger of all -- and only they can stop the unthinkable from happening.
Chris Lindberg was born and raised outside Chicago, Illinois. After graduating from Northern Illinois University in the mid-1990s, he headed out to the west coast for a couple of years, where he began writing as a casual pastime.
Some time after returning to Chicago he began attending writers workshops at StoryStudio Chicago, where he wrote two character studies, both of which have since been developed into key characters in Code of Darkness.
Chris now lives outside Chicago with his wife Jenny and their two children, Luke and Emma. You might catch him working away on his second novel while commuting on his morning train into the city.
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Stops on the Tour:
Oct. 14 - Meet & Greet at The Virtual Book Tour Cafe
Oct. 18 - Guest Blogging at http://louisewise.blogspot.com
Oct. 20 - Guest Blogging at http://ashleysbookshelf.blogspot.com
Oct. 22 - Author Interviewed at www.katiesalidas.com
Oct 24 - Guest Blogging at http://ink-puddle.blogspot.com
Oct 26 - Guest Blogging at www.jocelynmodo.blogspot.com
Oct 28 - Author Interviewed at http://fromthemindofomegia.blogspot.com
Nov. 1 - Author Interviewed at http://lisahaseltonsinterviewsandreviews.blogspot.com
Nov. 3 - Author Interviewed at http://immortylrevolution.blogspot.com
Nov. 7 - Guest Blogging at Words I Write Crazy
Nov. 9 - Guest Blogging at http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com
Nov. 11 - Author Interviewed at http://margaret-paranormalromanceauthor.blogspot.com
Nov. 15 - Code of Darkness Reviewed & Intervew at http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com
Nov. 16 - Guest Blogging at http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com
Nov. 19 - Author Interviewed at http://amylunderman.blogspot.com
Nov. 21 - Author Interviewed at BK Media & Entertainment
Nov. 23 - Code of Darkness Review & Giveaway at http://bibrary.blogspot.com
Nov. 25 - Code of Darkness Review & Giveaway at http://madmoosemama.blogspot.com
Nov. 28 - Code of Darkness Review & Giveaway at http://librarianmouse.blogspot.com
Nov. 30 - Code of Darkness Review & Giveaway at From the TBR Pile
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