Naughty Characters

A large part of writing a great book is about having the skill to create engaging, memorable characters. Honourable characters lend hope and restore faith in human nature. Wicked ones spell doom but also create a balance to the story, instilling that all-important ‘conflict’ to the plot. The funny guys hang around the periphery to inject a bit of fun, freedom and laughter. These are all straight forward traits and somewhat easy to create and handle throughout the book/film. A more difficult job is to craft characters like Will and Grace’s ‘Jack,’ who’re naughty yet loveable. I admire writers who can perfectly sum up and maintain this balance. They’ve enchanted us with these naughty characters from the days of Tom and Jerry (when that wicked little mouse got away with the most criminal of RSPCA’s violations), to today’s Greg House. Here is an article to demonstrate this trend.