Developing Evil Characters (first appeared 08/15/11)
Later that evening, with the family fed and occupied elsewhere,
she went into the bedroom and sat down. The comforter, warm and soft
against her legs, offered a place to open up, to become Laura again. But
it seemed hiding was more difficult than before, and she rubbed her
temples to relieve the anxiety. The first few weeks of a new identity
always sapped her energy. She had so much to remember, and the act could
be brutal. As she got older and the strain more evident, she worried of
irreparable mistakes. Small stress lines had crept in and sent deep
creases across her brow. And the weight she’d lost.
For the last few years they’d plotted and planned and worked well
together. Nothing stood in the way of their plans, plans so close to
coming to fruition. But this year, a few things had gone awry: the wrong
child, the wrong town, maybe even the wrong identities. Tonight, she
needed more than just a nice warm bubble bath to steer the panic away.
Taut muscles banding her forehead, she sidestepped into the past,
and as usual when under pressure, her thoughts rested on Mother. Her
breath hitched and jammed in her throat.
Standing up promptly and brushing the horrific memories from her
mind, she smoothed the covers on the king-size bed. Why waste energy on
things that couldn’t be changed? There was enough in the present to keep
her occupied.
She stood perfectly still. Stared. Created a short video in her mind that brought the expected relief.
And the tightness was gone. It always worked. All she ever had to do
to relieve the stress was to envision all of them strewn about,
lifeless; mothers and daughters scattered here and there. How she hated
mothers and their daughters.
A twisted grin started deep inside her until she sensed it creep
over her entire face like a mask. “My, my, Hannah Housewife.” She spoke
to the silence, letting her smile change her character. “Let’s go bake
some nice warm cookies for your hubby and little girl.”
How do you create creepy, evil characters?
What do you draw on? Visit my blog for another sample into the dark
world of evil characters. http://lindaglaz.blogspot.com/
8 comments:
Linda, great job on the creep factor. I draw on my memories of creepy people to create my bad characters. I asked my husband and daughter if they were sad to see one of my creepers die--and they said, "Absolutely not." I'd prefer that everyone gets redeemed. But that's not realistic. Anything's possible with God; yet, He respects our freewill.
Blessings as you write ~ Wendy ❀
I love writing creepy characters! So much fun. I continue to be concerned about what that says about me, but my therapist assures me there's nothing to worry about.
I love 'em, too, Wendy. And Tom, not sure what to say about you and those creepers of yours. They give new meaning to creepy, whole new meaning.
Yikes, I am creeped out! Good job Linda!!
BTW: Sorry you are sick...Virtual hugs and real prayers!
Thanks for all the prayers. It helps, believe me. I'm still getting some work done, but my nose isn't cooperating and the headache's been a brute, but all will be well. Can't last forever. :)
Ha! Your comments about creepies made me laugh out loud. Now what does that say about me? I love Tom's creepy characters, too. And I love when they get caught. I think that's why I write about them. Realistically, I know a lot of evil people will never meet God as a friend and the only way to protect the innocents is to destroy the evil. I think I get most of my ideas for characters from people I know. Sounds scary, doesn't it? We all have our quirks. My fiction brain takes a quirk and runs with it. My prayers that you heal quickly, too.
Any excuse to write about a wacko is great!
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