Bullies, Bastards and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction

Get to Know Your Character's Sinister Side

A truly memorable antagonist is not a one-dimensional super villain bent on world domination for no particular reason. Realistic, credible bad guys create essential story complications, personalize conflict, add immediacy to a story line, and force the protagonist to evolve.

From mischief-makers to villains to arch nemeses, Bullies, Bastards & Bitches shows you how to create nuanced bad guys who are indispensable to the stories in which they appear. Through detailed instruction and examples from contemporary bestsellers and classic page-turners, author Jessica Page Morrell also shows you how to:

Understand the subtle but key differences between unlikeable protagonists, anti-heroes, dark heroes, and bad boys

Supply even your darkest sociopath with a sympathetic attribute that will engage readers

Set the stage for an unforgettable standoff between your hero and your villain

Choose the right type of female villain–femme fatale, mommy dearest, avenger, etc.–for your story

Bullies, Bastards & Bitches is your all-encompassing bad-guy compendium to tapping into any character's dark side.

Morrell is a developmental editor and writer based in Portland, Oregon; she teaches writing workshops throughout the Northwest and is the author of several books about the writing profession. After introductory discussions of primal fears, their place in culture and storytelling, and key considerations in writing complex, believable "bad guy" characters, Morrell explores a variety of character types and situations including unlikely protagonists, anti-heroes, dark heroes and bad boys, bullies and mischief makers, villains, sociopaths, heroes versus villains, dangerous women, monsters, creatures, lost souls, and bad guys for younger readers. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Through detailed instruction and examples from contemporary bestsellers and classic page-turners, this book delineates the moral continuum of protagonists and antagonists; explores the connections between opposition, adversity, and evil; and illuminates a bad guys many purposes in a successful story. Morrell also explores the rise in popularity of anti-heroes, how anti-heroes possess some of the same qualities of villains but with the soul of a hero, and how these complicated characters reflect contemporary society.