Writing Morally Gray

Morally gray. We either love them, or despise them, but when done correctly can add a lot of depth to your story and really bring out some unique situations for your characters.

But, we can’t slap an edgy label and call it ‘gray’. This is a quick way of losing a reader if it was something you promised in your pitch. Your morally gray should be tip-toeing on the line of villain and hero, almost to the point of no return. They should be raising the stakes and playing by their own rules. You know you’ve done it right when your readers either absolutely love them or talk about how they begrudgingly can’t hate them.

Morally gray is not the same as a villain. They can be the antagonist, an MC’s foil, but the difference is that a morally gray character cannot be irredeemable. How do you do that? You give them a purpose your reader can understand, even if they disagree with your character’s actions.

A common purpose is survival. For them, for a loved one, for their family. Is your character a thief? Do they steal food to survive? Do they smuggle goods to provide to those who can’t? These are all things that we can empathize with and “excuse”. Another motivation could be love. It is often viewed that a heroic-type character makes sacrifices for the greater good, even at the cost of their own happiness or love. In some cases they are expected to sacrifice their love for the sake of saving others, world peace, and other noble causes. A morally gray character might do the opposite of this trope. They don’t have to appeal to the greater good, they are serving their own interests even at the expense of others. They’re willing to sacrifice others in the name of love (that will definitely make the romance-lovers swoon).

Some great examples are: Draco from the Harry Potter series, Zuko and Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender, and Rhysand from A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Each one begins as either the antagonist or just someone the author tries to have us dislike. As the story progresses, we learn about their character’s background and why they are the way they are. In some cases, we get to see the character change like Zuko from ATLA, in others we learn they were never that bad in the first place like Rhysand from ACOTAR and in some cases their character doesn’t change, but we understand them enough to empathize and know they are a product of their upbringing like Azula from ATLA and Draco from HP.

Like I said earlier, these characters are not meant to be the villains of the entire story. Villains don’t need to be redeemed, empathized with, or understood. Amarantha from ACOTAR is NOT ever explained why she is the way she is. And we don’t need to know. She’s bad and does horrible things. That’s what makes her the villain of that particular book. Her morals are not gray but are black as obsidian. Pure darkness.

When writing a morally gray character for the series I’m working on with Kamryn, it was SO much fun doing a deep-dive into their mind and really pulling all their emotional turmoil into their thoughts and actions. This character is meant to be loved but they do shady things. They’re flawed and resist help from our morally-good MC. The key is highlighting why they’re doing what they’re doing. They’re doing what they feel they have to and they don’t feel good about it. And there will be consequences. Don’t be afraid to completely rip your morally gray characters to shreds. Regardless if they are doing things for good reasons, actions have consequences and as readers we love to see the change in our characters as conflict happens.

To summarize: Morally gray characters can be an excellent addition to your story’s cast when done correctly. They should be bad, but not irredeemable and we as the reader have to understand why they do what they do. Make sure their actions have consequences and either showcase their change, or highlight their true feelings.

What’s your favorite morally gray character? Do you have any WIP’s that feature a dark and lonely soul? (if so, let me read it, please) Let us know! I’ll see you next time!

~Kristin