But guess what occurred to me last night while I was working in the kitchen? (Other than that we were running low on the pasta I thought we'd be leaving to family members in our will.)
As a reader, in most books, I don't much like reading the chapters/scenes in the antagonist's POV.
I can think of several that have been flat and predictable. They're boring and other than the fact they they're doing something nefarious to the good guys, they don't add anything to the story.
Just as readers need to connect with my protagonists, they also need to find something—some kernel—of similarity or empathy or something in the bad guy they can relate to, as weird as that sounds. This is especially important if I'm going to give them a POV role.
Or I need to write the character so twisted that their story is as intriguing as the protagonist's story. (Think Silence of the Lambs.)
Of course, I'm trying to do both. Because there's a side of me that's pretty scary, and I've learned not to be afraid to go there.
CR: Black Water Rising by Attica Locke.
It's all better with friends.
