Stumbling Along the Darker Passage

A few years ago, I created a character named Donovan. I breathed a very painful history into his soul. I drew the breath of life from the lips of his mouth. However, my character never developed much. He just teetered and vanished. Sometime last year, I resurfaced my notes on his characteristics and realized he was a killer, not a drug dealer as I originally intended. Question remains whether this character is a villain, the boogeyman for a hero, or if Donovan is the hero of the tale. The anti-hero like Dexter Morgan, who preys only on the wicked. A vampire like Lestat, who only feeds on the blood of criminals. There are several passages for my character to take, and each of them traveled down before.

A killer – regardless of his being good or evil – lacks a conscience. That’s where I find a problem for my Donovan. He feels too much. His reasons for choosing death is his fear of it. For him, death is a trade. He’ll be burden like anyone who is laid off – or, in his case, arrested – though given the choice, he could leave it behind – it’s a possibility I toyed with. Still, I haven’t worked on anything for Donovan. I have thrust him in the midst of any scenario, of any story. I’ve created an arch-foe for him, but I don’t know if he’s really the foe – as I still haven’t figured out which side of the line Donovan stands.

Another character idea I’ve toyed with is that of a book ~~hunter~~ thief – what’s a book thief but a professional book hunter? He isn’t really carved out well enough and lacks a name. The only things I know about him is that he’s cocky and intelligent – one would have to be, don’t you think?

I hope with summer dawning – meaning, I’ll be back at work at the stadium in no time – I’ll have more time with my thoughts. I’ll be able to figure shit out. In the mean time, I’ll just write my notes and figure what paths to take my new heroes down.