Call them bad guys or villains or antagonists, you need them in just about every genre that exists if you want an interesting story. Even nonfiction merits an opposition. For a story to capture readers, it needs adversity. And the bad side has to be every bit as devoted to winning as the good side, or the challenge doesn’t pique interest.

Bad guys think they are right in their mission. They believe they are every bit as noble in their quest as the protagonist. To bring out the teeth of a story, whether short or long, historical or contemporary, fiction or nonfiction, the two sides have to balance the scale. Why?

If the good guy isn’t being challenged by someone equally as strong, the tale carries no weight. The good guy doesn’t even have to flex all of their muscles or use their brain. The odds are too easy.

The good guy has to feel defeated at various stages. The good guy has to fight to think like the bad guy, just like the bad guy is attempting to outthink the good. The good guy has to grow in their efforts, using tools they never used before in order to step up their game.

There are no more black hats and white hats.

As a writer you need to embrace this bad guy as if you loved him in order to give him the power he needs to give your story depth. Make them three-dimensional. Give them traits you even like.

Jesse in Lowcountry Bribe (Carolina Slade Mysteries, Book 1) had a mentally-challenged brother he took care of, keeping peppermints in his pocket for when he was disturbed by his surroundings.

I’d love to tell you about others in my mysteries, but I often hide my bad guys amidst the other characters, leaving you to guess who is the real arch nemesis . . . the person you didn’t suspect.

Just remember it isn’t only about the protagonist. You can’t be good without knowing what bad is all about.