4 Tips to Write Morally Grey Characters
Morally grey characters are the intermediate between a villain and a hero. They are neither wholly bad nor good, which is what makes them such interesting additions to a story.
Some examples of morally grey characters include:
Serverus Snape from the Harry Potter series
Boromir from The Fellowship of the Ring
Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby
Sandor Clegane from A Song of Ice and Fire series
Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows duology
Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series
John Silver from Treasure Planet
Each of these characters vary in their degree of “evilness”, but each of them are explored at length so the reader can understand them as the complex person that they are. A morally grey character features just enough good or redeeming qualities for the reader to form a connection with them and care about their wellbeing. Often, they are an unheroic person forced into a heroic situation.
Key characteristics of a morally grey character:
A skewed moral compass.
Selfish tendencies and/or greed.
Emotional baggage that has influenced their morals, values, opinions.
Getting what they want by whatever means necessary.
Limited regret or remorse for their actions.
Unwilling to help or work alongside others.
Whether it’s your protagonist or antagonist, morally grey characters keep readers on their toes and keep the story unpredictable. The crux of a morally grey character is that the reader both loves and hates them — they feel sorry for them, but they don’t always agree with their actions. You want to blur the lines of good and evil so that this is what you evoke from your readers.
Writing a compelling morally grey character requires a few things, so I’ve broken these down in four steps.
#1 Give them a motive
Like any character, your morally grey character needs a motive. They need to have a reason behind why they do what they do. Snape was mean to Harry because he bore a grudge against his father, Kaz Brekker was cold and distant due to his own past trauma, Jack Sparrow lied and cheated to remain a free man.
So what is your character’s why?
If you can explore the character’s motives and mindset, it will help your readers understand them and accept their actions. Your characters will often believe that they are right or validated for behaving in the way they do. It’s entirely likely that your character is well intentioned, doing bad things for a good reason.
For your character to be morally grey, your readers need to be able to understand them. That doesn’t mean that they agree with them, they just need to understand how that character justifies their actions.
#2 Give them a weakness
Deepen the character development by exploring their weaknesses. Does their weakness drive them to do what they do? Does their weakness hinder them? Like Boromir, is their weakness their downfall? Like Jay Gatsby, do they try to conceal their weakness?
It may be their weakness that makes them so morally grey, because perhaps they are unable to overcome it, and only by overcoming their weakness can they be a better person.
Giving a character weaknesses makes them more realistic and relatable, but giving a morally grey character weakness gives them humanity so the readers can connect to them and understand them better. This creates the human element that may elicit empathy and understanding from your readers.
#3 Give them a backstory
Like their motive, their backstory will influence the decisions they make. Do they bear a grudge that makes them act out — like Sandor’s relationship with his brother Gregor? How does their story and background influence their personality, be it good or bad? In the case of Snape, his backstory makes him both good and bad — his love for Lily makes him work with Dumbledore against Voldemort, but his hatred of James makes him keep his distance from Harry.
How does your character’s past influence the person they became? This is essential to character development, especially if something big happened in their past — like Kaz’s brother’s death. After Jordie died, Kaz found himself amongst the dead bodies of plague victims. The trauma developed a fear of skin-on-skin contact and led to Kaz becoming resistant to closeness or openness with others.
Every character’s backstory influences the person they become, so explore how the past of your morally grey character has led to the life they now lead.
#4 Make difficult decisions
The choices they make will say a lot about their character and their mind. Do they act selfishly, do they act for the betterment of others? How they choose to live or act will say a great deal about the kind of person they are, how they think, and how they have been affected.
Making difficult decisions will show character development and reinforce their motive and the importance of their goal. It’s also a great opportunity for them to have to choose between what is right and wrong and further the development of their internal conflict. Do they make good decisions for the wrong reasons or wrong decisions for good reasons?
In the case of John Silver in Treasure Planet, he spends the entire film using people for his own selfish means of finding Treasure Planet. However, Silver finds his goal harder to achieve after building a rapport with the protagonist, Jim Hawkins. When he is faced with either taking the treasure he has worked so long to find or saving Jim’s life, he chooses to save Jim and sacrifice the treasure, thereby redeeming himself.
Your character’s actions and choices will show the kind of person they are and this will influence the reader’s opinion of them — whether they pity them, fear them, loathe them, or anything in between.
If you include these four things, you can create a morally grey character that is well developed and believable. No matter where they sit on the scale of good and bad — from Jay Gatsby’s fake life to Kaz Brekker’s murder and deception — they still need to be explored and explained, because without this depth and reasoning the reader won’t be able to connect to them and understand them.
Want to ensure your characters are as fully realised as they can be? I help writers hone their storytelling skills and write stronger stories through actionable, personalised coaching. You can learn more here.
