Writing Morally Grey Characters

As a way of thanking everyone who has taken the time to look at my website, reach out and comment, I thought I’d offer this craft essay on the main page. This will be the only one here but it’s to give everyone an idea of what I’ll be covering in my subscriber’s portal moving forward!

 Understanding the human mind is something most of us wish we could do. Imagine knowing why you do and say the things you do. Would it help change your decisions or will you make them regardless?

This is where character building starts for me. Not with plot. Not with ‘what happens next.’ It starts with why. Why people do what they do, say what they say, make the choices they make. Because characters are the picture. Everything else; plot, structure, pacing, that's the frame around them. When you understand your character first, the story builds itself around who they actually are.

What really shaped how I build characters came from something else entirely: my fascination with psychology. Since I was a teenager, I've been drawn to psychology and criminology. Understanding the minds of killers, stalkers, people who do unthinkable things. Not because I'm morbid or weird (maybe a little weird), but because I wanted to understand what happens inside everyone's heads. What makes someone tick. What pushes them to make the choices they make.

Gradually, I realised something: that fascination wasn't separate from my writing. It was my writing. When I started using psychology as a lens to get inside my characters' heads, everything changed. I stopped writing characters who did things for plot convenience. I started writing characters who made certain decisions because that's what their nature demanded. Because that's who they actually are.

I stay true to my characters' choices. I'll never write a decision/ending for plot gratification or reader satisfaction. I build these characters from scratch, and everything they do, I fully believe that if it were real life, they would make that choice. You might not always agree with the endings of my stories. You might not like them. But they are true to the characters.

People are complex. We react to our environments, to what we've experienced, to the trauma and joy that shapes us. Some protect themselves. Others are so selfless it hurts. But everyone has a reason for what they do. There's logic beneath the surface, even when that logic breaks your heart. Judging a character is saying you know them better than they know themselves. And unless you've been in their shoes, you're not in any place to judge them. My job isn't to judge. It's to understand. To show you the logic, the motivation, the reason behind every choice, even the terrible ones. When you do that, something shifts. You stop reading about people. You start feeling them. Their happiness, their grief, their heartbreak, their resilience. You believe them because they're real. Because they could happen.

When you first meet Jenna in The Pact, she's the queen bee. The perfectionist. The girl at the centre of attention, that one girl from high school where the world revolved around her. She's in control. She drives the narrative. And everything she does, she genuinely believes is for the benefit of herself and those around her. She will put herself first. She will guilt trip those around her into believing exactly what she says. She's the ultimate narcissist and sociopath and I absolutely loved being inside her head.

She dictates everything. Even when Adele and Ryan figure out the truth, it's too late. Jenna has already perfectly manipulated the situation to her benefit. To the outside world, she's the broken friend, shocked and devastated. Scratch the surface and you see exactly who she is.

This is what makes her morally complex. She's not evil in a cartoon way. She's a person doing what comes naturally to her. Controlling her environment, surviving by any means necessary. We've all encountered someone like Jenna. Someone who uses people like puppets and somehow always gets away with it. In this instance, with Ben as the scapegoat, it plays out exactly how I believe it would in real life. Understanding Jenna matters because she's real. And that's terrifying.

My stories will always put characters at the heart. The ending might not give you satisfaction. It might not be what you wanted. But it will be true to the story and true to who these characters are.  There's nothing wrong with writers who prioritize reader satisfaction. That's a valid choice. But it wouldn't be staying true to my beliefs. Sometimes my stories end exactly how you want them to. More often than not, they end because of character progression and the decisions those characters make.

I want you to see yourself in my characters. The good parts, the bad parts, the morally grey areas none of us are willing to admit to ourselves. I want to challenge your thoughts and opinions. I want you to question what you'd do in their position, because maybe you'd make the same choice. Maybe that terrifies you.

Understanding a character is like understanding a friend or family member. You don't always agree with their choices. But you know it's who they are. Unless I see a world where my characters are open to change and willing to try their best for everyone, the story determines itself as I write it. Even I don't know how it's going to end.

My goal isn't to give you answers. It's to give you understanding. And when you understand a character, even one you disagree with, the real conversation begins. Ambiguous endings aren't lazy. They're honest. They're where the discussion opens up and where you get to decide what it all means.

The biggest debate has always been nature versus nurture. Is it our upbringing that defines us? Our choices? Who we surround ourselves with? Or are people just born that way? It's fascinated me for years. I watch documentaries, I read case studies, I dig into the psychology of why people are the way they are. And every single time, I flesh out my characters before I even get to plot points. I'll have a premise. But I won't know the shape of the story until the characters are done. Because they determine it. Not me.

Every writer is different. We all follow processes that work for us. There's no one right way. By opening this door into my creative process, I hope you understand how my stories come to be. Why they end the way they do. Why understanding my characters matters more than satisfying reader expectations.

Go back to any story you've read here. Read it again. See if you see it differently now. In my subscriber portal, I dive even deeper. Behind the scenes content is where I break down specific stories and characters. I want to build an open and honest line of communication with you. I want to know your thoughts. What moved you? What challenged you? What do you think you would have done?

That's when the real conversation starts.