Anne here, and today I'm responding to a question that Annette N. sent in — and for that she will receive a free book. Thanks, Annette.
Her question was: "Is it hard to write characters you don't like? Do you run into people in your stories who simply are not someone you want to know well? I can see enjoying writing characters who are fun and charming and simply nice people. But, how difficult is it to spend time with someone you dislike — a lot? And if they are supposed to be villainous, how evil do you make them?"
I like to have a variety of characters in my books — it makes for a more realistic setting — so invariably there are some unlikable characters. I think if everyone were nice in a book, it would get boring.
Unlikable characters, nasty or just difficult people, and outright villains are grist to a storyteller's mill. They can make a story more interesting or exciting, and when you have your hero or heroine come up against them, whether it's an imperious dowager, a waspish society shrew, or an evil villain lurking behind a smooth facade, confronting them brings out aspects of the hero or heroine's character that might not otherwise take place. (I'm not saying that Maggie Smith's dowager countess is unlikable — indeed most of us love her — but she is difficult, and doesn't that add to our enjoyment?)
To be honest, I generally enjoy writing the nasty ones — it's a nice break from writing characters I want readers to love. I can have fun with them. For instance I often include lovable and eccentric old ladies in my books, but in my Convenient Marriage series it was fun to have an old lady, Aunt Agatha, who was a right old tartar.
For instance when the soldier hero asks for her help with his orphaned young half-sisters she writes this: