No, no that kind of desire. Sorry.
So much of fiction – all fiction, really, not just crime fiction – is based around the desires of our characters. The things that they want or don’t want, the things that they do to achieve what they want, what they do if they don’t get what they want. It’s an issue we can’t ignore – particularly in crime fiction where what characters want often leads to a life or death situation.
Here are some of the key questions to consider when thinking about the issue of desire in crime fiction:
- What is it that your character wants? Is it something tangible or something more abstract?
- Why do they want it? In crime fiction, this often manifests itself as motive. In the case of the antagonist, for instance, it often centres around the issue of why they have committed the crimes that they have.
- What will they do to get what they want? Again, this is a potent one in crime fiction, and it’s something that forms a key part of the plot.
- How will they respond to obstacles that are placed in their way?
- How do their desires affect their relationships with other characters? In crime fiction, the interaction between protagonist and antagonist is one of the important ones to consider, although other characters should definitely not be overlooked.
- How will it drive the plot?
There are many different threads to this issue of desire, not least because every character you write about will come with their own wants and motives. The great thing about it is that getting it right helps to create the complexity, intricacy and richness of story that makes crime fiction so popular.