The Bullies (Those soulless brats we deeply resent)

Let's face it: Writers love throwing in bully characters for the sole purpose of humiliating them. Probably because a lot of us were made fun of in school so we want to get back at those bullies by making fun of them for all of the world to see.

Believe it or not, I don't hate this one, depending on how it's done. If the stereotypical bully is a recurring, important part of the plot I will hate their guts. And not in a good way. I don't like one dimensional recurring characters. If you're going to keep the bully around, give them some development.

However sometimes bullies are very minor parts  of a story and only present for a few scenes. In that case, I'm willing to overlook them.

So let's take a dive into the stereotype and the 3D character.

Stereotype: This all depends on the gender. The male bully will usually be a popular jock who everyone loves but who is so mean and evil and shallow and all that bad stuff we're supposed to dislike. He beats up on the male MC, teases the female MC and is just a bastard. He doesn't have any real motivation for doing this outside of maybe, I don't know, the MC is new or different or something.

Same with the female bully except they are usually a super popular, beautiful gossip who uses emotionally crippling scenarios to ruin the MC. (Though wouldn't it be funny to see it the other way around? The male who gossips and the female who beats people up? But I digress) Whatever their gender or their look, they are pure evil.

The 3D character: Again, this depends on handling the bully. If the bully is a small part of your story, why spend time developing him? I personally have a bully around for two scenes and both are used to establish the violent personality of my MC's best friend. He's a tool and I didn't really mean for him to be an important part of the story.

But if the bully is a long term thing, give them something to redeem them. Tragic back story, motivation, it doesn't matter but they need a reason for hating you MC so much. Maybe the MC reminds them of their sibling who died in an accident they caused and because of their crushing guilt they feel a need to pick on the MC for bringing up such terrible memories.

That's just an idea, but I don't want to spend a huge portion of a book with a character who is jut cruel. I know that some kids really are cruel. I knew kids like that. But there's always a reason and that reason should be explored.

Bottom line, keep the bullies in but try to put a new twist on them. Depending on how you use them, they can be very interesting tools.

-Authoress Anonymous