There is nothing better for a reader than a novel that is full of plot twists and turns. One way we can achieve this is for your villain to change their evil ways. A character that is sinister is still a person, and every person has a heart or cares somewhere deep inside. A character arc is a process a character travels through during the novel. A protagonist usually starts with a character flaw or problem that needs to be resolved (lower character arc). As the storyline moves forward, we see the hero overcoming obstacles and achieving their goal and defeating the antagonist. Normally, villains spend the entire story throwing curveballs in the path of the hero, each obstacle gets more evil and more sinister, until the hero is triumphant. However, a bad person in a novel is not the same as a villain and therefore will not follow the same character arc path.  

How do you write a character redemption arc? If your bad character is going to alter their perspective, then there has to be a good reason to do so. For the reason to be believable, you need to make the reader aware of two things. What experience made the bad person evil, and what are they going to gain by changing their point of view and becoming good? Their reasons have to be authentic, and this is where asking the ‘why’question will help. Does your bad character change to save another character they care about? Were they evil because they were taking orders from a powerful character and now have seen the light? Do they believe they will gain their objective quicker if they do a good deed? Whatever their reason, if you can create an emotional link to their past then this will add huge depth to your story.  

The most well-known types of redemption are life and death. Either the bad character will sacrifice their own life to prove they have changed, or the hero allows the bad character to live because they have seen the error of their ways. Sometimes the bad character has an epiphany. Something occurs that shows the bad character the effects their evil actions have on others. The character then realises how his behaviour has damaged the other character and decides to change. There is no better example of this type of redemption arc than Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol.  

Remember, that for a character to change it takes time, so develop the character behaviour change gradually. Sow seeds of information to the reader little by little, to inform the reader subconsciously that the bad character is on the road to goodness. Leave clues for the reader that the bad character may change, such as a kind gesture or the odd smile. Another tip is to ensure you do not make the character transition into a good person too easily; there will be an internal battle as they struggle to accept that kindness is a better path. Finally, when your bad character does change their evil ways, do not make them entirely whiter than white. Always retain some of their qualities, such as a wicked sense of humour, sarcasm or confidence.