Steve Qi asked Stuart Gibbs:

Hi Stuart, I have questions specifically regarding Spy School: 1. Does a character have to be dynamic to be interesting? What makes a character like Erica likeable even though her demeanor changes very little throughout a story. 2. What makes a complex villain? How do you illustrate an antagonist who is not just plainly "bad", but rather has complicated motives for their actions and sometimes has a good heart?

Stuart Gibbs This is an exceptionally complex question to answer on Goodreads. So short version: There are plenty of interesting characters who don't change in books -- although I would argue that Erica has changed quite a lot over the course of the series. And there are probably a million ways to make a villain complex, although I'm personally not a fan of the 'they actually have a good heart' model. They might be misguided, but saying they're actually kind but misunderstood worked well for Wicked but not much else, I'd say.

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