I am trying to portray one of my main characters as death. No not the grim reaper type, but similar in a way. What he is ties into the history of the world. The problem i am having is how to write the character in a way that allows the reader so see how what he is drives him to insanity. I have thought about having the little voice in his head telling him what to do or questioning his actions but i would really prefer to avoid that. How do you write a character that has done things so terrible that it's driving him mad? How does one describe the emotions and feeling of such a character. This is especially difficult, i am finding, when he interacts with other characters, especially in dialog. At the same time i want these horrible actions to be something that he cannot control until he learns to accept who and what he is, and forgives himself for what he has done. I thought about having a single word that he repeats over and over. I think this simplifies it too much though, without delving deeper into the character. Another problem i am having is how to motivate the character to certain events that i want to happen later on. He is cold and uncaring shutting himself off from the rest of the world. I mean what would motivate some one who hates himself and feels a curse upon the world? I want people to hate him, but then i want people to understand and forgive him at the same time. Any thoughts?