So, I intend to write novels as a career when I am older. I have many ideas, and I think they are pretty good, but time will tell. But, I am in need of more ideas, and I figured that some other people might be too, so I decided to create this thread. Basically how it works is you say what is going on and what you need. I'll start.
I have a character who is best friends with my main character and is a healer, he wants to be a doctor. But he betrays my protagonist and also does some heinous act. I've been writing this story for a while and all of a sudden I realized that I have no idea WHY he does it. I know, derp. Also I am a bit lacking on ideas on what sort of terrible and morally reprehensible thing he does. But I don't want him to be like "Muahaha I was evul all along!" He needs a good reason. I'm going for 'morally ambiguous but leaning towards evil'. So, any ideas would be helpful, and I would be glad to supply some help on any of you guys' ideas.

What you could possibly do is that they were once childhood friends but at some point in time they had to separate from one another. Over time they each had different experiences and grew to have different opinions as to what's right and what's wrong. And when they meet each other again, they are somewhat surprised to find out their differing views, which will then lead to the best friend to betray your protagonist only because in his point of view it will actually do him some good and see what he would consider "the light."

I agree with Loliprincess and I would also add a suggested idea of a morally ambiguous act. How about he doesn't save someone in need because a) he doesn't believe the person is worth saving, b) he needs the supplies to save others, c) he uses them to save himself, etc something to that effect. I have no idea what's going on in your story though so maybe that wouldn't work at all.

In a modern setting, he needs a recommendation for med school.

Perhaps he was convinced that by sacrificing the hero, he could somehow save more people.

some sort of revenge for a percieved wrongdoing

>>2 I actually a rather similar idea in one of my other stories, but it is quite good. >>4 It is indeed a modern setting. Your comment reminded me of another idea I had. The healer needs energy to use his power, his own ki/life energy/whatever, and he would gain a lot of energy by killing someone or touching them while they died, so perhaps he kills someone in order to save other people?

Maybe he could discover that to have more power, he has to kill someone that is more powerful than him. And this powerful person would be the hero (if the hero is, because if it's a guy that has no power that is the hero because of the hazard, it wouldn't work), because he had done something that makes him the only person who can provide enough power to the healer... I don't know if I'm clear here...

>>7 I got you. But I don't want his betrayal of the hero to be the main bad thing he does, like trying to kill him. I'm going for an emotional reaction from the readers. I want them to be shocked and betrayed as well. If only the hero is betrayed, then it's not as personal and they can separate it from themselves. I want them to hate him, because he's the protagonist of the sequel, where he tries to atone. (Also I have very few ideas in terms of plot for that book.) I want to cause great emotional conflict in my readers, to make them think. I'm kind of a troll author :p

I was also looking for ideas about another story of mine. It's very forest-y, ancient forest gods, nymphs maybe, stuff like that. it's not very specific, but the main characters are a boy and a girl who are betrothed but also very in love and another boy whom they just met. (I don't plan on any love triangle stuff happening by the by. I despise love triangles.)