noun
– an evil spirit or devil, especially one thought to possess a person or act as a tormentor in hell
Demons, evil spirits and dark forces feature heavily in several of our current WIPs. In Emissaries, for instance, the entire backdrop to the story is the continuous battle between the forces of heaven and hell.
Demons are often heavily used in books, but my (Loz’s) favourite use of demons and the demonic is in the Charlie Parker books by John Connolly, as the demons are never completely qualified – are they real or in the mind of the main character, whose mental health has been compromised by the murders of his family.
noun
– things that worry someone or make them unhappy
Physical formed demons within the supernatural genre, as above, are popular but inner demons plague everyone and have a place in all kinds of fiction. Whether this be bad memories, addictions, obsessions or secrets, everyone has their own, including our characters. It is the existence of inner demons that allows a character to become more three dimensional, a real person, who doesn’t have a fairytale life and is not perfect.
As with everyone inner demons do not have to be massive and life destroying. They can be tiny niggles to anyone looking in, but to the character or person they feel huge. This in particular is what adds to the reality of the character, not just ‘I feel like I can’t cope with x’ but something as small as ‘everyone is staring at my big nose’ – just like we all do.
The Inner Workings of a Shared Mind 
Great post! I am a reader/reviewer/blogger, but also a writer who has yet to publish, so I find this stuff absolutely fascinating.
Thank you! Glad you liked it.
PS: Sorry it took a while to respond, for some reason your comment ended up in spam
Silly WP
A very thought-provoking post. I fight my inner demons all the time – not addictions but character flaws. I’ve beaten some of them but there are a few to go!
Yes, inner demons, I feel, are the worse. But they are also what make us, us. As long as we don’t bow down to them, they can often make us stronger.
~M~
Loved your post. I think you’ve gained a new follower. I am a book lover and writer (when I have the time) too.
Funnily enough I also did demons for my D on the A to Z challenge. Only yours is the post I would have wanted to write.
Wow, Stacey. Thank you very much. What a lovely comment.