Moths in the brain, skeletons in the closet, bats in the belfry, or husks in the cellar: How to make your characters relatable
You’d be lying to yourself if you said there was nothing wrong in your life and everything was all hunky dory. So don’t lie to your character.
Don’t use cookie cutter demons. Everyone wants to have a murderer in their cast of characters, but please give them a reason why. Don’t just make them darkly sexy because they are criminal. While that may seem appealing, it’s tired. Don’t do it because it’s cool or because you can’t think of a plot.
It doesn’t matter if what the character did is good or bad. What matters is if they think it is good or bad.
Some people are better at hiding their issues than others. Most people who are struggling more tend not to talk about their problems because they feel they don’t want to burden someone else or because they fear they will be judged. People who wail and bemoan their problems and complain all the time to everyone they meet are seeking attention, not help.
Some people don’t want help and it shows. Your character may have no interest in repenting and while it kills them on the inside, they keep doing what they do because either it’s an addiction or because they or something important to them are being threatened.
Their demons do not necessarily make them a villain or a hero. If you think about it, the term is relative. If you perceive someone as a threat, they are a threat, but they may be safety to someone else. Relationships are stupid like that.
If your character does something unkind or evil, you are not responsible, the character is. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s called being a writer.
If a character looks perfect on the outside, look for a rotten spot. Chances are they have a putrid, slimy, aspect of their life your other characters can exploit.
Your characters don’t have to change for the worse. They have the choice to either do good or ill because of their experiences and that is what readers look for.