《How to Write Stories People Will Love》4. Create Relatable Characters
Advertisement
In other words, give the characters in your story traits that people can identify with. As writers, we often dream about being other people. We want to be smart and beautiful and able to lift a train with our bare hands. We want to be special.
In that quest, sometimes we write characters that are too perfect. They have no flaws. While I enjoy reading about a flawless girl who kicks ass, if there's nothing wrong with her, two problems exist: 1. I can't see myself in her. She's too close to perfect for me to imagine myself in her shoes; and 2. There's no room for character development. Good stories have a character who changes during the course of the plot.
A character can be powerful or seem to have everything, but as long as they are lacking something--even if it's just one thing--there's room for that character to develop. Take Superman. He flies, is super-strong, bulletproof, handsome, has ridiculous abilities, and even has a job. A near-perfect person. He has it all, right? But he leads a lonely life. Never mind the kryptonite weakness, he has very a human problem anyone can relate to.
Now let's look at the opposite end of the spectrum: Bad guys with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They're ugly, mean, and inhumanly cruel. I, as a reader, don't enjoy these kinds of bad guys because I hate them so much. They're so bad they don't seem believable, and it would be appalling if such a person actually existed. Give them a trait to humanize them. Maybe offer a piece of their past to explain why they're so mean and cruel. Or maybe they're mean and cruel to people, but they're kind to puppies. By humanizing your bad guys, it makes it seem like such a person could exist, and that makes the story more compelling.
Advertisement
Even if you ignore all the above, one quick way to make characters relatable is to share their emotions with the reader. Humans are emotional creatures, and can identify easily with emotions in other people. If your character can express sadness, elation, or even boredom, we can relate, because we've felt all those things too. In any situation, make sure your character has facial expressions or other physical cues so the reader has an idea of what he or she is feeling about it. (Shoutout to for inspiring this chapter update.)
Readers want relatable characters. Believable characters. If you give your characters at least one problem or one human trait that people can relate to--even if it's just emotions--then your story becomes more believable as well, and you're one step closer to finding an audience.
Advertisement
The Heroine is a Villainess
Ophelia, the second daughter of Duke Criswell is destined to die engulfed by flames on the night of her 18th birthday. After dying 9 times to this unmerciful fate she loses hope and decides that from now on she will stop fighting her destiny, living her life until the day of doom lustfully and playing around with the high nobility puppets. Her first objective to start living her dream life is to get rid of her obsessive fiancée, Terrel Wharton that in her past lives ruined her dignity, however, as the chess pieces started to move, Ophelia catches the eye of her older sister's fiancée, Bradley Trace after saving an injured black kitten. Preview: ‘So it’s either him or me...?’ the maid looks forward and sees the man's eyes compelled by horror. The slave was now grabbing him by the hair, forcing his body to be kneeling on the floor as his torso was widely exposed. “You said you would let me go!” the man screams at the top of his lungs. “Isn’t that what I am doing? I am letting you go... to meet all the people you’ve killed,” Ophelia’s smile turns psychotic as her cheeks begin to blush underneath the bloodstains, “Can you hear their screams...? Because I can... And they are begging for your attendance.” Author's note: Schedule available on the Discord Server ،◕‿◕،Every 10 chapters a [Bonus Chapter] will be posted. These are NOT CONNECTED to the main story but MAY contain easter eggs for upcoming chapters.This story contains Sexual Content, Gore and Strong Language. Reader discretion is advised.
8 172The Last 100
The bustling crush of humanity had become common place now, the cacophony of voices and the symphony of a city had become the song and dance of our species. But it was not always such, and return back to our more humble roots we did.The system had come, and it had stripped us bare. Sure it had given us a means to power, but at what cost. We were the last 100 left. Night was falling on the human race, it was a dark night, and it was cold.But go quietly we would not. We would make the world burn with an inferno of our defiance. Rage, rage against that goodnight, and I Jack Casser, have rage a plenty. This is my story, the story of the last 100.Author Note: This story is a LitRPG apocalypse, woah fucking original idea I know but hear me out. If you can look past preconceived ideas driven by a stigma of overdone tropes and done to death plots of achieving world domination and self-righteous characters and give the story a chance I hope it can surprise you.
8 116Crucis
Three factions oversaw the continent of Jumana. They were the Palace of Anima, Church of Arbor, and Seditio. The Palace of Anima worshipped Fate. A divine principle by which the order of events has been inevitably predetermined. The proxies of the Palace were the Moirais as they were blessed with precognition, great mana talent, and high affinity with Fate. The Church of Arbor revere Conscience. A moral principle that inhibits or influences the thoughts or actions of a person. Their advocates were the Fae, children born from the Tree of Truths. An ancient, sentient tree who bore the Fruit of Good and Evil. The third, Seditio, a clandestine society that was established by the Enlightened One. A peculiar individual who ate the Fruit of Good and Evil and lived to tell the tale. Seditio believed that comradeship was thicker than Fate and that Man should seize their own destines without the help of the Moira. Athos Dimitte Ferre, heir to the throne of the Palace of Anima. Was blessed with the gift of foresight and talent for mana. On one fateful night, however, he was cast away by a tragedy, and all was slowly taken away from him. "Why did the Seditio attack us? Why couldn't I see this, did my foresight fail me? Or perhaps, the Church of Arbor interfered?" A man who fell from grace learns to bare his fangs. ~~~~~ Updates every MWF 5PM EST ~~~~~
8 180Wailing and Gnashing
Some are born to save life. Some damned to endure it. To those who dwell in the dark, gnashing their dagger teeth with hunger, life is for feeding on, and they've just discovered an endless feast. "There are those whose teeth are swords,whose fangs are knives,to devour the poor from off the earth,the needy from among mankind."-Proverbs 30:14
8 69Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun x Male reader insert
" Nii-san...you're shoving the food in your mouth again... "(M/N) is Iruma's younger twin brother. All (M/N) wants is one day where there's no trouble around his brother. Now that the twins have been sold off to a demon, what will happen now?...*Disclaimer: Harem will be available for both genders (or others)*Note: Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun does NOT belong to me, but it belongs to Osamu Nishi. There also might be some spoilers from the manga.ANOTHER NOTE: *VERY* SLOW UPDATES
8 186Toothless x male reader
YoWow theres gonna be twistI own jack shit
8 128751