Straight up murder their families.

Sounds harsh, but I'm dead serious. Whether you're penning that soon-to-be bestseller, a short story for your writing group, or the next big Hollywood blockbuster, one thing matters: do your characters stir something in your readers? If the answer's no, your tale is D.O.A.

So why violently wipe out your character's spouse under a full moon while your hero's stuck half a galaxy away? Because then even the worst scoundrels become people we can relate to. If readers don't get hooked deep down right away—especially in short fiction—they'll duck and run before you have a chance.

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying to willy-nilly murder everyone in your story for a cheap thrill. This is about having the right tools in your toolbox and knowing that you can use them.

So many authors baby their characters. I get it; you made them from nothing. Gave them shape and form; fears and desires. You want them to be happy and fulfilled, to lead a complete life full of love. If you’re writing Cozy <INSERT GENRE HERE>, then congrats! You did it!

For everything else? Fuck that. Maybe it’s because humans really enjoy watching members of their own species beat the shit out of/kill each other, but we are drawn in by pain and suffering, especially when it’s done to a character we’ve already fallen in love with.

The traditional method for hurting a character is to physically hurt them. Break their arm, cut them up, drop them out the window of a seven story building, etc. However, that sort of pain, while powerful, is fleeting; manageable. You know what isn’t manageable for a hero capable of nuking entire star systems?

Kill their family. Do it in such a way there is absolutely no way the hero can stop it, even if they can destroy gods with a thought, or shatter mountains with a whisper.

Nothing brings an all powerful being to its knees like emotional gut wound.

Now, in case the provocative title and language has thrown anyone off the core message I’m trying to get to is this: Make Your Characters Human. Give them the full breadth of human emotion and experience. When you’re writing that scene where the villain finally turns their dark eyes on your Hero, don’t be afraid to do what needs to be done from the villain’s point of view. If they’d raze an entire city to break the Hero’s spirit: DO IT. Break the Hero’s spirit. Give them doubt and weakness… let them fail.

Then have the supporting cast raise the hero back up, or, if you’re Hero is alone, have them claw their way back, one jagged fingernail after the other.

I promise: showing a weakness overcome by someone we’re rooting for is like opening up a firehose of dopamine onto your readers’ brains.

That’s one hell of a tool to add to your Writing Toolbox, that’s for damn sure. But like everything, don’t overuse it. It’s just a single tool, one focused on layering a specific example of Emotional Resonance to a piece.

In short: if you're after an audience singing your story's eternal praises, you need characters that pack a punch straight to the feels. Relatable, driven, complex, and, ultimately, so very human in their emotions and responses—that's the recipe for characters readers can ache for.

Follow it, and you'll craft a tale they won't soon shake off.

Hurt Your Characters… or else.

Launch Day — INTO THE AETHER

Needed A Name for an AI in my book… So I Asked One