• About Me
  • My Books
  • Blog for Writers
  • Fiction Coaching
  • Fiction Editing
  • Write Now Editing Services
  • Contact Me

Karin Beery

Writer, Editor, Coach

Contemporary and speculative fiction with a healthy dose of romance!

April 27, 2016

8 Ways to Ruin Your Character’s Life (and Save Your Story!)

Photo Credit
Photo Credit

Imagine this: a beautiful, talented woman meets and handsome, successful man. They hit it off, the angels sing, they get married, and everything is sunshine and rainbows.

Yawn.

Who wants to read about perfect people who get everything they want and never have to struggle or try? Can you relate to that? I don’t know anyone who can.

Now think about your favorite stories. Does everything work out easily? No way! Even kid’s movies progressively ruin their character’s live. Look at Simba in The Lion King: he tries to show off for Nala and is attacked, his father dies, he loses his home, he finds out his uncle is a murderer. Everything goes wrong until the very end.

If you want readers to relate to your characters – which pulls them into the story and keeps them reading – you need to throw some obstacles in their way. Not speed bump-sized obstacles. Boulders in the road. Make your characters dig deep, and find out what they’re really made of.

Here are eight ways to ruin your characters’ lives (which will save your story and engage your reader):

  1. Fire her: Many people find their identity in their jobs. If that’s your main character, eliminate her identity and see what happens.
  2. Cheat on her: Nothing’s as heart breaking as lasing a love (even when it wasn’t a healthy relationship).
  3. Steal from her: What’s her prized possession? Take it. See how she reacts.
  4. Move her: Is everything perfect in Chicago? Then transfer her to Albuquerque. See what happens.
  5. Hate her: No you specifically, but another character in the book. It can’t be blind, unwarranted hate (every character has a motivation), but it’s okay to have people not like her.
  6. Love her: Is your character not a fan of kids? Perfect. Bring in a neighbor kid who loves her and does everything possible to be near her.
  7. Blindside her: Don’t follow the usual pattern. If she gets pulled over for speeding, don’t just give her a ticket. Have her arrested. See how bad things can get.
  8. Do it again: Do you really want to engage your readers? Then fire your character, move her, blindside her, and hate her.

So don’t make things easy on your characters. Grab your tool box so you can throw a wrench, hammer, screwdriver, and pliers in her plan.

Article by Karin / Fiction Fun, writing tips Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Search KarinBeery.com

Find Me

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Fiction-Writing Coach
    • Editing
    • Write Now Editing
  • Blog
  • Contact

Archives

Categories

a2z ACFW ACW anecdote blog Blogging Blogging tips book giveaway Book Promotions book review BookSneeze characters Christmas conferences contest craft editing Fiction Fun Fiction Writing free book freelance writer goals guest blogger Inspiration interviews Jill Williamson Linore Rose Burkard Lisa Lickel Marcher Lord Press Max Anderson motivation platform plot Professional Development query Teresa Slack The Ramblings Uncategorized Write-To-Publish Writing Writing writing coach writing conferences writing prompt writing tips

Let’s Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About Me
  • My Books
  • Blog for Writers
  • Fiction Coaching
  • Fiction Editing
  • Write Now Editing Services
  • Contact Me

© Copyright 2015 Karin Beery · All Rights Reserved · Design by Pink Haired Pixels/Carol Jones Media

· All Logos & Trademark Belongs To Their Respective Owners·