By Lauri Schoenfeld
We all go through pain—psychologically, emotionally, physically. No one shares their agony exactly in the same way as another because of our different personalities, upbringings, experiences, and perspectives. But we all deal with pain. None of us are free from it.
Your characters will always have something in one of these areas they’re striving to get through, understand, and process. They may be searching out who they are, and maybe because of their upbringing or culture, figuring those pieces out causes them a great deal of affliction. Perhaps the loss of someone they love has dramatically affected their worth, will, drive, or purpose for existence. Or physically, an illness they feel is so intense that even getting up to take a shower is more than they can bear. Each area can weaken your character’s spirit and heart.
Readers want to keep reading because pain is a universal thing, even if they don’t completely relate to what that character is dealing with. They want to root for them. The readers feel the agony, empathize with how much this space hurts the characters deeply, and want to be there to push them forward.
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