For me as a writer, creating characters I grow to love is what makes writing such a joy for me. I love giving life to a new name that I came up with or a new image of a person that came to me in a dream. I enjoy fleshing them out, giving them characteristics and quirks which make them unique.
What I'm finding difficult to do is give them major flaws, for which they have to work through themselves, overcome even, to write not just a good story, but a great story. Why?
Because making people hurt is hard to do.
Funny thing is, my critique group says I do bad guys really well. My group loves the bad guys in my stories because they say it's so easy to dislike them because I write them so well. Why? Because that's their purpose for being in the story. But the good guys? Give them bad habits? Make them hurt and cry and go through misery? Yeah, it has to be done. That's life, that's real. And to become a good writer, do it I will. But...
making people (I love) hurt is hard.
