forum How do I make my characters relatable?

Started February 24, 2018 by @Lynnnnn

tune

My character is a serial killer. How am I supposed to make them relatable??

Your main character is the serial killer? I might steer away from making them too relatable… you don't want people to start thinking that being a mass murderer can be justified, you know? Evil is evil no matter the circumstances. Besides, serial killers are usually insane in some way, which is a bit different than a regular murderer. The majority of people don't relate to that anyway. You can focus on making it an interesting thriller, letting the readers experience being inside the head of a serial killer, you know?

With serial killers it's less about being relatable and more about seeing how they got to this conclusion. A person doesn't just wake up one day and go "man, I wanna kill somebody!" You need to make your killer have a clear motive and a clear moral code (or a clear lack thereof). Give them a backstory that makes the reader think "that's not justifiable, but I see how he got to this point". So not relatable, just understandable.

Thanks! That was really helpful!