Many Crime Writers often focus on the crime itself and focus on creating a scare factor when they start writing their novel. Sometimes, the focus is on creating a massive bloodbath, a scene where drug lords have taken over, or perhaps create a sensitive scene where a child has been abducted. But the reality is that a crime – or crime scene – is only as great as the emotions behind it. Your readers may not connect the same way with your content if you're not thinking about how you're crafting it. In other words, it's not so much about the gory details as it is about the effect of the crime on the characters in your book.
It's important that you spend time creating your characters as these are the ones that are going to heighten the level of fear and the horror in your book. Your villain is only scary because he is capable of taking something away from your main character. And your readers only know what this is if they understand where the characters are coming from and what the characters value the most. A villain isn't a villain unless something is at play.
Don't be afraid of moral beliefs
When writers start crafting their characters, they may be too scared as to what kind of detail they need to go into. Some people stray away from anything to do with religion and personal beliefs. But you can talk about religion and personal beliefs without making the book seem as if it is suited for a specific audience.
For example, Dan Brown talks about religion in his books but people can still relate to the Main Character because he doesn't seem to have a strong religious background that influences his decisions. However, he is challenged by the characters in the book because of religion.
While moral beliefs can be used in your book to describe a character, some people may assume that things are common sense.
You should never assume that every character is the same in every book and that people will automatically relate. By defining the moral beliefs of your characters, you have defined a character who people can relate to.
Give him something to lose
It's important that you also focus on what your protagonist has to lose based on his Morale.
Every character has to be vulnerable in some sense, even your detective or cop who is trying to solve the case. It's not realistic to have a character who is perfect in every way and who doesn't have his beliefs challenged in some way shape or form at some point throughout your book. It has to reflect real life for it to be believable.
How do you build up your character's morale in your novels?
