Beyond Heroes & Villains: 5 Storytelling Secrets for Captivating Readers from a Literary Legend

Discover how Dostoevsky's insights can help you create unforgettable characters and riveting plots

"The role of a writer is not to preach lessons, but to tell stories that will prompt the reader to think for himself." 

– Paulo Coelho

Here are two versions of the story. In the comments sections below, let me know which one you prefer.

Version one:

The princess turned around in her shiny dress with a big smile. Today was her big day. Yes, Prince Florian was about to arrive. He was kind and handsome, the best in the whole kingdom. Her heart raced a little bit, but she was ready. 

She has been practicing with Emily, her helper, for weeks. Everything is under control. 

Knock, Knock!

Who’s there? 

The Prince, of course. 

Oops, Emily rushed to fix the princess’ tiara. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. Smile. Everything's gonna be alright. 

Version Two:

The princess looked at the mirror. The beauty of that dress was in contrast with her feelings. 

She has never met the boy she was about to meet. Is he nice or evil? Can she ask some questions? 

“What if you could choose your destiny, my dear?” asked that little voice in her head. 

Should she listen to her friend and helper Emily? 

Before she could answer that question, she was already at the gates of the castle. 

Her heart raced like a wind at the center of a storm. She felt a cold drop on her left hand, a tear from her cheek.

As she was running away from her golden cage, she was both scared and free simultaneously. 

Which story did you prefer? 

Most of you preferred the second version. 

And the reasons are dead simple.

The first story is filled with:

- lack of depth and complexity

- fear of the dark side

- genre monotony

- no power of emotions

- overthinking, under-living

And in the second are the magic ingredients by Dostoevsky:

- Duality: characters with a mix of good and evil

- Darkness: themes like guilt, fear, and existential anxiety

- Genre-bending: elements from different genres for a richer experience

- Emotional rollercoaster: characters driven by emotions like love, anger, and despair

- Foolishness: characters who take action and experience life, even if it leads to mistakes

Now that you are convinced, let me explain. 

1. Embrace Duality

"I think the true disease is not having the disease." 

– Anton Chekhov

Imagine walking down the time lane. You cannot go back. It feels uninteresting. That is the same with your one-dimensional characters. Here is the bad guy with a gun. Here is the good gal with a gun. In the end, the good gal wins. 

How boring and predictable? Would you read that kind of story? So why write the same stories in the first place? 

You love the three arc structures: beginning, middle, and end. Your reader can already anticipate every plotline. The good gal is flawless. The bad guy is pure evil. Et voila! 

Are you binary? I am not talking about sexual orientations here. I am asking if you think you are pure good and the rest of the world is bad or vice versa. 

Of course not. I hope not. Maybe not. 

Life lies in the shades of darkness and light. Sometimes you can do good things. Sometimes, you do things that can be perceived as wrong. You have the potential of both within you. 

That rule must apply to the characters in your stories.

You have inner demons. I have inner demons. We all have inner demons. That is the way of creating compelling characters: they are gray beings navigating their life between two shores, darkness and light. They never settle in either of those two. 

In Crime and Punishment, the protagonist, Raskolnikov, commits a violent murder. Yet he is not your Marvel villain. Dostoevsky shows us his guilt and how conflicted he is. By unveiling his humanity and vulnerability, Raskolnikov is more reliable as a character. 

2. Welcome To The Dark Side

"We are all born carrying the seeds of good and evil. What we become depends on which garden we nurture." 

– Gandhi

Your main character is good, happy, and hopeful. She is only filled with light without any darkness. She is free from all the cracks of human nature: a pure light surrounded by more light. 

Do you see the issue? Light shines better in dark spaces. 

Welcome to the Dark Side. We have cookies. 

Your story is unrealistic. Your main character always gets what she wants easily. She is the Queen of Deus Ex Machina:

“Deus ex machina (/ˌdeɪəs ɛks ˈmækɪnə, ˈmɑːk-/ DAY-əs ex-MA(H)K-in-ə,[1] Latin: [ˈdɛ.ʊs ɛks ˈmaːkʰɪnaː]; plural: dei ex machina; English "god from the machine")[2][3] is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.”

Deus ex machina. (2024, May 6). In Wikipedia.

She is that “Karen” entitled to no hardship, complexity, or real challenges. 

Side note: If your name is Karen and you are reading this, you are the good Karen. :-) 

Stories are about conflict and tension. Life is about tension and conflict. Human beings have light and darkness. 

Your characters feel guilt, fear, and existential anxiety. Let those emotions bleed into your story. These are universal challenges faced by all, and they create timeless stories. 

Readers love those stories because they are on the same journey, struggling with fear, despair, and the meaning of existence. 

In Notes from the Underground, the narrator is deeply cynical and isolated. He struggles to find a place in a society that he despises. Dostoevsky shows us a bitter, complex, and thought-provoking man. 

3. Bend And Blend Different Genres

"The more we break the rules, the more techniques we have at our disposal." 

– Brian Eno

It is heart to be faithful if you are in a relationship that is a symbiosis. That is not the case with your writing’s genre. You just write fiction. Yay, you are a faithful fiction writer. Replace fiction with any genre you want. 

They all have their code and predictable story beats that the reader knows. There is no surprise for them, no praise from them, and no prize for you. 

Your storytelling lacks originality because of the constraints of your genre. Your tone: predictable. Your pacing is even more predictable. 

Sometimes, we see genres as ingredients to create a recipe that is uniquely yours. Who said you cannot combine crime thrillers with psychological exploration or social commentary? 

You should definitely use that blender before your eyes to craft dynamic and engaging stories that enhance our readers’ expectations and experiences. 

The Brothers Karamazov is a philosophical novel blended with a murder mystery. Multiple themes collide for a unique fireworks show: free will, faith, and morality seasoned with a suspenseful plot. Dostoevsky is your true Ratatouille. 

4. Turn On The Emotions Engine

"There is no conflict that cannot be overcome by refusing to think about it. But why would we want to?" 

– Franklin Pierce Adams

Your stories are oiled like a mechanical engine driven by logic and field by reason. Yet it feels dry and emotionless. That’s an irony, mon ami.e!

Instead of speaking the language of their heart, you are talking to their head. They don’t need you for that. They already have their own issues for that. 

Your story fails to create a long-lasting impact on their heart. 

Your characters make decisions only based on logic. Events happen randomly without advancing the plot or impacting your character. Your story is cleaner than an operating table. 

Emotions are the Dark Energy of the human race:

“In physical cosmology and astronomy, dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales. Its primary effect is to drive the accelerating expansion of the universe.”

Dark energy. (2024, May 21).

Did you know that Dark Energy accounts for more than 70% of all energy in the universe? 

Show us the emotions of your characters and how they drive them to take action to advance the plot. Good or bad emotion is irrelevant to the equation. Make them go from love and compassion to anger and despair. 

The deeper the emotions, the stronger the connection with your readers. 

In The Idiot, Prince Myshkin, the main protagonist, is a compassionate and kind human being. Because of that, he suffers a lot and is emotionally vulnerable. That emotional complexity makes him a fascinating character who stays in your mind. 

5. Embrace The Power Of Foolishness

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." 

– George Bernard Shaw

Your stories are just your characters having a conversation with themselves. Yes, introspection is great, just for you. In a story, all you do is kill momentum and engagement.

Readers want to feel what being a character in your story is like. They want the character to experience life like they do. They want them to take action and bear the consequences, good or bad. Especially bad. 

Your character is just a philosopher, spending the whole story auto-analyzing. Boring. Your story lacks actions and consequences to move the plot forward. Boring. Your stories are just like a frozen lake in the winter: stagnant and good for introspection of your character. Boring, boring, and boring. 

Your story is not an Instagram Reel. Your characters do not live in a Barbie world; it should not be plastic. Let your characters live their lives truly. 

Don’t let them overthink it like you do. Force them to take action, make mistakes, and be a fool. That makes them more human, after all. 

You will create more authentic, dynamic, and engaging stories. 

In Notes from a Dead House, the narrator is a political prisoner sharing his experience in a Siberian prison camp. 

He goes whole Oz, one of the best TV shows ever:

“ "Oz" is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, formerly Oswald State Penitentiary, a fictional level 4 maximum-security state prison in New York.[4] The nickname "Oz" is also a reference to the classic film The Wizard of Oz (1939), which popularized the phrase, "There's no place like home." A poster for the series uses the tagline: "It's no place like home." ”

Oz. (2024, June 1). In Wikipedia. 

The protagonist shares the harsh realities of prison life and contrasts them with moments of joy and camaraderie with other prisoners. Here, a subtle balance between hardship and resilience keeps the reader devouring every page.  

Final Thoughts

In summary, incorporate the following in your stories, walking in the footsteps of the great Dovtoesvsky:

- Be honest and don’t shy away from human duality

- Show your characters in their lowest and darkest moments

- Combine different genres, mix different voices, and embrace more ideologies

- Show the power of completely embracing human emotions

- Force your characters to be foolish in their actions

Your stories should not feel like an FPS (First-Person Shooter) video game in which you share only one side of the story. 

Yes, you are your first cheerleader, and you should. Yet don’t confuse your story with a curated version of the reality you hope for, only ups, no downs, and absolutely no challenges. 

Follow those guidelines, and your next story will be etched into your readers’ memories long after they turn the last page. 

If you find this newsletter valuable, please like it, subscribe, and share it with one person to pay it forward.

#Dare2Care #Dare2Share

#BIOS #BringInyourOwnSoul #LeadHeartship #Leadership 

You can read my previous article:

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash