I've made it clear that I'm a fan of angst in books, but after watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower, wondered why I'd enjoy something that makes me feel anxious, nervous, and eventually heartbroken. These aren't feelings I'd invite in my real life, though I've experienced my share of them first hand, so why do I enjoy them in fiction?

Two statements must be made here. One, I highly recommend this movie. If you are a teen, ever were a teen, will someday be a teen, or are the parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle to a teen, you'll totally relate. In other words, everyone will understand these kids and what they're going through.

The second statement is that I have no answer for the question I pose above. I really have no idea why I enjoy angst so much in stories. I do know there are kinds of angst I do not like, the least favorite being humiliation. Not that a character being humiliated is angst, but as a reader, you almost always see it coming. I dread it because I have to "watch" it, even if only in my head.

Personally, I can't stand to read about or watch a character be humiliated. If the story is good enough, I'll deal with it, but it makes me very uncomfortable. I'm sure this is from humiliation in my own past, but this isn't a psychology session so let's not go there.

The Wallflower movie does not have a sad ending. All the characters problems are not magically solved, but he's better off than when the movie started and the ending is rather hopeful he'll have a positive future. But I still sobbed for the last ten minutes (or more) of the film. Why did I cry?

Because the lead character was hurting so badly. The kind of pain that makes you feel like your body will blow apart into tiny bits, and not in the good way. The kind of pain you think can kill you and while you're begging for it to stop, you wish it would just slice you in two and get it over with.

To be clear, no physical pain comes to Charlie. No one shoots him or beats him up. No horrendous car crash or debilitating disease. Just endless angst that grows into gut-wrenching pain.

I realize this is turning into a review of the movie, but this does tie into our writing, promise. There were light moments to this story as well. Laugh out loud moments even. Which is why I loved it so much. The movie took me on an emotional ride from joy to triumph to heartbreak and back.

This is what I want to accomplish with my books. Sounds terribly mean, but in addition to making readers laugh and cheer for my characters, I want to make them cry. Now I know how to do that, and it's not easy. We've often heard the advice to make our characters miserable. Take away that job she wants. Jeopardize his inheritance and standing in society. But we must go deeper.

Find the old wounds. The scar that looks healed over but isn't. Rip them open. Mentally and emotionally. Make them go there. It's hard because that means we have to go there. Tap into those moments in our lives when we wished someone would slice us in half and get it over with.

Do you do this in your writing? Do you even want to make your readers cry? (Perfectly legit to have no interest in pushing Kleenex with your books.) If you do, how do you do it? As a reader, do you enjoy stories that rip your heart out? Avoid them? (I avoid anything in which a child is in danger or hurt. Just can't go there.)