Likeable Characters
Apr. 9th, 2018 12:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis post asks if your main character should be likeable.
Let me be blunt: if I don't like the characters in a story, regardless of its format, I am unlikely to consume it. Why would I spend hours with people I don't like? If I enjoyed that, I'd go to parties. There are better things I could be doing with my time.
That said, my taste in characters is pretty diverse. I don't care for flat or stupid ones. But I like unsullied heroes, and I like antiheroes if they're written well. I like complex characters who grow and change, who face and overcome real problems. I don't want them to be perfect, because I enjoy seeing them struggle with their flaws. I just don't like assholes.
Sometimes, of course, a character grows on me. It was someone else who spotted Shiv's real damage, which got me interested, and the more I explored, the more I liked the pesky litter fucker. And then his fan base grew from about two people, to dozens; he's now one of my most popular characters. He's still kind of a dick, but it's easier to put up with when we know why, and he's actually making effort on a few things he cares about, such as professional development.
You can write unlikeable characters if that's what you enjoy. Just understand that you'll be paddling upstream with many readers.
Let me be blunt: if I don't like the characters in a story, regardless of its format, I am unlikely to consume it. Why would I spend hours with people I don't like? If I enjoyed that, I'd go to parties. There are better things I could be doing with my time.
That said, my taste in characters is pretty diverse. I don't care for flat or stupid ones. But I like unsullied heroes, and I like antiheroes if they're written well. I like complex characters who grow and change, who face and overcome real problems. I don't want them to be perfect, because I enjoy seeing them struggle with their flaws. I just don't like assholes.
Sometimes, of course, a character grows on me. It was someone else who spotted Shiv's real damage, which got me interested, and the more I explored, the more I liked the pesky litter fucker. And then his fan base grew from about two people, to dozens; he's now one of my most popular characters. He's still kind of a dick, but it's easier to put up with when we know why, and he's actually making effort on a few things he cares about, such as professional development.
You can write unlikeable characters if that's what you enjoy. Just understand that you'll be paddling upstream with many readers.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-04-09 09:59 am (UTC)I think it's ok to write utter villains, it's more fun to write magnificent bastards or relatable bad guys [the sort of villain where he's a wrong-un, but you can see he's kind of got a point.]
But.. day-time tv soap-opera utterly unlikeable trash.. nuh-uh, who would want to read that?! Unless you're the sort of person who enjoys a good disaster, in which case I guess reading about horrible people doing terrible things to each other, while the world crashes down around them, might be your thing.
After all.. Game of Thones is popular.