Author Topic: How do you make your characters likeable, or make the reader interested in them?  (Read 3212 times)

Cabbages and kings


Hi everyone. :)

What are your tips on how to make your characters likeable, or make the reader interested in them?
"The time has come," the walrus said,
"to talk of many things:
of shoes and ships,
and sealing wax,
of cabbages and kings."
 

Eric Thomson

Make sure they're not politicians, lawyers, or members of House Lannister.
 
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idontknowyet

Make sure they're not politicians, lawyers, or members of House Lannister.
lol
 


Jeff Tanyard

When it comes to introducing the protagonist, here's what Dan Harmon has to say about it:


Quote
1. "You." - ESTABLISH A PROTAGONIST

The audience is floating freely, like a ghost, until you give them a place to land.

This free floating effect can be exploited for a while - closing in on the planet Earth; panning across a dirty shed. Who are we going to be? But sooner or later, we need to be someone, because if we are not inside a character, then we are not inside the story.

How do you put the audience into a character? Easy. Show one. You'd have to go out of your way to keep the audience from imprinting on them. It could be a raccoon, a homeless man or the President. Just fade in on them and we are them until we have a better choice.

If there are choices, the audience picks someone to whom they relate. When in doubt, they follow their pity. Fade in on a raccoon being chased by a bear, we are the raccoon. Fade in on a room full of ambassadors. The President walks in and trips on the carpet. We are the President. When you feel sorry for someone, you're using the same part of your brain you use to identify with them.

Lots of modern stories bounce us from character to character in the beginning until we finally settle in some comfortable shoes. The bouncing can be effective, but if it's going on for more than 25% of your total story, you're going to lose the audience. Like anything adhesive, our sense of identity weakens a little every time it's switched or tested. The longer it's been stuck on something, the more jarring it's going to be to yank it away and stick it on someone else.

I wouldn't f*ck around if I were you. The easiest thing to do is fade in on a character that always does what the audience would do. He can be an assassin, he can be a raccoon, he can be a parasite living in the racoon's liver, but have him do what the audience might do if they were in the same situation. In Die Hard, we fade in on John McClaine, a passenger on an airplane who doesn't like to fly.


If you've already established a protagonist and want to make him likeable somewhere further along in the story, then my advice would be to keep him from doing something unethical or mean to innocent characters.  Don't let him belittle people and act like an all-around horse's ass.

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

On the flip side, a hero who sees the value in everyone and is willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of others will earn reader sympathy.  If the hero is heading for his car in the parking lot, and he happens to see an old woman struggling to get her groceries in the back of her car, then have him take a moment to help her out.  Simple things like that can help take the edge off an otherwise cranky private detective (for example).

Anyway, just my thoughts.  Hope that helps.  :)


Make sure they're not politicians, lawyers, or members of House Lannister.


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Post-Crisis D

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.
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The X-Files: "Blood"
 
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Jeff Tanyard

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.


 :cheers


I got my hopes up when the elevator operator/pimp started getting rough with him, but that didn't pan out into the full-on beat-down that I really wanted.

As a general observation, books that are "required reading" in school are often utter crap.  It's like the schools really want kids to hate reading.
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spin52

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.

Oh, yes. I had to struggle to get through the book, and stuck with it only because I hoped Holden would improve as it went along. He didn't. I would worry about anyone who identified with him.
     


Traditional mysteries with a dash of humor -- no cats, no cupcakes, no covens.
 

notthatamanda

I think to make a character likable, you have to make them realistic. There is a school of thought that there are 16 personalities and they each have specific values and weaknesses. When you have a character that is a specific personality that does something out of character with it, people don't believe it. Readers get mad when a character does something that someone "like that" would never do.

You can google MBTI characters fiction writing for more resources.
 
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Hopscotch

Don't think.  Write.  The more you plan a character, the more you are engineering, not writing.  Which produces flat characters boring to read.  Instead, let your imagination lead you along as you work and then rewrite and rewrite as your imagination demands to produce a multi-faceted character who fits your story around him/her.  Hitler loved his dog, they say, but imagine him w/a goofy Golden Retriever rather than his snappish Alsatian.  What world would we have then?  Or Holden Caulfield w/wife, three kids, a mortgage and a station wagon. 
. .

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PJ Post

I have to agree with not planning characters too much.

I prefer to wind them up and let them go, which is to say, I begin with a situation and then let their responses create a psychological foundation. Over time, these internally logical responses shape who they are/become. This is the best way, imo, to have fully developed and consistent characters. When they get moved around like chess pieces to serve the plot, they tend to flatten out, which kills empathy.

And creating empathy is how you make characters likeable.
 
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Lorri Moulton

Make them someone people would want to know.  Make them three-dimensional.  Give them strengths, weaknesses, and a little objectivity.  I prefer a character who isn't perfect, knows it, and does the best they can anyway.

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angela

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It's 3 things:

- Show them caring about at least 1 other person.
- Show them in a relationship with at least 1 other person.
(you can do both of those as a two-for-one if you want, or separate)
- show them being passionate about something.

That's it. I have it saved to a file. Weirdly, I have to consult my list because I c*ck up and write characters people hate plenty of times.

I got it from someone much smarter than I. No credit taken.

If you can give me an example of a character people like that doesn't fit all those criteria, I'll eat my hat!

You can even play a fun game and list characters using those criteria. For example:
- Watson, Watson, solving crimes.
- Deb, his dead father, murdering serial killers.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2022, 11:00:01 AM by angela »
 
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Hopscotch

It's 3 things:
- Show them caring about at least 1 other person.
- Show them in a relationship with at least 1 other person.
(you can do both of those as a two-for-one if you want, or separate)
- show them being passionate about something....
If you can give me an example of a character people like that doesn't fit all those criteria, I'll eat my hat!

Prepare to chew away:  Basil Fawlty.  Depending on your def of "like," "caring," "relationship" and "passionate" (other than in his scorn of other human beings.)
. .

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angela

  • Short Novel unlocked
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It's 3 things:
- Show them caring about at least 1 other person.
- Show them in a relationship with at least 1 other person.
(you can do both of those as a two-for-one if you want, or separate)
- show them being passionate about something....
If you can give me an example of a character people like that doesn't fit all those criteria, I'll eat my hat!

Prepare to chew away:  Basil Fawlty.  Depending on your def of "like," "caring," "relationship" and "passionate" (other than in his scorn of other human beings.)

- His wife, the hotel staff, running a successful hotel.

A person doesn't have to be a *perfect* husband to be a caring husband.

It's like how Dr. House cares about his best friend Wilson, even though he's a massive dick to him all the time.
 
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LilyBLily

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.

Oh, yes. I had to struggle to get through the book, and stuck with it only because I hoped Holden would improve as it went along. He didn't. I would worry about anyone who identified with him.

Uh-oh. I identified with Holden Caulfield. 
 

elleoco

The problem is not everyone agrees on what is a likeable person. One person's strong woman is another person's bitch. One person's strong guy is another person's alpha-hole. One person's acceptable flaw of impulsiveness is another person's TSTL. A lot of writers eschew reading reviews, but if you do, it's very interesting to see how different readers have totally different takes on the same thing.

The hope/goal for each of us is to come up with a character who is likeable to the vast majority of readers attracted to our kind of story.

Hopscotch

So long as the main character drives the story and not the other way 'round, readers will want to latch onto him/her to see what s/he's going to do next.  "Likeability" or not.  Basil and Holden, for eg.  Stretching for likeability may not be that useful.
. .

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LilyBLily

I see a lot of negative reviews saying stories are boring. The characters are too thin, the plot is too predictable, people behave stupidly or obnoxiously, but boring usually comes first on the list of complaints.
 
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alhawke

I think relatable is more important than likeable. I don't think the MC necessarily has be a nice guy or nice lady. But I do like to instill a little bit of heart in even my antiheroes--because it makes them more approachable to the reader.
 
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spin52

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.

Oh, yes. I had to struggle to get through the book, and stuck with it only because I hoped Holden would improve as it went along. He didn't. I would worry about anyone who identified with him.

Uh-oh. I identified with Holden Caulfield.

Was that as a teenager or as an adult? I might have liked him better if I'd read it in high school. And I suppose he did care for his little sister.
     


Traditional mysteries with a dash of humor -- no cats, no cupcakes, no covens.
 

LilyBLily

I recently read Catcher in the Rye for the first time, and the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a spoiled snot who constantly finds fault with everyone else.  I kept hoping for him to get beaten to a pulp, but it sadly didn't happen.  Terrible character.  This is a good book from which to learn what not to do as an author who wants to write a likeable protagonist.

FINALLY.  We had to read that book in high school and I guess as teenagers we were supposed to identify with Holden Caulfield or something but I just hoped he'd get hit by a bus.  I thought I was the only one that felt that way.

Oh, yes. I had to struggle to get through the book, and stuck with it only because I hoped Holden would improve as it went along. He didn't. I would worry about anyone who identified with him.

Uh-oh. I identified with Holden Caulfield.

Was that as a teenager or as an adult? I might have liked him better if I'd read it in high school. And I suppose he did care for his little sister.

My lifetime reading list shows that I read it in my sophomore year in college--two weeks after reading another novel about immature people, Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned. I find that amusing.
 

cecilia_writer

I liked Holden Caulfield but I think I read him at the right time, when I was about fifteen or sixteen with a far more open mind than I have now.
Cecilia Peartree - Woman of Mystery
 

LilyBLily

I liked Holden Caulfield but I think I read him at the right time, when I was about fifteen or sixteen with a far more open mind than I have now.

In memory I read it at age 17, just out of high school, but my list says not so. There wasn't any reason to reread it, so I guess I did read it when I was 19 and in college. Clearly I was still sufficiently immature to think he was okay.