This is topic Likability in main characters in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.


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Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
 
Premise: it's easier for a reader to relate to a character who is likable.

Given this premise, how do you handle situations where your main character isn't all that likable, at least not at first? I have a self-absorbed female MC who is a bit of a twit. The story arc has her coming off her high horse at some point, but it is well past the middle of the story when that happens (character-type story, her transformation will be the climax.)

But, a reviewer pointed out that it can be hard for readers to relate to a character who doesn't seem very nice or likable. I agree with this point, but believe it *can* be done, it's just harder. So now I'm wondering how I pull it off. Any thoughts?


 


Posted by SchamMan89 (Member # 5562) on :
 
She may have undesirable traits, but that doesn't mean that she isn't likeable in other ways. Maybe she is extremely loyal to her friends and always looks out for their best interests. Maybe she pushes her opinion on them, though, and that is a sign of her arrogance.

Or perhaps you can give her a sense of humor. Audiences sometimes understand characters better when they're laughing with the character.

Hope that helps give you some vague idea of where to go!

~Chris
 


Posted by Wolfe_boy (Member # 5456) on :
 
I struggled with this in my current novel - one of my two MC's is a big bad-ass kind of guy with a short temper, violent tendencies, a coarse vocabulary, and a dark enough history that he lacks empathy for others. I sometimes really struggled with writing him in a way that made me want to continue to read. He was bad-ass but the situation he was in wasn't allowing him to express this part of his character; the best I could do was to have my POV close enough to him that I could see the internal dialogue within him that was outlining his frustrations.

I think that this helped a lot, at least for me. People don't have to like your character, at least not right away, but they do need to be able to identify with them. We all have acted petty to another person at some point in the past, or at the very least we thought about it. Letting the reader experience your character's petty, small behavior to others will help to set up this identification. Getting into your character, really getting to know them, will give the reader an affinity for your character, even if they aren't immediatly likeable. Isn't that paraphrased from Ender's Game? The point where you truly understand another person is the point where you truly love them?

I think that this theory should be practiced with the idea of telling POV information up front - what your character knows at the first page of the story, we need to know as well. So, even though your MC is self absorbed we should see telltale signs that she has a redeeming side to her personality. A twinge of guilt when she makes her assistant cry for wearing the wrong shoes with that outfit. A wry sense of humor to casually defend someone from a verbal barrage directed at them. You dont'want a character to whip out their convienent deus ex machina at the end of a story. Similarly, you don't want to set-up someone as an absolute stone cold bitch and then suddenly turn them into a softie just because some key climactic moment passed in your story. Take The Devil Wears Prada for example (I can't believe I'm referencing this, but in my defence I never read the book, I saw the movie, and Anne Hathaway is sssssssmokin' hawt). Meryl Streep's character is painted very clearly as a driven, self absorbed, condecending person, but there are small hints through the movie (the fight with her husband, the smallest gestures she makes towards Anne) that indicate she isn't all the stone we've been setup to believe she's made of.

There we go. Two hints. Let us see inside your character to be able to identify with their actions, and let us know a little way in advance that they're not all the bitch they're written as. I hope this ramble answers your question.

Jayson Merryfield
 


Posted by arriki (Member # 3079) on :
 
If an important character isn't likable...give us some other reason to care about him/her. Put them in jeopardy. Find something interesting about them or for them to do while we watch.

Snape isn't a likable person but he's certainly a favorite character!

[This message has been edited by arriki (edited June 18, 2007).]
 


Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :
 
If your MC is unlikeable at first, maybe you should trade POV's. Tell at least part from someone else's point of view. In my WIP, the MC is kind of bratty, so at the beginning (before she matures a little more) I trade off POV with her best friend who can forgive her snottiness.

Also, if she's unlikeable and knows it, or is slightly over the top, the reader can still be engaged. There's a difference between an MC who is a snot, and one who is evil. As long as the MC isn't killing babies, I think we can like parts of them.

Matt
 


Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
 
There are a lot of ways to handle this:

1. Redeeming features (very few people are wholly unlikeable)

2. Make her sympathetic. You can make a character sympathetic without making them likable -- especially if something horrible has happened to her that has caused her to be unlikeable.

3. Create an incredibly interesting premise -- if we're so caught up in the story arc we may not care as much if the MC needs some time to grow up.

4. Use more than one POV character. If you have another character, almost as important as the unlikeable one, with whom we can spend some time we may be more willing to stick with the book longer.

5. Make it clear that a change is coming -- this is the true character story. It helps if you use 1 or 2 along with this. Such a story starts with the character realizing that they need to change or starting out on a change.
 


Posted by Marzo (Member # 5495) on :
 
We shouldn't confuse likability with niceness. You can like a character as a character who, in real life, you would possibly loathe.

I don't think it's necessarily easy for a reader to relate to a character who is likable. That presumes that all readers find the same set of traits in a character 'likable,' and that they look for likability more than anything else to make them continue reading.

The gage I use, while less concise than the adage you mentioned at the beginning, KayTi, helps me think about whether or not I need to change a character:

"Readers will read about interesting, three-dimensional characters who have comprehensible motivations in life. Bonus points if they just happen to be similar to the reader's."

So, are they interesting? And, conversely, not so 'bad' or *shudder* annoying that I won't want to see their story through? They don't have to be nice for me to want to learn what happens to them. On the contrary, I enjoy reading about 'darker' characters because I'm often interested to see if they do have a turnaround, or if they get their just desserts.


I think authors need to be careful with their addition of redeeming traits; unless you want them to fit the archetype of "bitch/bad boy with a heart of gold," subtlety is necessary. The traits really need to be worked in, not plunked in. My brain's scratching for examples, but I can recall reading a fantasy book or three where a perfectly interesting character, not particularly nice, suddenly developed a conscience that wasn't foreshadowed properly. It made me see the guy behind the curtain, and no one wants that.

I'm pretty sure I echoed most of the sentiments above. In short, don't stress about this concept of nebulous likability, and make sure they're 1. Interesting 2. Not too audacious that they're off-putting 3. In a situation that plays against their weaknesses and makes them evolve.

Hope my rambling five cents helps, nonetheless. Good luck! :)
 


Posted by DebbieKW (Member # 5058) on :
 
My take on concepts already mentioned:

1) Give her some likable or audience-relatable characteristic, like she honestly cares about cancer children and donates money to research for that. Something that hints that there is more to her than the obvious.

2) Make the main supporting character extremely likable so that people hang around for him/her. In contrast to other people's opinion, I don't even think that you have to switch to this person's POV for this to be effective. Keep in mind, though, that the readers likely hang around in this case because they want to see a completely unlikable character get their just reward rather than because they want to see them change. If you are going to change the character, make sure the process is believable rather than a sudden 'sees the light and is now pure and good' moment. Like Wolfe_boy said, we need to see indications that she has a redeeming side to her.

3) Can you think of any villains that you love to hate? Think about why you liked them and use that information to help you keep people interested in your MC until she starts to show signs of changing.

4) If the reader understands why the MC acts the way she does--even if it's just hinted at--then people are more willing to put up with her.
 


Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
I'm inclined to like my main characters---but that's just me, and I don't know if anyone else will like them. Probably if you like them, that'll come through in the writing.

I like to think that every character is the hero of the story in his own mind. After all, does anybody really say to themselves, "Gee, I'm a villain"?

(In my Internet Fan Fiction days, where I worked with pre-existing characters, I managed to put some likeable spin on a character others usually used as a black-hearted villain.)
 


Posted by J (Member # 2197) on :
 
Haven't we done this 4 or 5 times before? Surely one of the other old-timers can remember the links.
 
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
 
What you really need to do in order to pull this off is to get deep inside that POV character's head. Make the reader feel the frustration and pain that people don't like her. Justify the way she is with her own thoughts.

The POV character is the person your reader is escaping into, so you must make the reader feel her emotions. That means, you must give all the observations in her perspective. Other people don't like her but she doesn't understand why. The reader may understand why, but has to relate to her on her own terms. Later, she can have a revelation and make the change because she realizes what she had to change, and the reader should say, yes, this is the way you should change. This is what will make your life better.
 


Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :
 
One of the best loved characters in fiction is Scarlet O'Hara. And she is FAR from perfect. Indeed, at many moments in the book we want to slap some sense into her. So why do we like her? Because she is interesting, and unpredictable.
 
Posted by debhoag (Member # 5493) on :
 
I think scarlett is likable because given the right circumstances, we could all be like her - her gluttony is understandable because we know she starved. We may not agree with all her choices (or any of them) but we can all understand where she's coming from.
 
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
 
We have other discussions on this at:

The immediately unsympathetic hero:
http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/003438.html


The anti-hero: http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/003468.html


Slightly related:
Whatever happened to Evil?
http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/003426.html


Hopw these help.
 


Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
Nobody in "Gone With the Wind," the novel, is conventionally likeable...
 
Posted by Lullaby Lady (Member # 1840) on :
 
Emma, the main character in Austen's "Emma" is a spoiled brat to begin with, but because of her experiences as the story progresses, she grows in humility. By the end of the novel, the reader can't help but love her!

I think it's wonderful when I, as a reader, can learn life lessons along with a story's characters.

JMHO,
~LL
 


Posted by ArachneWeave (Member # 5469) on :
 
Snape is not likeable. He's fascinating.

That's kind of the idea I'm getting from my studies. We want to identify, sure, but to get actually reading, we want to be fascinated. It can be a sense of humor, it can be being played by Alan Rickman (whose voice is a gift from on high to all) , it can be a basic connection with the problem, but the best characters fascinate.

The workshop being done right now by the writers Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (crusiemayer.com will direct you) talks about that.

Including the fact that your antagonist ought to be fascinating, too.
 


Posted by Rick Norwood (Member # 5604) on :
 
We don't like people because they're good. We certainly don't like people who are better than us. We like characters who are in some ways great and in other ways deeply flawed. Consider Sherlock Holmes. If he didn't have so many flaws, nobody could stand him.
 
Posted by HuntGod (Member # 2259) on :
 
I use George RR Martins books for examples too often but he does a fantastic job of taking characters that we despise and changing our opinions of them.

Jaime Lannister is a completely irreprehensible character in the first book A Game of Thrones, he is a POV character in the secodn book and you grow to respect and even like him a bit.

But Martin shifts POV from chapter to chapter and he starts with a likeable character before foisting the "villain" on us.


 


Posted by Rick Norwood (Member # 5604) on :
 
God's greatest gift to writers is the spellcheck on the Google toolbar. Spellcheck everything. (You would have corrected 'irreprehensible' if you had.)
 
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
 
Be aware that google toolbar has online vulnerability to malware.
 
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
My spell check program tells me my name is misspelled. Use any spell checking gizmo with a grain of salt---and don't let it automatically correct things: look at the result first.
 
Posted by HuntGod (Member # 2259) on :
 
Hmm, I thought that was spelled correctly.

That said, I meant "REPREHENSIBLE"...so there was an error but I don't believe it was in the spelling or am I missing something?
 


Posted by Mystic (Member # 2673) on :
 
To get this back on topic, I want to bring up Paris Hilton. I hate this girl. In fact, I can't bring to mind anyone who likes her (including herself at times). Then, why do people read about it, talk about her, and care about her. People want to either see her screw up because they don't like her and wish the worst upon her, or they want to see her change as a result of all the disgustingness that is her personality. Either way they want to see her particularly terrible character get placed in many different situations and see how she reacts to them.
 
Posted by Matt Lust (Member # 3031) on :
 
I believe Paris Hilton is a perfect example of the Anti-Hero.


 


Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
 
Isn't Paris Hilton (or Lindsey Lohan, or Britney Spears or MaryKate/Ashley Olsen or...name your other troubled starlet here) just the equivalent of a 10 car pileup on the other side of the highway? As much as you might prefer to not see, you can't help gawking as you drive by, slowing to notice the details.

Bah. Blech. But we all do it. The trick is tuning it out/turning it off/ignoring it. I try. But somehow I seem somewhat well informed about the various starlets' activities. Hard to avoid them when they're blaring from the grocery store checkout lanes, the morning radio talk-shows, and the evening news.
 


Posted by dee_boncci (Member # 2733) on :
 
I happen to be reading "Hannibal Rising", so at the moment it is clear to me that there is no prohibition with have an unlikeable MC. As with the Jaime Lannister example, there are things about Hannibal Lector that engender some amount of sympathy/understanding on the part of the reader, and that, I think, is required, in that type of story.
 
Posted by houstoncarr72 (Member # 5544) on :
 
A monster is never likable--by definition. The question is not whether monsters (i.e., unlikeable characters) are likeable, but whether you can MAKE your particular monster likeable, and so get the reader to be sympathetic to him.

This has been done brilliantly by many writers. One famous example is the monster Grendel (in John Gardner's book by the same name.) Grendel murders and causes mayhem throughout the story--preying on people and eating them alive. Yet in the end, we feel sorry for him; he is a lonely outcast, he has urges he can't control, etc.

So if you're up for a real challenge, make your MC unlikeable... monstrous, even.



 


Posted by houstoncarr72 (Member # 5544) on :
 
P.S. Can anyone make Paris Hilton likeable? ;-)
 
Posted by Matt Lust (Member # 3031) on :
 
I think that "likeable" depends on your point of view.

For hedonists Paris Hilton is quite likeable as a model pleasure lover.


Perhaps if she is truly reformed she has the potential for likability.

With all serious for some like her I can believe that 3 weeks of jail is enough to set her on a different path. The question is will she choose to stay on the straight and narrow.



 


Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
Well, I've thought that Paris Hilton has been playing the part of "Paris Hilton"...that the "dumb blonde" act she's been riding on since she emerged onto the scene is an act, i.e. she's been hamming it up. Nobody is that dumb. (Not that she's the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree...they just put out this handwritten letter supposedly written by her from prison, and not only does it look like it was written by a third-grader it misspells "receiving.")
 
Posted by Rick Norwood (Member # 5604) on :
 
:A monster is never likable--by definition

No, all great monsters are likable, starting with Karloff's Frankenstein. A monster either looks gross, or does horrible things, but we can like, and even love, both sorts of monsters.
 


Posted by debhoag (Member # 5493) on :
 
I have another angle - what about the character that is awful, but who acts out our repressed fantasies and impulses. Murphy Brown used to make me laugh out loud for just that reason. Michael Douglas, in . . . was it falling man? Walking Man? I thought he resonated with people for the very same reason.

 
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
 
Falling Down is the movie you're refering to. Michael Douglas is known for playing "likeable" antagonists. Look at Wall Street: Gordon Gecko was likeable, although he was ruthless and made his living being destestable, or he wouldn't have been able to suck Charlie Sheen's character in. Even when Michael Douglas is playing a protagonist -- The Game or Romancing the Stone -- he has a rougish persona.

Good example, debhoag!

 


Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
 
kings_falcon, it seems you've become our resident archivist. Cool, we needed one.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited June 24, 2007).]
 


Posted by debhoag (Member # 5493) on :
 
in psych 101, gecko was used as an example of a sociopath who is not an axe murder. that was an eyeopener to me.

P.S. Okay, who are you and what have you done with the REAL Inarticulate one?

[This message has been edited by debhoag (edited June 24, 2007).]

[This message has been edited by debhoag (edited June 25, 2007).]
 


Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
 
I've though Michael Douglas has played his basic character a little too often for taste---a lot of his movies had the same plot: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned by Michael Douglas." Also he's getting older while his character remains about the same middle-age, widening the age gap between him and his leading ladies.

But as a character, he remains likeable in all but a few roles. (The abovementioned "Falling Down" comes to mind---I've only seen a few bits of it, so I can't be absolutely sure.) I think that's just what he projects as an actor---likeability. Some actors project warmth, some project intelligence, some project psychopathy...Michael Douglas projects likeability.

I wish I knew how to make use of that kind of skill on the printed page (or computer screen)...
 


Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
 
Yes, that role seems to have fallen to me since Wbriggs is busy elsewhere.

 
Posted by Jon Roberts (Member # 2804) on :
 
I know it's a little late in the discussion, but I thought I might contribute. People like characters that are believable. People aren't bad just to be bad, it's because they want something that they get by being bad (and for that matter, a character that is good for good's sake isn't interesting either). Even completely psychotic people have an internal consistency. The trick is to show that logical consistency.

A really great example of an unlikable character that is still a character worth reading about (actually there are several in the story) is the MC in Graham Greene's The Quiet American. I've only read a few of his books but he is pretty good about writing interesting sympathetic characters that aren't really good people.
 


Posted by Antinomy (Member # 5136) on :
 
I agree the MC must bear a quality the reader can relate to.

I wrote a 4,400 word piece about an evil, sadistic thrill killer who made a pact with the devil to avoid hanging. The devil gave him power to live forever. In exchange he was to continue his sadistic murders. After awhile you really despised the guy hoping he gets justice, and finally he does.

After 500 years of evil doings he acquired a bone cancer that dissolved all calcified tissue leaving him a helpless blob of human flesh forever.

But the story wouldn’t work. Readers grew too disgusted to finish it. Unable to empathize with anything in this unredeemable character, they hated him so much they would not continue on.

 




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