Why Do You Care about a character?

[Mike Sixel]

When reading a book, what makes you care about a character? I have a novel drafted, but the characters are pretty generic. 

 

What kind of things make you actually care what happens to someone in a book?

 

thanks....

[Craig Arko]

The part of them I can see in myself, no matter how small.

[ashbury]

How about a few things, one negative (don't do this) and the rest positive:

 

1) Many times a plot depends on someone doing something really stupid. Without the stupid move, the story would have ended in 10 seconds. ("Got cancer? Find a charitable organization to help you. Don't cook meth." ) The character "just having to be me" is annoying. Don't make a character do stupid stuff. I will hate them.

 

2) Most drama comes from a character having a tragic flaw that almost anyone can relate to. Make sure it's visible alongside the strengths. (Or, if it's a villain, even more so, go the opposite route and make sure there is something endearingly human.)

 

3) Gene Roddenberry, I think, said that drama comes from "Captain Kirk has to make a decision." Your plot is probably already set, but play that up a little - making sure it's a genuine dilemma, maybe that gets revisited once or even twice later on, with a Woulda Coulda Shoulda. It'll help make the character interesting.

 

4) This may be related to #2 above, but J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) said this about character development: "There are five kinds of truth. There is the truth you tell to casual strangers and acquaintances. There is the truth you tell to your general circle of friends and family members. There is the truth you tell to only one or two people in your entire life. There is the truth you tell only to yourself. And finally, there is the truth that you do not admit even to yourself. And it's that fifth truth that provides some of the most interesting drama."

 

Food for thought. I guess it's more teevee than books, but whatever. And in any case, I Am Not An Author.

[Mike Sixel]

1) Many times a plot depends on someone doing something really stupid. Without the stupid move, the story would have ended in 10 seconds. Don't make a character do that. I will hate them.

 

 

I hate this as much as you do, maybe more. OTOH, if you hate a character, you actually care about them....

[ashbury]

1) Many times a plot depends on someone doing something really stupid. Without the stupid move, the story would have ended in 10 seconds. Don't make a character do that. I will hate them.

 

 

I hate this as much as you do, maybe more. OTOH, if you hate a character, you actually care about them....

Sometimes love is the opposite of hate. Other times, hate is merely *plonk*.

 

If you have a good enough idea about why a move that seems stupid in Chapter 1 actually fits in with a coherent world-view by the character, that is fully revealed by the last chapter, then of course it's a different matter. But if I'm hating having to read about the character the whole way through, it's a difficult slog and I might stop. But a small reveal in Chapter 2, leading to a full reasoning by the end, could work to keep me interested. I guess Sophie's Choice might be an example for that - she was SOOOOO annoying for a while there.

[Squirrel]

Lots of different reasons.

 

Someone I wish I could be. This could be a good or bad character.

 

Or, someone I can relate to.

 

Or someone who redeems themselves.

 

Characters that make me laugh doing stupidly human things and getting out of predicaments in stupidly human ways.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Lots of different reasons.

Someone I wish I could be. This could be a good or bad character.

Or, someone I can relate to.

Or someone who redeems themselves.

Characters that make me laugh doing stupidly human things and getting out of predicaments in stupidly human ways.

 

I'm not sure I can write in the last way, but I agree, I'm a fan of those types.

[Mr. Brooks]

IMO, there are three keys to writing good characters.

 

1) They have to be multi dimensional.

Almost nobody is always good, or always bad, or always stupid, or always honest, or always noble, etc., etc.

People are shades of every character trait.

 

2) Motivations.

Make me understand why a character does what they do, and why they think what they think.

It's not enough to just tell me that they did these things, and they thought this, or they said that.

Take the time to develop their backstory and their insecurities, and their vulnerabilities, and their motivations. Then, things people do or say will innately make sense.

 

3) Give me a reason to care. Whether I like a character, or hate a character, I need to have a reason to care about what happens to them.

Like Craig said, maybe there is something that happened to them, or a character trait that I can relate to.

[Mr. Brooks]

 

Characters that make me laugh doing stupidly human things and getting out of predicaments in stupidly human ways.

You'd love watching Frank Gallagher.

[ashbury]

You'd love watching Frank Gallagher.

Shameless plug, eh?

[notoriousgod71]

Not sure what type of novel you are writing but the villain HAS to be the most interesting character in the book.

 

In my opinions, heroes should be ordinary people that do extraordinary things and have some sort of inner demon they overcome.

 

Personally, I'm not interested in some superhero coming in and dominating everyone. Unless he turns heel! Then he's awesome!

[notoriousgod71]

 

 

Not sure what type of novel you are writing but the villain HAS to be the most interesting character in the book.

 

In my opinions, heroes should be ordinary people that do extraordinary things and have some sort of inner demon they overcome.

 

Personally, I'm not interested in some superhero coming in and dominating everyone. Unless he turns heel! Then he's awesome!

 

 

The villain part really applies to anything. John Rocker is far more interesting than Mariano Rivera. Albert Belle is more interesting than Jim Thome. A.J. Pierzynski is more interesting than Joe Mauer. the 1986 Mets are more interesting than the 1987 Twins.

[gunnarthor]

Mostly I just want to like a character. I hate Dean Koontz generic good guy characters. 

[Doomtints]

You can make the main character rather drab and surround him/her by really nutty characters, or even just have the character have nutty interpretations in his/her mind.

 

In some classics, the main character seems to be in a bit of a fog with a whole bunch of stuff going around him/her. In others, the interactions are more personal. Some are a mix of both.

 

Some really popular books don't necessarily have great characters or even great stories, but they read as snapshots in time that affect the narrator or the character(s) in some way.

 

What I'm getting at is ... just tell your story.