: Re: Advice on portraying my protagonist's anger without making her insufferable Background Info: My main character starts out the story with kind of a sad back story, it's not in a tragic way, just

@Bryan361

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Being filled with regret does not necessarilly make your character pathetic.
If what she is regretful about is truly horrible and self-damning, then that regret may be an appropriate response to the loss. It only becomes pathetic in the eyes of your readers, when what has been lost and is now sorrowfully missed, was never real or really valuable in the first place. If you want your reader to empathize with your character, invest in making what she lost real and tangible to them.

Beyond building empathy, you can postpone most readers' judgement of your character by making her aware that this anger and regret are personal faults which need to be healed. Have her struggle to overcome them and to consciously change the way that she sees the world. Most readers will tolerate a little pathetic in their heroes, as long as there is some foreshadowing of the growth which is soon to come.

Finally, consider that anger and regret are not the only way that an unfortunate history can express itself within your character. It can also come out as wisdom and compassion. As she is sitting in a bar, have the bartender offer her another round and with a sad smile, have her pass on the opportunity, reviewing in her mind how she has already paid those dues and therefore doesn't need a repeat. Have her view the bar's other patrons with pity instead of disgust. If you don't want her to seem pathetic, don't paint her that way.

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