: Re: How does one write a misanthropic character likeable? Let's say the character has over the years grown to dislike humans because he had many negative experiences with them, and is disappointed

@Debbie451

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You'll find a lot of good answers here:
How do you make a story succeed in spite of an unsympathetic main character?

On top of that: If your character is a misanthrope out of disappointment, that's your hook. Disappointment means that the person once had hope. So you play on that past hope.

Was he an optimist? A starry-eyed idealist? A romantic? A decent man who was taken advantage of? An ordinary bloke in an abusive relationship? A middle manager keeping his head down who watched fellow citizens vote a tyrant into power?

Figure out what broke his heart. Find a way to convey that backstory to your audience (not immediately — somewhere between one-third and two-thirds of the way). A cabbagehead, newbie, or Watson are some traditional vehicles for this kind of exposition; you can also do it via a third character or a flashback.

Additionally, if he can retain some of that hope, even in flashes (think the grouch with a heart of gold), the reader can see that the misanthropy was situational, or earned, and that there's some good underneath which just needs uncovering.

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