: Re: How do you make your characters likable? Though I disagree that characters need to be likeable for a story to be good, I certainly do not think it hurts - nice people in stories serve as

I would say the number one method is to give them a great obstacle that they deeply desire to overcome, then show us the story of them overcoming it.

There is also the "Pet the dog" or "Save the cat" scene where you see them doing something nice. Similarly, a character who loves someone is usually more sympathetic. If you have a guy who is a jerk to almost everyone, but he would do anything for his little sister, then he just got a lot more likable.

It also helps if the character has to deal with everyday crap that many people can relate to. The opening scene of Office Space comes to mind, where you immediately empathize with the character just by watching him wrestle with changing lanes in a traffic jam. Other common examples include getting dumped, having an annoying co-worker, being sexually frustrated, or an embarrassing moment like discovering an unzipped fly.

Make the character active. No one likes the damsel in distress. No one likes the character who whines and moans. The ones who stand idly by while bad things happen to other people are the worst. People love the character who gets up and does something about the situation.

Simple, but not easy: give the character a unique personality.

Load Full (0)

: What are some strategies for developing basic writing skills? Beginning Writing (again) I have a friend who is going back to college after a decade, and is quickly finding out that his/her writing

@Sent2472441

Load Full 5 Comments

: What exactly is an editor? I recently read the assertion that many great works of fiction were chiefly down the contribution of a good editor. I must admit I was a little taken aback by this

@Sent2472441

Load Full 2 Comments

: How to close read and do an oral presentation on it in 12 minutes orl less? so i am going to recieve a random passage from the book "1984" and will be given 12 minutes to read it, write

@Sent2472441

Load Full 2 Comments

: The most important part of telling dialogue is the dialogue itself, though many times people make a strong effort to think of "exciting" words to replace the word "said". Using a "fancy" word

: Re: How do you make your characters likable? Though I disagree that characters need to be likeable for a story to be good, I certainly do not think it hurts - nice people in stories serve as

More posts by @Sent2472441

: What are some strategies for developing basic writing skills? Beginning Writing (again) I have a friend who is going back to college after a decade, and is quickly finding out that his/her writing

: What exactly is an editor? I recently read the assertion that many great works of fiction were chiefly down the contribution of a good editor. I must admit I was a little taken aback by this

: How to close read and do an oral presentation on it in 12 minutes orl less? so i am going to recieve a random passage from the book "1984" and will be given 12 minutes to read it, write

: The most important part of telling dialogue is the dialogue itself, though many times people make a strong effort to think of "exciting" words to replace the word "said". Using a "fancy" word

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top