: Re: Does the reader need to like the PoV character? I have the feeling this is already been asked, but I can't seem to find it. Close the question if it comes out as duplicate. There's an issue

Not necessarily, but usually.

Almost any "rule" that one could give about writing has exceptions. If you break the rules and do it well, you can have a particularly off-beat and interesting story.

But most of the rules were invented because people found that following them tends to make a better story.

In general, the reader identifies with the narrator. The reader thinks of the narrator as his friend, maybe even as his own alter-ego. So you want the narrator to be likable. (He doesn't have to be perfect, of course. It's often the character's flaws, and how he overcomes those flaws or succeeds in spite of those flaws, that make him interesting.)

CAN you write a story where the narrator is an evil person? Or perhaps less dramatically, simply a dislikable person, rude or lazy or whatever? Sure. And if you do it well, it could be a great story, turning a common convention on its head for dramatic effect.

But it's hard to pull off. If you don't do it well, the story is simply unpleasant. If the narrator-villain is constantly justifying himself, as we would expect a villain to do, then the story sounds like it's advocating this sort of behavior. If he doesn't justify himself, it sounds unrealistic. The reader won't identify with the narrator because no one thinks of himself as a villain. The reader is an outside observer instead of a participant.

As I say, if you do it well, you might drag the reader in anyway. You might get him thinking, "Yes, that's the sort of person I might have been if it weren't for ..." But it's hard.

Load Full (0)

: How do I mix linear and non-linear "choices" in an interactive novel? In my interactive novel, I'm trying to keep the word count between choice prompts fairly short and consistent, but that

@Annie587

Load Full 1 Comments

: Naming Characters after Friends/Family I drafted a book two years ago that I'm now polishing to publish. When I drafted it, for speed's sake, I named one of my primary characters after an old

@Annie587

Load Full 6 Comments

: I'll skip repeating what others have said. Some additional thoughts: As other have pointed out, "tiphoof" is probably not an anatomically accurate term for how a hoofed creature would ever walk,

@Annie587

Load Full 0 Comments

: I keep going back to the story in Breaking Bad. The purpose of the story, novel or TV series, is to establish characters in an environment and then show how they react or accommodate to

: Re: Does the reader need to like the PoV character? I have the feeling this is already been asked, but I can't seem to find it. Close the question if it comes out as duplicate. There's an issue

More posts by @Annie587

: How do I mix linear and non-linear "choices" in an interactive novel? In my interactive novel, I'm trying to keep the word count between choice prompts fairly short and consistent, but that

: Naming Characters after Friends/Family I drafted a book two years ago that I'm now polishing to publish. When I drafted it, for speed's sake, I named one of my primary characters after an old

: I'll skip repeating what others have said. Some additional thoughts: As other have pointed out, "tiphoof" is probably not an anatomically accurate term for how a hoofed creature would ever walk,

: I keep going back to the story in Breaking Bad. The purpose of the story, novel or TV series, is to establish characters in an environment and then show how they react or accommodate to

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top