: Re: Does the main character have to be likable? I am often hearing / reading that the main character of your story should be likable or even if flawed should be something about them to get the

@Murray831

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You can do this, but I think you have to ask what you're hoping to achieve by doing so.
When you say:

The obvious answer is usually "as long as you have a compelling / interesting / engaging enough story / character then it's OK to have an unlikable character", but this suggests that all other things being equal, your character should be likable.

I think this can be true - to an extent at least. People will tolerate an unlikable character if the story is enjoyable in spite of them, but perhaps a better way to think about it is that it's OK to have a deliberately unlikable character if the character is sufficiently compelling, interesting or engaging.
The difficulty bar for pulling that off the main character is particularly high as by definition the reader is going to be spending so much time with them and how we experience a story is going to be inextricably linked with how we experience the main character(s) - I'm fairly sure for example that a substantial factor in my enduring disdain for A Catcher in the Rye is down to how much I loathed Holden Caulfied.

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