: Re: Will my readers find it hard to care/identify with a character who seems to lack human emotions? I'm writing my first novel. One of the main characters was born without a soul. This is her

@Bryan361

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That depends on your audience.

I wrote about a character with depression, suffering of terrible self-esteem, self-hate, very subdued emotions, complete disregard for own well-being resulting in suicidal bravery, a situation that would make others freak out taken in a firm stride, the most of his emotion shown when being murdered by the villain, after thwarting their plans, instead of screaming in pain he laughs.

Some readers accused me of making a robot. Literal quote: "The character doesn't even care about himself. Why should I?" or He was very similar in characterization to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando. Just throw yourself heroically at danger with all the emotion of a turnip.

Simply, the extroverted reader was unable to identify with my character. He didn't get his state of mind, despite hints of what was really going on in the protagonist's head.

On the other hand, I got a slew of praise from readers who are introverted, who can identify with depressive characters, who didn't need much to simply get in character. They understand that personality well, and can read the hidden hints perfectly.

So, concluding:Yes, many of your readers will find your character hard to identify with. That doesn't mean you should change a thing. You limit your audience, but the part of audience that will be able to identify with your character will love you for writing that. The rest will go meh,. but you can't satisfy everyone.

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