Bad Characters…
C.E. Grundler
It’s been said that you can have the best story in the world, but if your characters aren’t interesting, real people, you’re dead in the water. And the opposite holds true as well: you could have a perfectly generic story, but if readers are drawn in and connect to your characters, you’ve won them over. And it’s true that readers want conflict. They want to see suffering, anguish, joy, and so on. Books are an amusement park for the brain, and they’re on line for the Cyclone. Hit them with ever lift, dip, hairpin twist, and leave them exhilarated from the ride.
But in order to get readers aboard and invested, rather than passively watching from the sidelines, this ride, no matter how extreme, must have some relatable elements. Consider ‘relatable’ like the cars on the coaster. They’re what keep you rolling along and on track as each twist blindsides you. For us as humans, relatable means familiar — and you can establish familiar even in the most alien settings. It all comes back to the strength of your characters.
I’ve been reading a number of psychology text books (not writing books) on dealing with difficult, emotional, irrational, unpredictable people. Several of my characters fall into that category — and those are their good qualities. Through this reading blitz I’ve come to one conclusion: we’re ALL difficult,emotional, irrational, unpredictable people. It’s called being human. There are plenty of lessons we can take from that, especially if we hold a mirror up to ourselves, and the more we understand the more we can apply these lessons to our characters, ourselves, and those around us. Understand those traits and behaviors that cause us and our readers to respond with strong emotions, then let your characters say and do all the wrong things, and whether they be on a failing space station or hiking Donner Pass in January, and your readers will be there with them. Your book can take them to places they’ve never been, all the while grounding them in familiar emotions, be they happiness, fear, dread, panic, and so on. After all, we all say and do the wrong things, over or under-react, fly off the handle for a myriad of reasons, and if those motivations are at the core of your character’s behavior, your story will be stronger for it.
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