What do you think makes a good character and/or relationship?

[Ashley]

Most of the books I read (and write!) focus heavily on the characters and their relationships with each other.

So, I'm curious to get your opinions!

1. What do you enjoy seeing when characters interact with each other?
2. In first person narratives, do you prefer when the character speaks candidly or do you prefer it with a bit more flavor. (E.g. "Then, I basked in a bit of mortification as I realized that they probably saw Damien kiss me. Crap. I wondered if there was any chance at all I could convince them there had been mistletoe there?" as opposed to less internal monologue.)
3. Do you have any particular examples of (lines, books, or even just an author) where the characterization and relationships were portrayed in a manner that blew you away?
4. What do you absolutely HATE seeing in books regarding character and relationship development?

Hopefully, all those questions made sense! Also, if you could mention what kind of genre(s) you prefer reading - just to get a sense of things :)

[C.R.]

1) I like it when they playfully tease each other. That is a good way to get to know someone as well.

2) I prefer there to be internal dialog. I think a good writer understand that there is depth that is expressed about the character when that is used. It brings more realism to your narrator.

I will answer rest later computers acting up.

[Aileen]

1. For character interactions, what I like to see depends on the kind of relationship. For love or friendship, playful yet tender banter can be nice. For enemies, I prefer old-fashioned cold politeness to extreme rudeness.
2. For first person narratives, I like different characters to have their own distinct internal voice, so you feel like they're all different people.
3. The characterization in Harry Potter was simply superb.
4. Some things I hate with regard to characters or relationships are hardened/nasty protagonists, cliched rather than believable reasoning for decisions, romances that aren't romantic, messy love triangles, and splits between characters (friends, lovers, or otherwise) who should be together.
By the way, I mainly like to read old classics and biographies of artists (other than Harry Potter).

[✨Skye✨]

1. I agree with Aileen,it depends on the relationship type-though that may be a main thing in itself! Their interactions should demonstrate what they are to each other, e.g levels of familiarity, comfort, attraction, how open they are, annoyance, etc.
2.Definitely internal dialogue but not too much, it lets you get a better feel of the person without it swamping the plot.
3.The relationships in Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen, You Against Me by Jenny Downham and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart were done very well.
4. Insta-love! A romantic relationship with no build up or development is an instant annoyance for me, it's unrealistic and doesn't have any complexity.

[J.]

1. Conflict! AHHHHHHH! It makes me so happy to show the dynamics of personalities between two characters who might disagree on key points because it gives a much more textured, familiar feel.
2. I know that when I compose things in first person, I like to veer off to give the reader much more depth in the character's head so they feel like this is their best friend or sibling. It's important they understand this character inside and out to make that kind of in-depth connection
3. I actually read a lot of manga. (A faintly embarrassing amount) So to take a break from the slew of Insta-love, I picked up Kushiel's dart and the relationship phedre has is just spot on.
4. I'm with Skye. I don't like insta-love. I think some differing opinions are what make things realistic. I understand time limits in books, but there's got to be a little bit of progression somewhere.

[Mei]

1. What do you enjoy seeing when characters interact with each other?
Their differences/flaws/strengths, and how they embrace, overcome or support them. I love it when a character has a deep passion for something and another character supports or helps her get through her dreams. It depends upon the relationship of each of them, really, but these, plus conflicts, are footstools to how they can better know each other and make their bond strong. How open and honest and how a character responds to another's mistakes and going through that forgiveness is what I love seeing them interact about.

2. In first person narratives, do you prefer when the character speaks candidly or do you prefer it with a bit more flavor. (E.g. "Then, I basked in a bit of mortification as I realized that they probably saw Damien kiss me. Crap. I wondered if there was any chance at all I could convince them there had been mistletoe there?" as opposed to less internal monologue.)
It depends upon the genre, formality and background though, but I do prefer characters who speak with more flavor because I find it more engaging.

3. Do you have any particular examples of (lines, books, or even just an author) where the characterization and relationships were portrayed in a manner that blew you away?
These books are my favorite character-driven books: These are just some I could think of.

4. What do you absolutely HATE seeing in books regarding character and relationship development?
When things are not resolved, when a character remains the same, when a villain still remains the bad guy until the end (depending on how he was written, he deserves a breakthrough by the end of the book!), slow build-up of development but the character is still not vibrant or well-written or the build-up is non-sense, forced characteristics (those trying too hard).