“We read to know we are not alone.” C. S. Lewis said that, and it is at the heart of every good story. When you write, you open a window to a shared experience between you and the reader. It is the guiding principle of every story I write. For a story to be successful, the reader needs to feel like they are a part of it. They need to care, wonder, and feel. The goal is to get the reader invested quickly in the characters so they reflect and question what is happening, so they consider the motives and actions and hopefully relate those feelings back to themselves.
Reading is unique in that, unlike most other artistic mediums, where the experience is viewed, reading allows us to walk in another person’s shoes. It gives us unfettered access to their innermost thoughts and allows us to get inside their head and perceive their deepest, most personal truths. It is extraordinarily powerful and the reason no other experience matches the emotional impact of escaping into a really good book.
It has taken a long time for me to understand what it takes to make a reader care. Some is intuitive, but a lot of has been gleaned over the years. I hope this article helps unravel some of the mystery.
1. STORIES ARE ABOUT CHARACTERS
Stories are about the human experience. The key word being “human.” Without characters, there is no story, so who you choose as your primary actors ultimately forms the essence of the work. There is no more important task than understanding who the story is about and conveying those people convincingly on the page. While the reason for writing a novel usually comes from an overarching thematic concept or a compelling plot idea, it isn’t until I’ve found the muse or muses of the story that I can begin.
2. CHARACTERS DON’T NEED TO BE PERFECT, BUT MUST BE UNDERSTANABLE
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that characters should be sympathetic. This doesn’t mean they need to be perfect or necessarily even likeable, but it is critical that they be understood. Readers can see past flaws so long as they recognize why a character is the way they are and realize what drives them. Let the reader in, give them insight into what makes a character tick, and always give them at least one quality they can understand and relate to. There are certain universal traits most everyone identifies with:
- A character is compassionate and cares about others.
- A character has a strong belief in something or demonstrate moral integrity.
- A character is heroic and willing to take a risk or make a sacrifice for others.
- A character is fun or funny.
These are easy, no-brainers, and almost guarantee a sympathetic response. But they are also predictable and run the risk of being cliché and uninteresting. Perfect people are usually pretty boring, while flawed and damaged characters are the ones who excite the imagination and fascinate. Allow your characters to be imperfect and make mistakes. The more human your characters, the more your readers will care. A few less obvious endearing qualities are:
- A character who is gullible and falls for a ploy.
- A character who is blinded by passion or driven toward a goal.
- Or the opposite, a character who is an everyday man doing the best he can.
As for writing an unlikable character, it is vital to put as much care and consideration into their development as you do the heroes. Leo Tolstoy said, “The best stories don’t come from ‘good versus bad’ but from ‘good versus good.’” Let the reader know why the antagonist is the way they are or why they are doing what they are doing. Perhaps they were abandoned as a child or suffered a great betrayal. Maybe they’ve never known love. Perhaps their motives are good despite the wickedness of their actions. Or maybe they’re trapped and have no other choice. A well-drawn villain has understandable motives—good reasons for doing what they are doing, even if it is only justifiable in their own minds.
3. CHARACTERS NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO LIFE
It’s all in the details. Each actor should be as individual as you are. The more vividly you paint them, the more real they will become. Along with the broad physical strokes, capture the quirks and specific traits that make them unique. Let the reader know what makes them tick, their histories and the factors that made them who they are. Get inside their heads and reveal their innermost secrets and thoughts—the good, the bad, the strange, and the ugly. Reveal their motives and how they are being affected by what is happening— their opinions, perceptions, wishes, and fears. Incorporate all the senses. Let the reader know what the character is seeing, smelling, hearing, and sensing. This is the heart of the story, the insight that gives dimension to the inner struggle. Inhabiting your characters fully so the reader is viewing the world through their eyes is what brings a story to life.
4. PLACE AND TIME AFFECT YOUR CHARACTERS
Life doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The setting as well as the cultural, social, and political climate in which your characters exist influence and shape them. Careful consideration should be given to how their circumstances and surroundings affect them. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine the world around them, then channel what they are experiencing onto the page so the reader experiences it as well.
5. STORIES ARE ABOUT SOMETHING HAPPENING TO YOUR CHARACTERS
Your characters either need something, want something, or something is going to happen to them that will cause them to react. That is the story. It’s the reason the reader opens the book and the reason they turn the page.
Tension is key. Good stories have continuous conflict, struggle, and transformation. The main reason stories fall apart is things stop happening. It’s when there is a lull in the action that readers lose interest and start to skim, or worse, stop reading altogether. So ratchet it up and create constant uncertainty about what is going to happen next.
Don’t let up on the gas. Make your characters suffer. Imagine the worst thing that can happen, then add twists and complications to make it worse. Disaster, bad luck, rotten people doing rotten things—heap it on—misery, danger, heartache, hurt. If your character falls down a mineshaft, have him break his arm as he tries to climb out. If he is counting on his dog going for help, have his dog return alone, howling because he’s been hurt. Did your character just lose her mother? Have her best friend move away that same week. Is your character shy? Force them to speak out in a crowd. Unrelenting pressure is what makes a reader read on. It’s what tugs at the heartstrings and compels them to find out what is going to happen next. Break out the tissues and sharpen your pen, it’s time to do some damage and convince the reader: IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK OUT (until hopefully, at the very last minute, it does).
