You know that feeling you get when you find a new favorite character? He (or she) suddenly seems like an old friend. You know their strengths, their weaknesses and you love them anyway. You’re ready to stand up beside them and tell those bad guys, “Nuh uh, back off. You mess with this character, you mess with me.”
When does that happen? And what’s a realistic level of reader loyalty after the first book vs. several books into a series?
Harry Potter is maybe the best example of what I mean. After the first book, most of us were probably intrigued by the characters. We liked ‘em, we wanted to know more. But by the third and fourth books, we were stark raving fans (admit it). We were absolutely loyal to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the gang, and we championed their cause as ours.
Yet, it wouldn’t be realistic to expect that level of loyalty at the end of the first book. We’ve only been introduced to the characters at that point. We need time for them to grow on us.
As I’m working on my own series, I find myself wondering how to make that transition, how to make readers love a character a little more in the second book, third book and so on. My gut tells me it just happens naturally if we write dynamic, multi-faceted characters and put them in a variety of challenging situations to allow readers to discover how they react.
But, still, I’m curious.
What makes you latch on to a character? What makes you like them more as you read more? Is there a limit to what an author can accomplish in terms of reader loyalty toward characters in Book One alone?
Have no idea. It's one of those intangibles I think. Usually, though, I like to see a character who is flawed but trying to do better or who maybe struggles with the right thing to do, but you have faith they'll do the right thing because of little clues to their behavior along the way. But, really, I have no idea. Sometimes it's just the writer's clever voice that makes the character sound so interesting.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think that characters need to be well fleshed-out, so to speak, for this to happen. I've found that I fall in love with characters best if those characters are realistic, and have problems that I can relate with -- even if I'm only reading a stand-alone, or the first book.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently re-reading The Hobbit, and I feel this way about Bilbo. At first you feel bad for him, getting his house invaded by dwarves, and then you're happy that he's finally willing to set out on an adventure, and then as time goes by, and he gets over some of his insecurities and fears, then you like him even more when he proves to be a hero.
But as with Harry, I think why we liked him so much was that he grew, and he had flaws, and he had to face those flaws. The more he grew and learned, the more he had to face, and nothing was ever perfect -- he was never perfect.
I think that if a character has imperfections and things to overcome, then they are a good character. We don't want them to be jerks, because nobody likes a jerk (without a soft side, that is), but you definitely want them to have some sort of flaw that they can work at fixing, just like a normal person would.
I hope that helps, and best luck writing!
Alexandra~
Considering my main character was almost unlikeable in the first book, I'm probably not the best qualified for creating characters people love. Of course, readers did become attached to Byron, probably because they identified with him once they understood him. (And he did grow a bit from the first book to the next!)
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing about characters are that a lot of them are relateable. Good or bad, they have done things and made the same mistakes as us. We can sympathize, so we latch on. There are some common human experiences that make character not only believable but loveable as well.
ReplyDeleteFor me it is always about the human side of a story. If the characters are funny, interesting, intelligent, and willing to grow, I'll follow them to my grave. It is true that kind of commitment grows over a series but you can feel it in your bones when you have clicked with a character. The same way you know you can't stand reading anymore about others. It is all about a good, believable stories. They will catch you every time. And as you get to know more about the characters of the story through book 2, 3... your love for them grows.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot has to do with identifying with the character. Even if you haven't experience the wizarding world, you can imagine how you'd feel and react to things. Flawed characters that grow, succeed, and are a little less flawed at the end attract me.
ReplyDeleteI am seriously loving these answers, guys!
ReplyDeleteI think flaws we can identify with. Pain, fear, desire, other human emotions. In my kids book, readers wrote me that they fell in love with my protagonist's best friend, even though he was only in the book for three scenes. He was a bit of a hopeless case and I guess that's why readers warmed to him. I can't say I intentionally created someone you could fall for, but I am happy to give him more page time in book two. I think selflessness would be an important trait too, or at least one for the protagonists to learn along the way.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right about HP. I agree! And I love what Charmaine said about being able to identify with a character. I love that. I also love when the character is totally not like me, but suddenly I'm able to understand them and their thinking. Then I'm like, Whoa!
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it would be hard to pinpoint the exact qualities I find most endearing in characters, then I decided to figure out which characters from each memorable book I loved most. Sam from Lord of the Rings. Ron from Harry Potter. Eli from the Legends of Eli Monpress. And a pattern formed. The characters I like best are funny and loyal. Ron totally should have been a Hufflepuff. :D
ReplyDeleteFor me, and I didn't read the other comments (does that mean I lose my 2,000 bonus points per picture bonus?) I latch on because of simple believability... that's it.
ReplyDeleteThe dude who can't sing will never win American Idol and the gal waiting for true love will never stop looking (until she finds him in the second-to-last chapter :)
Mmm... I think there's no way to MAKE a reader a fan. You just have to hope the character resonates in some way.
ReplyDeleteTrying to force it will definitely not help your writing.
It has a lot to do with resonating with the character, for me, something that I either share in their pain or I can believably put myself into their shoes. :)
ReplyDeleteFlawed characters. Too perfect is a turn off, because then you'll know they'll deal with everything with no problems - so no tension! It really helps if I identify with them, and we get to share their woes and joys as if we're experiencing them ourselves. Of course, easier said than written. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good (and hard!) question. I'm not sure what it is, but you're absolutely right about Harry Potter. They feel like my best friends and I love them like they're real people, probably because they SEEM like real people. They're flawed and believable and relatable. When I think of the other characters I love, they're the same way. For me, it seems to be what kind of friend they are - if they're loyal and love fiercely and would do anything for their friends, they're my type of character and I connect with them very easily because they're the type of person I'd want in my life. I like to either be able to put myself in a character's place, or imagine myself with them in a situation.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for these responses. You've nailed it - exactly what I feel about characters as well. It's neat to see all the descriptions in one place. I might need to do a follow up on this.
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