Blog

3 Key Ways to Create Characters That Grip Readers' Hearts

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

Over the past week, I’ve been reading a couple of books that I’m enjoying. But for some reason, neither of the books completely wowed me. I wasn’t totally invested in the stories.

Sure, I kept reading each of the books because I liked the plots. But I knew something was missing—something that could have turned these great books into awesome books.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized what both books had failed to do. They’d both failed to create the kinds of main characters (MC’s) I could fall in love with. By a quarter of the way into each book, the main characters had failed to grip me.

So, of course, I began to think about what it takes to create MC’s that can grab readers within the first quarter of our books. What are the kinds of traits we can give our MC’s that make our readers fall in love with them right away?

Here are three key ways we can develop reader empathy for our MC’s early in our books:

1. Have them care about someone else.

All too often when we’re throwing our MC into the story’s initial conflict and tension (as we rightly should), we make that MC into a self-centered, whiny, poor-me kind of character. We heap bad things upon the character right away (and that’s good!), but in the process we can’t let those circumstances turn them into simpering saps who only care about themselves.

In order to avoid this trap, we can show our MC caring about someone else’s needs above his or her own. Even in the midst of a dire situation, they need to look beyond themselves and notice the plight of someone else who’s suffering. After all, in real life, we aren’t particularly drawn to people who only think about themselves. So why would we be in a story?

2. Have them do something heroic.

It may not be enough to have our character simply feel concern for someone. Yes, it’s a good first step. But if possible, we should have them act upon that compassion.

For example, in the Hunger Games, the author could have focused on Katniss and all of her troubles (which are numerous). We likely would have felt sorry for Katniss because of her hunger, poor living conditions, the loss of her father, etc.

But instead of making Katniss into a poor-me character, Katniss looks outside her own needs to those of her sister Primrose. But the empathy doesn't just stay in her head. She acts upon it over and over. Her compassion for her sister is the driving force behind most of what she does. Until finally, Katniss makes the ultimate heroic sacrifice by taking Primrose’s place in the Hunger Games.

When our characters are compassionate and acting sacrificially, we can’t help but fall in love with them. They grip our hearts. And the story moves us on a deeper level.

3. Bring out their strengths.

No one can empathize with a perfect person. Our characters need to have flaws. Even super heroes have faults that they must deal—pride, anger, false humility, etc. But amidst the problems that anyone person is struggling with, there is always something good in them.

It’s our job as storytellers to bring out that goodness, to show the inner strength of our MC. And even beyond that, we must make that strength larger than life. We need to make our MC into the kind of person we would aspire to be, not who we really are.

For example, in The Doctor’s Lady, my heroine is crossing the continent in a covered wagon. I’ve piled all the elements against her—heat, hunger, disease, fleas, raging rivers, lustful trappers, etc. If I’d been the one riding west, I would have whined and complained pretty much the whole time. And if I’d made the MC to react realistically, the way I would have, then my readers would have ended up disliking her for being so weak-willed.

Instead, I had to make her into the type of heroine readers could respect and admire. I had to focus on her strengths. Sure, she still whined at times, but overall, she handled the rigors of the trip heroically, and thus my readers were able to fall in love with her.

I like how Donald Maass describes developing characters in his book The Breakout Novel. He says: We read fiction not just to see ourselves but also to imagine ourselves as we might be . . . Characters in breakout fiction may seem realistic, even average, but they are bigger than their circumstances.

What about you? Have you fallen in love with a fictional character recently? What qualities did the character have that were especially gripping?

 

33 comments:

  1. I recently loved Isadora from Susan May Warren's "My Foolish Heart". She's had a tough run, a lot of tragedy stacked against her, but even though she's trapped in her house by her fear, she still finds ways to reach out to others. And she's sassy and fun as well!

    Like you I recently finished a book that left me a little flat. Not only did the characters not grip me, but the plot was wanting as well. In fact toward the end I found myself rooting AGAINST the main characters because I was so unconvinced by their romance that I wanted the heroine to end up with another guy. You know it's not going well when you don't want the hero and heroine to end up together!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kara! Ugh, that's for sure! We definitely don't want our readers rooting against our couples getting together! In that case, if I were you, I'd be evaluating exactly what went wrong so that I could make sure I didn't replicate that in my own writing.

      Delete
  2. I totally agree about Isodora - SMW has great heroines. Funny, likeable, relatable, but not perfect - the kind of people I'd want as my friends.

    I've also had a few so-so books lately. While the authors have made an attempt to have the heroines care about something beyond themselves, in a couple of cases, that 'something else' was just too big to believe that the characters could really make a difference.

    One wanted to free all the slaves, another wanted to help all the stressed mums to have time to themselves. Both are noble goals (says stressed mum), but they were almost too big to grasp, and run the risk of making the reader (me) feel inadequate for not having such big goals. We want to empathise with our heroines, not be jealous of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point, Iola! We don't want to give our characters goals that are unrealistic or that our readers can't empathize with. As Maass says in the quote above, our characters have to seem realistic and average, but somehow we also need to make them the kind of people we would aspire to be.

      Delete
  3. Sweet, Jody!
    Good morning and thanks for this post!
    I like all of your points and while reading I was thinking of books I've read where the female character refused to stay put, but would always do things that would mostly be considered male stuff. (Ex: Lady of Bolton Hill and a Short-Straw Bride) It was a crazy! But their unselfishness is what made the story worth reading for me. (So was it with The Doctor's Lady, the contrast between Eli and Priscilla's character was really good! (Anyways, I think I could go on for a while :-)
    Very cute picture at the beginning of the post, and if you don't mind me asking, please..
    Are we working on a new book? And if you are, how's your experience with the characters?

    Thanks Jody! I appreciate you so very much!

    Ganise

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ganise!

      Yes, I recently finished a book and turned it in to my publisher. I tried to have my heroine caring for someone else within the first quarter of the book. Amidst her personal problems and the growing tensions around her, I tried to have her focus outside herself. Hopefully I accomplished that! I've yet to hear back from my editors on how they feel about the story!

      Currently, I'm beginning to research my next book. And all of the above points are certainly things I'll be keeping in mind as I shape my characters and plot out the first quarter of the book!

      Thanks for asking! Blessings!

      Delete
  4. Love this post. Linked it to my FB page! Great inspiration for where I'm at with my editing.
    ~ Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really needed to be reminded of these three points. I do fall in love with characters who have compassion and sacrifice:) Like the quote from Donald Maass "We read fiction not just to see ourselves but also to imagine ourselves as we might be . . . Characters in breakout fiction may seem realistic, even average, but they are bigger than their circumstances."...that is soooo true. When I read I want to be able to relate...but even more I want to see what can be...to be inspired!
    Awesome post Jody:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved the article, Jody. It was very helpful. I sometimes forger to add some of these things to the character.
    Thanks for the advice.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't think that first one can be underestimated! I was writing a scene recently where my MC shows affection to a younger sibling - and I realized how much more I liked him because of that one scene, and I already like him!

    And then I got to thinking about how sometimes I read books and can't stand the MCs, and it's usually because the author expects me to care about *them* even though these characters don't seem to care about anyone else.

    I don't think MCs always have to have empathy for other people, but it's certainly less risky to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I find it more difficult to make the 'bad guy' multi-faceted. They're not the POV character so we don't easily find out their thoughts and as a lesser character they receive limited 'air time'. I felt I succeeded in one of my books in making a sympathetic villain but I realize I haven't done it consistently in others.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I took notes as I read this post! I've been so plot driven with my WIP that I'm afraid my characters aren't quite up to par - so I'm working on it and this post is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks, again, Jody!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great stuff, Jody. I think I struggle to create heroines who are flawed but not too flawed. This really spoke to me today. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really loved this post and put it on my FB page too. As I work on revisions I shall be thinking of all these points. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the post today, Jody! Very encouraging about what we can be doing to suck people into our stories and characters. I just started writing a new story, by nature of the setting and my hero's goal, he's doing the first two things right off the bat. I'll have to keep in mind to bring out his strengths. I'm usually one who sacrifices strengths on the altar of conflict. Then my crit partner tells me that my character is completely unlikable in a certain scene. Sigh . . .

    Hope you're enjoying your summer!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for another good article.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you, Jody! You've inspired me to give one of my main characters a dog. It seems to me that's another way to give a character someone to love - especially if they're single & on their own. Since this character is a somewhat closed-off workaholic, I hope introducing a pet will show her softer side. . . .

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey, everyone! Glad the post is resonating today! I'm definitely keeping all these points in mind too as I begin plotting and researching my next book. It's a tricky balance to make our characters flawed and yet still likable!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yet another great post! I'm currently reworking some of my stories and finding that my characters are in need of a major overhaul. I'll definitely be keeping all your points in mind. Thanks Jody. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I totally agree with you, especially the part about how the MC has to care about other people. I read a book recently that I didn't like very much because the MC viewed all the other supporting characters primarily as people who could "support" her whenever she needed them. It's really hard to like a book if I don't like the MC, and I've read more than one like that.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've had problems with some of the same type of books out there: the characters don't make you care about them. This can be deadly for a novel. I work to make my own characters whole--sometimes I have to remove others from the book, I have so many, and that can be a problem too. Overruning your reader with a population of fictional people. Every step we take, we have to focus on what makes an individual a hero/heroine.Great advice!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great post Jody!
    The MC's I've fallen in love with the most are those who are willing to sacrifice, surrender, risk being misunderstood for the sake of justice, truth, and love. They are more interested in letting their actions and choices prove these things than their words or promises. Like Nathaniel in The Last of the Mohicans, or Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice.

    I too have recently read a book where the MC was more milk-toast than a flawed overcomer. He kept making mistakes the moved the plot but made him look pathetic when he berated himself and told the heroine how sorry he was over and over--sounds more like a girl! I could have stood the mistakes, but he never did that larger than life heroic deed. I think the author was trying for solid, steady, faithful traits of strength the heroine fell for, but for me it wasn't enough. He seemed more like a puppy who followed her around.

    These are great points to keep in mind for where I am now in my current WIP. Time to dig deeper!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Strangely, I have recently fallen in love with a bunch of what I have termed perfectly flawed characters (Abercrombie's The First Law Trilogy). At first I wasn't wild about them at all but the writing was so good that I persisted. Now I care very much about these awful people and precisely because they've done some of the things you mentioned above. Excellent post.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I was recently singing the praises of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, so a friend lent me a book with a similar techie/gamer theme. But I didn't like the second book. While thye two books had a lot in common, I didn't care about the main character (or any of them, really) in that one.

    That made me respect what Cline did even more, because I saw that when the overall plot is about technology and virtual reality, it could be easy to lose the emotional ties to the characters. But because Parzival (the main character) really cares about his gamer friends, even though he's never met them in real life, the reader cares about all of them as well.

    Now, what to say to my friend when he asks how I liked the book he lent me...

    ReplyDelete
  22. You make such a good point about why readers care about a main character. No one likes self-centered characters in the real world. It makes sense they wouldn't empathize with a self-centered MC, but it's easy to lose sight of that when creating obstacles for the MC to overcome. Thanks for a good reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is so critical - and there seems to be an epidemic of it, even in the big best sellers. I'd just about decided the problem was me. I rarely find characters I love anymore. Nice to know I'm not the only one feeling this. (BTW - I DO find characters I love from time to time. Yours for instance.)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love these points, Jody, and I appreciate you breaking it down like this. I just finished a book that I really enjoyed, and I can see where these elements came into play. I may need to bookmark this. :)

    Thanks and blessings,
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Karen! :-)

      Delete
  25. Great post, Jody! I have a protagonist who has a huge ego AND a soft spot for those not as fortunate as himself and for those he considers close friends. He's had family problems, is facing war, but he has a big heart. My crit group is in love with him, so I'm taking that as a sign that I'm following your advice.

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is a lovely post :)I'm not a fan of characters who just whine and expect the problem to go away,and never do anything about the problem.That's what inspired me to make the MC of my story someone who is unlike that. He's been through a lot,and some of it is his own fault.But he soon realises that the only way he can combat these problems is if he works hard to get rid of them. :) I enjoyed reading this,now I can work on making my MC a chracter readers will really like. :D

    ReplyDelete
  27. Jody,
    I really liked this post. I think you hit the nail on the head (pardon the cliche) with this one. My MC in Murder in Cyprus Hollow has argued and disagreed with her younger sister since birth. They are still arguing as adults, yet it's obvious to the reader how much the MC loves her sister and is willing to do whatever it takes to help her.

    May I re-post this blog post on my blog?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad the post resonated! I do allow re-posting with links back to the original post and my bio. If you'd like to email me for the info., let me know! jodyhedlund (at) jodyhedlund (dot) com

      Delete

© All the articles in this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without prior written consent from the author. You may quote without permission if you give proper credit and links. Thank you!