Monday, January 12, 2015

It's Not The Story, It's The Character

I once read a chick lit novel where the main character's primary love interest was someone I didn't like at all. He was rude to customer service employees (although I will admit, after an HOUR of being on hold, I have been tempted to go all Shakespeare on certain customer service employees and shriek, "A PLAGUE on your houses...AND your phone company!") He was obnoxious and never apologized for it, especially because he never seemed to realize that the way he treated people was wrong.

This guy was condescending and dismissive of the main character's interests, as well as her hometown. I'll be the first to complain about some of Chicago's flaws, such as the fact that it is only warm about 1% of the year, and the rest of the year people only communicate through chattering teeth and five layers of clothes. (You may think I'm exaggerating, but I heard someone say recently, "It's supposed to be warm next week! The temperature's going to be in the double digits!") But I will head-butt any outsider who criticizes my beloved hometown, especially if they criticize my favorite deep-dish pizza place (because that just ain't right).

The love interest never really redeemed himself in the novel either, which is one of the reasons that he and the main character break up and she ends up alone by the end (which is unusual compared to most of the chick lit books I've read, where the heroine usually drives off into the sunset with her true love).

However, the author apparently kept trying to convince the reader that this guy was worthy of the main character's love, because the protagonist recognized his flaws but loved him anyway. It's one thing to accept that the one you love isn't perfect (especially because Prince Charming doesn't actually exist, no matter what fairy tales say), but it's another thing altogether to let him treat you and other people like crap over and over again while you insist that deep down he really is a nice guy. And that's exactly what the main character did, which made me like HER a lot less, despite the fact that she was otherwise a lot more likable than her love interest.

That chick lit novel reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows, Blue Bloods (what can I say? I'll take a cop show over a "I'm going to hook up with every doctor, nurse, and patient I encounter (cough, cough, Grey's Anatomy) show" or "I'm only going to be happy with my true love for about two seconds before some horrible villain shows up and distracts us for the next ten episodes where we'll only have time to look longingly at each other/whine about how complicated our relationship is for a few moments per episode (cough, cough, Once Upon a Time). I like all the characters on Blue Bloods, except for one recurring character: the female cop, Eddie Janko. (I DON'T have a problem with the fact that she's a cop.)

She was apparently brought in as a love interest for one of the main characters, Jamie, and they did share a kiss in one episode, though they ended up dating other people. Yet the writers seem to keep implying that eventually they will get together. If THAT happens, I'll stop watching the show, because I REALLY don't like that character. Not only is Eddie too immature and obnoxious, but she and Jamie don't have the same chemistry that he had with his other love interests. They act more like best friends or brother and sister than lovers. Although I like the show otherwise, seeing Eddie and Jamie's scenes with "romantic tension" bothers me, because I think he should be with one of his previous girlfriends.

When I was working on one particular story, I created a love interest for my main character who on paper seemed perfect for her. But the more that I wrote about their relationship, the more dissatisfied and frustrated I became. I liked that love interest; I just didn't like him with my main character. It wasn't just that they weren't right for each other. It was that he wasn't right for the story, and he probably belongs in another one (which at least gives me an excuse to write another story for him).

I found myself making the same mistake that that author did, where I made the main character keep saying that she really did care for him and that he really was a good guy. But I realized that if I wasn't convinced, how could I convince any readers in the future?

So I took that character out of the story, and another guy who had been only a minor character in my first draft became one of my protagonist's love interests (in many chick lit novels I've read, the main character has at least two: the right guy she bickers with but is secretly attracted to and the not-so-right guy who sweeps her off her feet). The new love interest changed the story as a whole, and he changed it for the better. And I, as the writer, felt happier and more satisfied with the story and the characters.

What about you? Do you ever read a story or watch a show that you like but that has a character that you don't like at all? If so, why didn't you like that character, and if you created him/her, what did you do about it?

13 comments:

  1. I've been told that the love interest in my current project is an a-hole. Funny enough, I intended him to be like that, but that he would only be kind to my leading character. After you explained what you didn't like about the story you read, I kind of have second thoughts.

    I don't really like the Joseph Morelli character in The Stephanie Plum novels, but I understand why he is there.

    Good-luck with your story.

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    1. Hi Murees,
      I don't think your character has to be completely likable, especially because there are many books with less-than-likable male characters. The difference between your character and the author's character who I criticized in my post is that the other author's character wasn't even kind to the protagonist; that's why I didn't like him. Not only was he rude and condescending to everyone else, he was also rude and condescending to her, which made it difficult to understand why she cared about him at all. So you don't necessarily have to rewrite your love interest, because it doesn't sound like he's the same as that other character.

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  2. I hate when two characters are forced together who just don't have any chemistry. I like to think (or hope, at least) that my characters have chemistry, as complicated as it may be. I think you did the right thing by removing that character and it's great that it caused some good changes for the story :)

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    1. Hi Sarah,
      I'm willing to be that your characters have chemistry with each other. But yes, it's definitely bothersome in other stories by other authors when their characters have no chemistry, because then that can negatively affect the story as a whole.

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    2. Hi Sarah,
      Sorry, I meant willing to bet, not willing to be.

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  3. I don't tend to read much chick-lit, but I watch them. With film, however, I just happily sit and watch the story unfold without much opinion of the characters.

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    1. Hi Annalisa,
      Sorry about my late response; I thought I wrote back to you already! Anyway, I like watching romantic comedies too, though some of the main characters in some of those movies still bug me. I often find myself rooting for the love interest who isn't "right" for the main character, even though I know he/she will end up alone in the end because the main character picks someone I don't like instead.

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  4. I'd have a hard time with that unlikable love interest unless he changed toward the end. When I wrote Lighting Candles in the Snow I did a twist, with the man the MC ended up with being a surprise. To do this, I needed to make him unlikable at first and then show how he'd changed and make the change believable. Some readers really liked what I did, others hated it and said there was no way she'd have ended up with this guy. I still stand by it, because as you say, no love interest is perfect in real life and when I come across the too perfect guy in novels I want to throw them across the room. I want characters in books and movies to change and grow as a result of things that happen to them in the past or present.

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    1. Hi Karen,
      You're right that it's good when someone who's unlikable changes for the better, because that's what we hope for in regards to certain people in real life, right? And we all strive to improve ourselves, albeit in different ways, though obviously you are not unlikable at all. :)
      Characters who are too perfect bug me. That's one of the reasons that I don't watch Once Upon a Time as much as I used to. Characters like Snow White and Prince Charming are just too "good" for my taste, and they're not as conflicted and dark as characters like Rumplestiltskin and the Evil Queen are. Therefore, "perfect" characters like Snow White and Prince Charming in Once Upon a Time's version are just too boring, in my opinion.

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  5. I tend to give up on a show or book if I don't like the character, or at least understand his/her motivations. One of my favorite books is AMERICAN PSYCHO. Creepy, crazy guy, but the moral is riveting.

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    1. Hi Emily,
      I know what you mean! Often a character can make or break the book. That's one of the reasons I never liked The Scarlet Letter, because I thought Dimmesdale was too wimpy and self-pitying, and thus he wasn't good enough for someone like Hester Prynne.

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  6. I get what you're saying. I have some characters that really wouldn't work with others, and yet I adore them regardless. Typically I won't abandon a series because of one character, but I will if it's the main character.

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    1. Hi Crystal,
      I've been thinking that maybe I won't give up on the series Blue Bloods altogether if Eddie and Jamie do get together, because I really do like the other characters and the series as a whole. Maybe I'll just fast forward through the lovey-dovey scenes if those two ever do get together.

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