I’m drawn, as a reader and a writer, to protagonists who aren’t all sweetness and light. They might just have a mischievous streak, or it could be something darker.
Occasionally, though, I’ve had to soften up a character when I’ve thought their bad traits pushed them over the line a little bit into unlikeable territory.
Softening a character’s rough edges is easy to do. In fact, you can do it with your antagonist, too—they’re probably not all bad, and making them multi-faceted can keep readers guessing and make these characters more realistic.
I was on a shopping expedition Saturday afternoon for plastic Easter eggs (I was definitely running a little behind on this errand.) All the stores were sold out by this time.
When I finally drove to Walmart, I was already in a stinky mood from going to three stores. The scanner at the self-checkout didn’t read the bar code (naturally.) I ended up in a long line for a surly cashier who didn’t even greet the customers ahead of me. What’s more, I suddenly noticed that the eggs were $3 for fewer than a dozen. #%$#%#!!
“You could get twice as many eggs for half as much money,” the cashier abruptly said when I finally got the front of the line. “They’re right there on the wall…just there. I’ll wait for you.”
I pretended there weren’t twenty people muttering darkly in the line behind me and dashed over to get the cheap eggs. And I’ll tell you, I was just like the Grinch in the cartoon—my heart grew three sizes that day. I wasn’t exactly the nicest Walmart shopper Saturday, but when I thanked the cashier and smiled, I think she softened toward her crabby customer, too. And probably felt pleased with herself for being helpful.
I know when I’m reading a book and I’ve already pegged a character as unlikeable, having them do something unexpectedly nice can give them a layer of dimension. We’re not all bad and not all good (well, most of us, anyway.)
I really like the little glimpses of kindness instead of huge shifts in behavior. If it’s too big of a change for the character (and the change isn’t explained by a brush with death or something equally major), then it seems more that the character is just acting out of character (less of a good thing.)
Have you ever had to soften a character? Ever read one that should have been softened?
I love characters that shake up my pre-concieved notions. Villains that are easy to relate too. Characters that act badly (but you really sympathize). Heros/heroines who mess up royally. Because of this I tend to give even my worst characters some redeemable qualities.
Oh, I always love curmudgeons with a heart of gold. It’s like a theme for me.
And I suppose the concept is not just for hard edged characters. I’m also very fond of “harmless” characters who turn out to be formidable. (Miss Marple, Columbo, The Scarlet Pimpernel….)
Elizabeth – Isn’t it nice when someone does something like that that’s unexpectedly kind? I’m glad you got your eggs.
And I agree that some characters need to have the edge softened a little. That’s what I’ve always liked about Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse. Definitely a guy with lots of rough edges. But then he does things that are unexpectedly nice, so that you see his softer side.
I wish I had this problem. I struggle to rough mine up. Even the villain. Sigh.
Oh, yes. In my memoir, I had to “soften” my ex-husband. In the first draft, well, you can just imagine. But I had to add in the loving things I’d conveniently forgotten in the aftermath of our messy divorce.
Great post, Elizabeth.
karen
I had a character who did a lot of stupid things and got himself in a lot of trouble, but I still wanted the reader to sympathize with him. Fearing he was coming across as too unlikable, I added a new character–a troubled kid whom the first character was kind to. This deepened and softened the first character and made him more sympathetic to the reader, as well as enriching the story as a whole.
I adore characters that enter that moral ambiguity zone, where they’re not on either extreme of the spectrum (i.e. villains who do good things, and heroes that do bad things). I have to say, I’m a sucker for a villain with redeeming qualities. Makes them more human, more likable, and they feel that much more real.
Excellent post. =)
I read somewhere that in the movie As Good As It Gets, test audiences thought that Jack Nicholson’s character was too mean until they added in that upbeat theme music to his scenes. So even a small change can take a character from unlikeable to relatable! (Too bad you can’t have theme music in books.)
Yes! Book V in my series featured a main character that was a classic “B” in the other books, so it took a lot of effort to soften her enough for fans to like her. At all!
I had to scale back my main character. He was just a bit too much of an obnoxious, cocky jerk!
It was very entertaining to read your Walmart story. Usually it’s not a pleasant place to be, that’s my experience too. Fortunately, we don’t have a single Walmart in this country (as far as I know)
Cold As Heaven
I have a couple villains I need to do this with–I think they seem less canned if they have some soft moments. I like your example from these small exchanges. I think it can also be done with a little ‘why’ on their approach or behavior (you learn someone just lost a loved one or something) though you need to choose the right level of softening–wouldn’t want to make a bad guy TOO sympathetic.
Sometimes that dark exterior is hiding a good heart, we just can’t see it. Characters must be capable of good and evil – all of them, that’s what makes a mystery so compelling. Anyone could do it.
A villain who doesn’t have good points is a sneering stereotype or a psychopath.
One of my villains was a general who used sex slaves to build her power base, and she didn’t care whether they lived or died, but I made her loyal and fair to her troops as well as giving her a snarky sense of humor.
The best example I can think of in softening a major character is a short story in which the heroine breaks into the apartment of a possible villain– a hard-ass security agent. A teddy bear is sitting on his couch, and he later admits it belongs to his nephew. With that simple stroke, the author made a seemingly unlikable bad guy a much nicer person.
Sierra–And that makes your books more fun for the readers, too. :)
The Daring Novelist–Yes! Good point. The innocuous folks who are more dangerous than they look! That’s always a lot of fun to read and write.
Diane–But you clearly did it really well!
Margot–I absolutely *love* Inspector Morse! Perfect example. :)
Alex–But still likeable!
Carol–There should be a Villain Boot Camp somewhere! I’m lucky because my bad guys are only revealed to be really bad at the end of the book.
Karen–Now *that* would take some work! Ha! That would have been a great way to do it (remember the good moments. Or maybe even INVENT good moments!)
Stephanie–That sounds like the perfect way to soften that character to readers. I’m a sucker for anyone who helps kids out.
Cold As Heaven–And you should keep it that way! :)
H. N. Stone–I agree…makes for a much more interesting villain. I love having those conflicting emotions toward a character.
Megan–I didn’t know that! Very interesting. Maybe we’ll have theme music in the future with ebooks?
Hart–Good point…the motive behind how the bad guy has ended up the way he has can soften the character to the reader, too.
Mary–Mysteries would be no fun at all if we could point to the bad guy right from the start! You’re right, much more fun when anyone is capable of it.
Marilynn–Sounds like you did a great job giving your character some depth.
That teddy bear example is perfect! Just one thing shows such a different side of the character.