How to give a character 'redeeming qualities'

Does your character like puppies or kittens? Everybody likes a person that likes puppies or kittens.

the character can have a quirk that makes them relateable and then a story about how they got bullied or something. lol. Something to make people have sympathy for them.

Oh, and they can help old ladies cross the street. Not literally, but you get the idea.

Failings. Keeps cool until a point, then blows up - and is sorry afterwards. Temptation - but doesn't give in, in the end. Has something he/she hates - slugs, snakes, toads or something.

The list that I use:

1. A character suffers undeserved misfortune.
(eg: Erin Brokovitch: Car accident)
2. A character is an underdog.
3. A character is ethical.
4. A character stands up against the masses.
5. A character is thoughtful and intelligent.
6. He goes his own way in the world
7. He has emotional sufferings we can identify with
8. Self Sacrifice
(eg: Erin Brokovitch: meal-skipping in a restaurant so her kids could enjoy it )
9. Liking Children
10. Take responsibility for others
11. In Grave Danger
12. Distraught over another’s pain
13. Comes to the aid of others
14. Literary & Artistic (eg: Marvin: As good as it gets)

Generally Admirable Traits:
1. Attractiveness
2. Courage
3. Charisma
4. Passionate
5. Underdog

They've been culled from my notes from various seminars, etc, over the years.

Mac

I have yet to meet a single person that doesn't have a single redeemable trait.

Heck, even Hitler could...


Well, actually his paintings sucked too.

Uuuh...jeeze...its harder to describe how to make characters likable cause I find it so easy...funny characters are likable. Ones that are care about others, bravery, honor in the face of danger...that sort of thing.

TWK:
What are some character traits that will make the reader sympathetic to my characters? I tend to make them (my characters) rather dry, and I don't usually give them redeeming qualities—because I'm not sure how to do this.

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IMHO, whether a character comes across as being sympathetic is something that's addressed more in the writing (e.g. how they react to particular situations and how they talk to other people) rather than trying to shoehorn character traits into them.

For example, if your character is aggressive and abusive in every scene that they're in, they're going to come across as a schmuck. But if you have a scene where that character is victimised at home or by someone in authority, thereby showing that they are also vulnerable, then it can help the reader understand why they are like that with other people.

To give another example, you could have a cold dispassionate teenage killer who'll take a moment to pat a dog on the way out from a hit. Or the flip side is the saccharine sweet popular girl at school, who secretly writes abusive anonymous emails and sets out hate websites against other kids.

Basically, it's a process of evolution rather than ticking boxes.

Also, you say that your characters are "dry". That to me suggests that they're not coming alive on the page rather than that they lack redeeming qualities. Without seeing a sample of your writing, it's difficult to make an assessment, but again, it's a question of evolution in the page, building in the little traits and niggles into a character that helps them seem more fleshed out.

MM

I think another technique that works well is to give little quirks that the character does to reveal herself without saying she really is nice and here's why... Perhaps have the girl who twirls her hair when confronting a bad situation, or picks at her skin when threatened. Compounding these little characteristics slowly reveals a character throughout the story without spelling out that your character is a good person.

Another thing I was taught was to list your character's good qualities. After listing those qualities put the character in different situations and make sure she reacts accordingly. How would she react in a car accident? Would she curse at the other motorist? Apologize profusely? Make sure the motorist was OK? How would she react if someone was picking on her? If she loved someone? If she was afraid of someone? The point is to keep consistency with your character, and make sure that if your character is redeeming in one way, she is acting the same in other situations. If the character is doing something wrong that goes against her good qualities, then make sure there is a good reason why she is going against those qualities.

Great advice here. Put your characters in relevant situations that give opportunities to promote their character arc while humanizing them. Readers want to be able to relate to your characters by connecting through a common worry, fear, interest, reaction, disposition (kindness, a hot temper that later is regretted, friendliness, shyness/difficulty in groups or speaking, whatever fits your character and storyline).

How your characters deal with adversity and road bumps will show a lot more of who they are more so than forcing 'niceness'. Give them a strength or weakness that the average reader would have or understand.

having an embarrassing moment that humbles them really works. I've seen this in the best of movies.

mirrorkisses said:

having an embarrassing moment that humbles them really works. I've seen this in the best of movies.

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This is exactly what I did. With my novel #1, our own beloved Shady Lane read the first couple of chapters and told me that she hated my female MC. She was too "perfect." (Shady was right.)

So I rewrote the first scene where she appears. Now, the first thing she does is mistake the male MC for someone else, shout at him, and then when she figures out her mistake-- bursts into humiliated tears. That's the ONLY thing I changed, but I think it made her seem much more fallible and human for the rest of the story. She became a real person rather than just a cardboard stand in for my other characters to react to.