character attachment issues!

Athame2010 · Apr 29, 2007

I am looking for constructive feedback on this topic.
Have you ever read a book where you feel connected to the characters?
Like when one of your fav characters in the story does something stupid you just want to smack them, or is about to walk into danger you feel scared and want to warn them somehow?
I have read a few books that I feel like I know these people so well. One story I cried so hard through the last three chapters my husband almost banned that author from our house lol.
What I am trying to find out is, how or why? Is it because they are just written well? Or is it that the author gives us enough intimacy into their private lives that we feel like we have made friends with the character?
I can't quite put my finger on it and was wondering what your feedback would be on this topic.
Thanks
Corinna

scarletpeaches · Apr 29, 2007

Identifying with the characters or their situation?

I think it's because they're written well and seem almost real. Not necessarily an insight into their private lives, just a view of them that makes them so believable we believe we're reading a diary of their activities rather than a novel!

Elektra · Apr 29, 2007

Was this by any chance when Sirius died? (I'd say Dumbledore, too, but really, he deserved what he got. He acted like a moron that entire book).

Soccer Mom · Apr 29, 2007

Sometimes it's that the character or situation seems so close to me and my own life that I can FEEL what the characters are feeling. If a protagonists situation taps into one of my own fears, that can also really get to me.

Scrawler · Apr 29, 2007

I think it's because we can deeply understand and relate to their flaws.

Soccer Mom · Apr 29, 2007

Charlotte's Web almost got banned from my house when I was a kid. I cried every single time I got to the end.

scarletpeaches · Apr 29, 2007

Spoiler alert, Elektra - spoiler alert!!!

BardSkye · Apr 29, 2007

I have two books in the house that make me cry every single time I read them. Both are tragedies and I find I identify with the characters and root for them to live even though I know the ending.

Several by Terry Pratchitt make me snort tea through my nose every time I read them.

Oliveman · Apr 29, 2007

Are you wondering how to render a character like that? I posted about the root of this in another thread just a while ago.

Let me offer you a piece of advice (for everyone) with regard to surprising characteristics jumping out of a character. This is good! This is why: contradiction within a character breeds complexity. Flat characters are called thus, not because of their unimportance, but because they don't have contradiction in character. The character(s) at the center of your story should be the most complex of all, as it is in the contraction that the reader's connection arises. I'm sure we all have moments when we are couragous, and those when we're fearful. Spiteful and kind. Sure of ourselves and lost. Brash and timid. You get the idea. Each of us is deep, and it is the connection to that depth that attaches the reader to your character. Those other characters surrounding them may have complexity, but it should not detract from your MC, confusing people about who the main character is. In The Great Gadsby, for instance, the narrator, who acts in the story, is not the MC. This is because the one with the greatest complexity is Gatsby. I'm fairly sure many would support me in this opinion.

Now you know what it means when someone complains that a character doesn't have enough dimensions.. what they really mean is, "Why is he always like this? When is he gonna be human?"

A "villain" in a story, is, more specifically, a character of antagonism. They might be justified, in their own perspective, in what they do in the story, but whatever character they are, it needs to provide a grounds for conflict with the character of your MC. They still shouldn't be more complex, however, or the attention would switch to the "villain", and people might become confused and be forced to pick sides or simply exit the story, so to speak. Remember that "Bad Guys" aren't doing bad because they think it is wrong. No, they see what they do as right, and perhaps the MC sees it as wrong, and conflict arises from that difference and the willful pursuit to change it by the MC, or however else they react.

The main point, however, is to create central characters with depth through contradiction, so if a bad trait pops out of them- embrace it, or at the very least, play with what you've found. Contradiction is the way of human nature.

In other words, those characters are real because you see qualities in them that are human - you feel their pain and would be offended with yourself if you exited from the story and looked skeptically at the character's actions, thinking "Pssh, he should stop being a whiney brat" when the character is in turmoil. Being a student of human nature, and appreciating the contradictions in people, and making this come through in a rendering of a complex character is of infinite help when creating a story that holds the emotions of the reader through their relation to the characters.

kristie911 · Apr 29, 2007

I find myself attached to far too many characters in the books I read. Not only does the character have to be well-written but they have to be in a situation I can relate to. When both those things are done, I'm generally a weepy mess by the end of the book, whether it's tears of happiness for them or tears because they were offed in some horrible way.

chibeth · Apr 29, 2007

I've been dissecting my favorite books recently and have discovered the writers whose characters I connect with most intensely make very skillful use of sequels, and if they're writing in third person, it's in deep third POV.

Oddsocks · Apr 29, 2007

I love it when I get to experience this. For me, this is what being into a story is about. I can't quite pin what it is, but I guess it has something to do with really knowing (and liking, therefore caring about) the characters. So I guess it's a characterisation thing, which troubles me a bit, because I think characterisation is one of my weakest points as a writer.

But it's great when you find yourself actually stressed while you read, and thinking "No, don't go in there/say that/do that/etc!" because you desperately don't want the character to do something when you suspect you know what the consequences of that will be.

Mr. Funktastic · Apr 30, 2007

Elektra said:
Was this by any chance when Sirius died? (I'd say Dumbledore, too, but really, he deserved what he got. He acted like a moron that entire book).

And I'm just getting ready to start reading Harry Potter... Aww.

IrishScribbler · Apr 30, 2007

I'm going through this in my WIP, actually.

I hope the readers feel the same way when they read it!

The Grift · May 1, 2007

Seems to me that if it was that easy to teach someone how to write a character so that people became emotionally attached, then everyone would be a bestseller.

Plot, setting, even writing to an extent...I will forgive failures in those areas if I become attached to even a single character in a book and I will continue reading it and possibly even buy other works by the same author.

NeuroFizz · May 1, 2007

I'd say it's because the author did his/her job. There is no one way to do this, and even well done, a character like this won't resonate with everyone. But if all of the characters who appeal to readers in this way are compared, I think they'd have at least one common characteristic--the author was able to portray them as real people with realistic actions and reactions based on how they were "constructed" for the reader.

Jack Nog · May 1, 2007

Gotta agree with whoever said it. If I get this way, the author did good.

I strive in my writing to reach this point. If I can do this, and make myself way too attached, I'm doing it right.

akiwiguy · May 1, 2007

The Grift said:
Seems to me that if it was that easy to teach someone how to write a character so that people became emotionally attached, then everyone would be a bestseller.

Plot, setting, even writing to an extent...I will forgive failures in those areas if I become attached to even a single character in a book and I will continue reading it and possibly even buy other works by the same author.

I'm similar... really good characterisation will tend to keep me reading almost in spite of plot. Conversely, books with clever plots won't do it for me if the the characterisation is weak. I always thougt Graham Greene was one of my favourite authors in terms of his characters.

Oliveman said:
Let me offer you a piece of advice (for everyone) with regard to surprising characteristics jumping out of a character. This is good! This is why: contradiction within a character breeds complexity. Flat characters are called thus, not because of their unimportance, but because they don't have contradiction in character. The character(s) at the center of your story should be the most complex of all, as it is in the contraction that the reader's connection arises.

I recall reading, eons ago, a fascinating article about human attractiveness to others. Nothing to do with writing, rather real-life. And one of the main characteristics the author had identified in people who seemed attractive to others was paradox. Perhaps why often a guy who is a "rough diamond" is found compelling. Or people who are very strong and successful, yet reveal deep insecurities and vulnerabilities. Or why, talking erotica a lot of guys find the "librarian" image sexy, you know, demure, wearing spectacles, shy, yet very attractive. OK, cliches the way I'm presenting it, but...

NeuroFizz said:
I'd say it's because the author did his/her job. There is no one way to do this, and even well done, a character like this won't resonate with everyone. But if all of the characters who appeal to readers in this way are compared, I think they'd have at least one common characteristic--the author was able to portray them as real people with realistic actions and reactions based on how they were "constructed" for the reader.

Yes, and coupled with the contradiction discussed above, there still needs to be credibility and rationale for a character's behaviour. Unexpected behaviour does have some reason behind it. Something I find myself doing more and more these days is asking myself, why would my character do that? What is it about their background or experiences or whatever that would make them that way? Is the reader going to understand it, or is it simply so irrational as to be implausible? If I can't answer that successfully I generally think it's time for a rethink.

Athame2010 · May 2, 2007

Thank You

Thank you everyone for your input, it has been invaluable. I hope I can achieve what I am trying to accomplish. This was a question for a WIP, and your input has given me lots to work with in regards to making my characters more real. I really want the readers to connect with the characters in some way in my book.
Awsome.
Corinna

Jordygirl · May 21, 2007

You mean like... SPOILER ALERT!! when Melanie dies in Gone With the Wind?
I threw the book against the wall.

I don't quite know what connects us to characters so much, but maybe it's because we can relate to them - they're like actual people to us, not figments of someone's imagination.

justpat · May 21, 2007

So, on a similar note, can a writer be too close to his/her own characters? Did you ever have a character that needed to die, but just couldn't bring yourself to do it?

Thomas White · May 21, 2007

I've only ever felt that close to characters in works written in close third person, when their thoughts are shared with me. Only when I understand their their motives and feelings can I empathise with their situation properly.

The only way I can explain feeling remorse for the loss of other characters, is that I imagine i'm feeling how the main character experiences the loss.

I'd just like to say though, I've never actually cried from reading a book.

ChaosTitan · May 21, 2007

justpat said:
Did you ever have a character that needed to die, but just couldn't bring yourself to do it?

Just recently, actually. But it turned out that by not actually having him die, I paved the way for the MC to "sacrifice" herself for her friends and still survive.

So far that's the only example I have of not killing someone who needed to die. I may be sad or even cry when I write the scene, but in every other instance, if Character X needs to die, he's going to die.

JoNightshade · May 21, 2007

justpat said:
So, on a similar note, can a writer be too close to his/her own characters? Did you ever have a character that needed to die, but just couldn't bring yourself to do it?

Perhaps I am some sort of monster, but I love to kill my characters. The more attached I am, the better. I am a sucker for tragedies and the heart-wrenching death scene. (Note my favorite book.) And I love it when a book moves me enough that I cry-- and I want to be able to evoke that same kind of powerful, bittersweet response from my readers.

Actually, it took me a few years to move beyond ending every story with someone dying. Don't worry, I'm okay now. Really.

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