Sympathetic Characters

 It’s not unusual to come away from a family reunion or alumni dinner so struck by someone’s eccentricities that you wag your head and say with a chuckle, “She’s a character.” But that’s not entirely true. You really mean that the stand-out is peculiar; her personal qualities are so over overdrawn that we are bound to laugh, but this doesn’t make her a character. It would be more accurate to say she is a caricature.

Caricatures belong in Sunday comics or editorial cartoons, but not in the novel you’re writing. Our knowledge of a caricature is superficial, certainly not the basis for a meaningful relationship, while we get to know a character in sufficient depth to appreciate that person’s true identity. Readers want the protagonists of our stories to be well-rounded, credible characters. 

Dean Koontz observes, “If there is not a character one can like and toward whom one can feel sympathetic, then readers will not care what happens next in the story.”[1] He then identifies five qualities that a character needs for readers to care about her:  

Virtue. He defines this as basic moral understanding. A virtuous person recognizes the difference between right and wrong and consistently chooses to do what’s right.

Competence. “The average reader has an extremely difficult time identifying with and caring about lead characters who are nothing more than ineffective, whimpering victims of fate” (141).

Courage. Lead characters face difficult and frightening situations, trusting that they will find the wisdom and strength to confront each situation in a mature way.

Likeability. Is the lead character someone the reader would like to have as a friend? “He should show kindness, consideration, and concern for those around him…” (142).

Imperfections. Yes, genuine heroes have weaknesses and flaws, and our lead characters should not pretend to be otherwise.

Readers want sympathetic characters, subjects they can like, individuals with whom they can emotionally share the story. Too often we try so hard to draw the unique profile of a character that we make her a caricature instead. Recall the people of the old Seinfeld TV series. Nearly all were caricatures: Kramer skidding through the door, Elaine demonstrating her spasmodic dance, George obsessing over his failed attempts at flirting, and so on. Would we sympathize with any of them? Probably not. They were good for a laugh, but not for a life that anyone would want to emulate. 

Now recall the protagonist of a recent novel that you enjoyed. How does that person measure up to the five qualities of a sympathetic character, as Dean Koontz described them? How about the lead character of your current work in progress?

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[1]Dean R. Koontz, How to Write Best-Selling Fiction (Cincinnati: Writers Digest, 1981), 139.