f a i t h * i n * f i c t i o n: Day 1 of Free Bird - Hero or Protagonist? http://faithinfiction.blogspot.com/2005/...
In much of the fiction I've read there are three things that seem to mark a character who we may not always like, but whom we care about.
1. Self-awareness - Someone who knows they're going bad, but can't help themselves-well, that's most of us if we're honest.
2. Charm - We're always suckers for a laugh, so a rascal with a quick quip (™ Richard Russo) gets many of his sins overlooked. To a point.
3. Reason - Is there an understandable excuse (often emotional pain) that makes us understand the character's behavior.
-Dave Long
Since I have a WIP that rests heavily on creating a main character--Angel(http://angelonthebackpew.blogspot.com)-- that my readers must cheer for, I'm very interested in this discussion. And I have a little bit more to add to it.
I'm trying to create a character who is still reaping from a past mistake she made years ago. For her penance she has dropped all the things she once loved and cared for: her job, the money, the lifestyle, the man, her church, even her family. She has started a new life for herself and her daughter-a product of this past mistake and her saving grace. Then a disaster happens and she is forced to go back to where she was wrong, in order to save her sister-the last person on Earth she wants to save. In fact, in the beginnning I don't won't her to want to help her. I have to put her between a rock and a hard place, so she has to choose the lesser of two evils, upon which is helping her sister.
In the beginning of the novel to the reader Angel has to appear to a certain extent--a selfish unfeeling prick. However, her appeal comes from her endeering love for her daughter, her unconditional love for her mother, her devotion to God and her intelligence. As the story develops the reader will understand why she has become so aloof, so distrusting. However, to reel my reader in I have to throw a few cookie crumbs out there(clues) so that they can continue this quest with her. I even have to throw in a sidekick to bridge the two sisters and guide the reader to Angel's secret. So I hope this mechanic works for my character, since this is my second attempt at writing a sellable novel.
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