Two weeks without a post? Good googly moogly. When I goes off the wagon I goes hard.
I’d like to talk about writing likable characters. I was inspired by a description of a sleazy movie directed by a cool auteur in his younger days, how it got unusually good reviews for soft porn, that specifically mentioned likable characters. That’s something his later works had as well. He’s got an advantage over a novelist because he’s equipped with actors – or as i call them, professional charisma-havers – but his writing and directing do count for something there.
There’s this bullshit kiddies are into these days which is characters lacking in all redeeming qualities. Amateur writers sayin “Look at my guy, he’s such a piece of shit asshole motherfucker, i love him.” Cool, but will anybody else?
I even think there’s a place for that and it’s probably fine. I just think that the ability to write likable characters is much more impressive. Writing a jerk is easy. Successfully threading the needle of charisma, that’s somethin’ else.
That said, the most likable character in my recent work Josefina and Blasfemia vs The Wall of Ice was probably the mute homunculus.
I just don’t have the time to do this properly, to make the thesis strong, and I know you’re gonna shit all over me in the comments, oh, my favorite fictional guy is an asshole, how dare you say i’m not allowed to like assholes, rabble rabble. Whatever, im right and ur wrong.
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Not long ago, I read about the rise and fall of the antihero. A few years back, every main character was an anti-hero; unlikable and an all-around jerk. Audiences got tired of the all-jerk-all-the-time trope.