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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/30772
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As far as I understood from my readings, relatability seems to be one of the most important aspects of a good story. A relatable character is a character that makes the reader say _"I know that feel, bro..."_ and thus creating a connection between the reader and the character, and consequently also the work this character belongs to.

To achieve such relatability, the writer needs to make such character just like the reader, either in most part or in some way. That's where my problem lies: I don't want to do that. My character is not like the reader and is actually unlikely that someone like this character would be reading it. That's because I don't have the intention of making this character relatable. Instead, I just want to tell the reader a story, either if it's similar to some readers or not similar at all.

But is it a good idea to "just tell a story"? Can a work be well received even without being relatable, if the story is good enough? If the answer is "no" to any of these, why?

Original score: 6