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Q&A How can I make my anti-heroic protagonist more likable?

Galastel had a fantastic answer. Make them likeable by making them human, "giving them a soul." No person, no matter how unlikeable, is grumpy and hates everything. (Example, Dolores Umbridge, fr...

posted 6y ago by Sarah Stark‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T09:27:23Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/37797
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Sarah Stark‭ · 2019-12-08T09:27:23Z (about 5 years ago)
Galastel had a fantastic answer.

Make them likeable by making them human, "giving them a soul." No person, no matter how unlikeable, is grumpy and hates everything. (Example, Dolores Umbridge, from the Harry Potter series. She sucks! Most people hate her. But she'd likely show a soft spot for a kitten or something. A love of animals (cats specifically) is a relatable quality.) There are things that your MC will get upset/emotional about, or things that make them smile or make them more relatable as a person, or at least more realistic.

This can all be done through subtle details (what draws your MC's attention? how do these things make them feel?) Your character doesn't have to be universally beloved, but if MC has absolutely no likeable qualities, consider developing them further before moving on with your story.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-07-23T11:34:57Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 2