How to Get Solid Feedback: The One Paragraph Shred

[Stuart Dren]

They expect it if that's what the story promises. Even then, that can be worked around. You don't need characters who are good, you need characters who are *understandable*. None of the characters in Pulp Fiction are likeable. Leto Atriedes spends most of God Emperor of Dune being a dick, and deliberately. Game of Thrones is full of them.

In fact, The Boys is mostly like that, and the one "good" character is the least interesting one of all.

Well, the cover and blurb play some role in the promises.

I will respectfully disagree with you on this. Yes, the characters in dune and Pulp Fiction are not likeable.

None of the characters in Pulp Fiction are likeable.

Hey hold up. What's unlikeable about Bruce Willis' character? He loves his girlfriend, treats her well, and wants to run away with her after screwing over some gangsters. He jeopardizes this move to go back and get his father's watch out a sense of sentimentality/duty partly magnified by Christopher Walken's story.

 

[Naomasa298]

The Gom Jabbar and Kwitzak (however the fuck you spell it) are on page one or two, the plot line of which has more inertia throughout the series than the Harkonnen plot line, which plays out in book one.

Yes, I mean the Harkonnen invasion, which kicks off the whole Harkonnen vs Atriedes action sequence of the first story.

 

[Naomasa298]

Hey hold up. What's unlikeable about Bruce Willis' character? He loves his girlfriend, treats her well, and wants to run away with her after screwing over some gangsters. He jeopardizes this move to go back and get his father's watch out a sense of sentimentality/duty partly magnified by Christopher Walken's story.

Sorry, I actually meant Reservoir Dogs.

 

[Naomasa298]

But people expect the main character of most ANY work to be good and heroic. I mean, Game of Thrones has Ned Stark as the lead. Imagine if the lead was Cerci or Joffrey? As for understandable, my characters are, but I think readers don't want to admit they relate to these characters.

A Clockwork Orange. American Psycho. Lolita. Breaking Bad?

None of those have likeable or heroic characters.

 

[Homer Potvin]

But people expect the main character of most ANY work to be good and heroic

I don't know about that. If anything, I'd say the current zeitgeist is overloaded with anti-heroes.

But I also think there is some readers who literally don't get it.

Get what? Your ineffable brilliance? Haha... just teasing. Seriously though, you ain't gonna sell anything by blaming the consumer. There's always a middle ground.

 

[Luxuria]

A Clockwork Orange. American Psycho. Lolita. Breaking Bad?

None of those have likeable or heroic characters.

That's fair. But I am going to point out that there seems to be a modern trend of hating the AUTHORS, not the characters of these works. Which is annoying.

I don't know about that. If anything, I'd say the current zeitgeist is overloaded with anti-heroes.

Again, Anti-HEROES. They are still meant to be heroic. My stories tend to just have villains as the main characters, but it's NOT a flipped book of writing it from the villain's POV. It's that this main character is both the main character and does evil things if it suits him.

 

[Luxuria]

Get what? Your ineffable brilliance? Haha... just teasing. Seriously though, you ain't gonna sell anything by blaming the consumer. There's always a middle ground.

I understand that. But I also do think that readers need to understand what they are getting into and be able to understand character nuance and be literate enough that I don't have to spell things out for them like they are kindergardeners.

 

[Homer Potvin]

That's fair. But I am going to point out that there seems to be a modern trend of hating the AUTHORS, not the characters of these works. Which is annoying.

Again, Anti-HEROES. They are still meant to be heroic. My stories tend to just have villains as the main characters, but it's NOT a flipped book of writing it from the villain's POV. It's that this main character is both the main character and does evil things if it suits him.

I don't have to spell things out for them like they are kindergardeners

By what, using all caps so we know which words not to skip? Haha.