how do you make your characters likeable + "voice"

That's both a very broad question, and not giving us much to go on. It's hard to advise how to fix something when we don't know what the exact problem is.

What specifically have people said they didn't like about your characters? Were they too passive, too mean, too whiny, or just not interesting because they didn't really do much to push the plot forward?

I had a bit of a problem with my MC's love interest, because she was a bit bland, a bit passive, a bit... nice. She doesn't snark or toss off humorous one liners, she doesn't hold very controversial opinions or do exciting things. She's an innocent thrust into a dangerous world, doing her best to learn fast and dodge the punches, while also trying to protect the people she cares for. Which was kinda boring, really.

So, after various bits of feedback I've been trying to add depth to her character, make her more active, get her involved in the plot, doing the exciting things that she was just watching and reacting to before. I can't say she's all that memorable a character still, but she's at least a bit less bland

So what's the issue with your characters?

"Voice" is an elusive thing. I'm not sure you can consciously control it. Like "style," I mostly recall hearing the word from new writers who didn't like my critique. Then, I ruined their "voice" or their "style," blah blah blah.

Anyway, if this agent is offering to re-consider it if you make changes, that's one thing. Otherwise, it's still just one person's opinion.

One general rule type thing I recall hearing is to save the delicious bitchiness for a secondary character, not the MC. We have to like the MC enough to care what happens to her/him and want to keep reading. There are exceptions, though, as always.

This is a very broad question, as Kallithrix said.

In general, to make people like your characters, you need to give them goals and obstacles that are relatable and sympathetic, and to portray their emotions in a way that seems authentic. It's also important to note that characters that aren't completely likable (as in deeply flawed, even not terribly nice), can be interesting and relatable to readers.

As to voice, are you talking about having an overarching voice that permeates everything you write, or are you talking about something that's more unique to a given character or narrator?

JackieS said:

This was from an agent who just said, "your MC has to be more likeable." I think she is sassy, snarky and loving. But we all know we have blinders when it comes to our own WIP. I was just wondering what strategies you guys might have developed in sketching your stories.

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Sassy and snarky to you might come off as negative, hypercritical and bitchy to the reader. This is where betas can come in handy.

Smart ass comebacks can be a blast to write, but you have to think about what it's really like to be around someone who is constantly laying on the snark. They might be funny but too much of a good thing can be exhausting, especially if they're constantly trying to seem clever at everybody else's expense and refusing to self-deprecate or unable to enjoy a joke that's at their expense.

However, I think it's much more effective to put your character in a high-stakes situation that will leave the reader rooting for her than it is to paste on "likable" character traits.

As a reader (or audience member), I can tell you what makes a character unlikable to me personally - the MC being an archetype instead of a well-rounded person with no life beyond their cause, or a lack of emotional range. Since this is what makes a character unlikable to me, I try and avoid this with my MCs.

My protagonist for my one completed novel is an out-of-work vet who's just moved halfway across the world to figure out what he should do with the rest of his life in a new country with new possibilities (a huge deal, as this is in the year 1721). While he does feel depressed and cast aside after having lost the only two jobs he ever wanted in life, he also experiences the excitement of new possibilities, and bittersweet nostalgia as he visits one of his old haunts before his voyage. I didn't want him to always be brooding about what he lost and the embarrassment he feels - that's a turn-off for me, so I'd imagine it would be a turn-off to someone else.

Also, I gave him hobbies. He likes to read books, and he really enjoys card games - he's not good at them, but he likes to play them simply because he enjoys them. It's a small thing, but it's something to humanize him a bit more. (I did end up making the card game thing a plot point - he becomes friends with a frequent opponent at the card tables, who ends up becoming a key ally in the third act.)

I have another MC for an in-progress fantasy series about a young knight traveling the continent...who's also the in-universe equivalent of a comic book collector and fanboy. He even wears a pendant of his favorite hero around his neck.

I can't say whether any of this will make these characters likable to anyone else, but it definitely made them more likable to me, and therefore easier and more fun to write.

I have always received positive feedback on my characters (at least I'm getting something right!). I don't know how other writers do it, but I tend to start with a basic personality archetype (dark and brooding, inquisitive, white knight, arrogant SOB, tough as nails, etc.) and then layer on a couple other traits (optimist/pessimist, charismatic, snarky, depressed, manic, etc.), then I sprinkle an interest or two (scientist, avid reader, sports, recreational drug use, etc.).

The main character for my short story "In the Field Alone" is a grizzled Sergeant for the Imperial Marines. He is a tough as nails type: no-nonsense, accomplish-the-mission-at-all-costs, dry humour. However, it will eventually be revealed that he was a gardener before being conscripted, and he really abhors war and is a pacifist at heart (but the threat to humanity's survival trumps being a flower child). So far, those who have read him in action seem to like him.

I have another character who is a brilliant computer scientist struggling with a major heroin addiction. He also likes to play blackjack (even though he almost never wins), and it is pretty much the only socialization he gets, since he's a dedicated lab rat.

I like to pepper my characters with conflicting edges to their personalities and interests, as I find that most people in the real world are like that. Everyone has flaws, everyone has quirky little hobbies.

As far as "voice," that is a pretty broad thing. I have a rather loose voice and I am working with my editor to tighten it up. When I figure out some tricks to do that, I'll let you know!

I don't think you should rely on things like sassy and snarky for likability. What determines whether a character is likable (for me, at least), is what they do to achieve their goals in the story and how they react etc.

TBH I think likability is a silly word. We shouldn't have the need to write characters who we would be friends with. Interesting characters are better.

Devil Ledbetter said:

Sassy and snarky to you might come off as negative, hypercritical and bitchy to the reader. This is where betas can come in handy.

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+1, with the caveat that this can vary by reader; some characters other people love, I can't stand.

My suggestion would be to get your post count up, then post a sample in SYW. It's really hard to determine what the problem is, or if there is one, without seeing it ourselves; it could be that this particular agent doesn't like the kind of character you write, or you could have a real issue in which the character you thought was sassy and clever is coming across like a heartless jerk who gets off on cutting others down with her smart-ass remarks.

Generally speaking, there has to be something in a character that a reader can connect with. Does your MC have this, or is she just firing off one-liners at others' expense, entirely lacking in empathy? Is her snark just her being her, or is it her defense mechanism against a cruel world, a way to keep people at arm's length so they don't notice how vulnerable or wounded she is at heart? Is this all there is to her - sitting around being snarky and sassy - or is she actually doing something interesting, something the reader might care about?

How many people are saying that your protagonist is unlikeable? Not everyone is going to like every character.

JackieS said:

This was from an agent who just said, "your MC has to be more likeable." I think she is sassy, snarky and loving. But we all know we have blinders when it comes to our own WIP. I was just wondering what strategies you guys might have developed in sketching your stories.

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At a guess, the agent saw only the snark. So, try reducing the snark and playing up the loving.

"Likability" isn't what's important. And I wouldn't get too literal with the idea that you have to make your character be more likable and pleasant... It's the character being sympathetic. It's about making sure the reader can get into their head. That doesn't mean the character has to be weak, or even nice. But you have to let the reader understand enough of their fears, hopes, and motivations so that they can find themselves emotionally invested.

The best example I have is Austen's Emma. Though I hate Jane Austen for a variety of reasons, Emma is a brilliantly crafted narrative. We have a Main Character who is generally despicable. She's controlling, petty, juvenile, and doesn't really show any substantial growth. Yet--the audience gets invested in the story, and it's a classic.. why?

Because at three points (evenly spaced within the novel), Austen goes into Emma's point of view to show us that she's actually a frightened, insecure woman trying to do what she things is right. Austen uses that deft narrative step beyond the third-person into Emma's mind to make a generally dislike-able character more sympathetic. It doesn't make her likable, but it makes her readable. That window into her mind helps the readers to care what happens to the little prat.

So perhaps, look at your character in that light. Do you show his/her motivations and fears enough? Maybe it's adding some more backstory, or personal narrative, a light handed uses of "downcast eyes" in this situation, or "quietly clenching her fists" in another.

I don't even try to make characters likeable. Unlikeable is bad, but readers do not have to like your MC. Readers do, however, need to have empathy for them, and this is not at all the same thing as liking them.

Sassy an snarky can be good, if aimed at the right other characters, but bad if aimed at those who don't deserve it.

What is it about this character that would make you want her as a close friend?

JackieS said:

This was from an agent who just said, "your MC has to be more likeable." I think she is sassy, snarky and loving. But we all know we have blinders when it comes to our own WIP. I was just wondering what strategies you guys might have developed in sketching your stories.

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Too much sass and too much snark can become tedious. I think the agent may want you to cut back on that a wee bit and give her some positive qualities. Maybe show your character doing something sacrificial or give her a deep wound or sadness, anything to relieve the negative vibe the agent seems to be getting from your character.

I won't even touch 'voice' because it's such an elusive quality to pin down.

I don't think likable is the key word (at least not to me). To me it's always about how real the characters feel. If they are not results of character traits but are instead organic beings born from their hardships and happy moments, I feel for them. And if I feel for them, I can relate to the characters' adventure.

I actually like antiheroes the most, and those aren't often likable. They are proactive, and try to do the right thing despite how terrible people they might be or what terrible deeds they might have done in the past.

Show us what they love and why they love it. Empathy is key.

JackieS said:

This was from an agent who just said, "your MC has to be more likeable."

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Why don't you ask the agent what (s)he meant?

guttersquid said:

Why don't you ask the agent what (s)he meant?

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Agents generally don't encourage a dialogue once a rejection has been issued. This is one of the chief reasons why many agents offer nothing beyond a form rejection.

I agree that really the agent just said, "the character should be better." Without further information, that's useless.

And just like in real life, the character one reader feels nothing for might make the next reader fall in love. I think you have to try the character out on a number of readers. If they *all* come back and say, "she has to be more likeable," you have a problem. If most of them come back and say, "she was a sassy, snarky hoot!" then the issue was with the agent.

J.R.R. Tolkien was rather taken aback when one reviewer called Frodo "despicable." One can't say that someone's opinion is wrong, but that particular criticism is certainly not the majority viewpoint.

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