What do you feel are the qualities of a 'good' character, and a 'bad' character, in writing?

Question

In reading a novel, you either like or dislike a character. Sometimes, the qualities of a character completely ruin the story for you. So, in summary, what qualities do you believe makes a good character? And what qualities do you believe makes a bad character?

Thanks!

~ Billet x

Answer 1

I'm with DNA, I don't simply like or dislike a character. They have redeemable and irredeemable qualities/flaws like real people. A character's likability has nothing to do with their moral fabric, for me personally. I happen to favor anti-heroes and anti-villains because they are as hypocritical, inconsistent, and indecisive as a real person. Their moral compass can point North one moment and South the next. They act on either spectrum of the extreme because the ever-changing situation calls for adaptability. And humans are, essentially, creatures that adapt regularly to their immediate situations.



The only attributes that make a character "bad" or unlikable are:

1) One-dimensional characterizations and

2) Polar extremes with no redeemable qualities (Mary Sue or Dr. Evil)



Otherwise I find myself very much enjoying the "bad" characters as much as the "good."

Answer 2

I disagree that we either like or dislike a character; that's a bit too black and white for me. It's this depth that makes me empathise with a character, which we should be able to do with all characters, even antagonists. The example that springs to mind is Mayor Prentiss from the Chaos Walking series, whose actions I sometimes hated, but he overall was a well-constructed character.



I can't stand it when a character is arrogant in a novel and remains that way throughout. It just takes away any like-ability I may have had for that character. I like determination in a character, but generally as long as a character develops over the book, I'll like them.

A bad character? I don't really like the idea of a character being wronged in some way, and therefore becomes an antagonist. It's getting a bit too done.

In dystopian novels particularly, I really dislike it when the female lead is beautiful and strong and every other complimentary adjective. A lot of female characters are cut with the same mould now; of course there are ones who are realistic.

Answer 3

Qualities Of A Good Character

Answer 4

I feel that bad characters are always too [insert adjective here]. Too something. Too confident. Too "cool."



Even in reality, no one is too anything. In middle school, people used to call me, "too nice." Even though, for the most part, I am, I can be passive aggressive sometimes XD If I feel you've been rude to me, and you're trying to find out something - such as a due date for a school project - I might not go out of my way to tell you what you want to know. I WATCH YOU SUFFER



But even then, humans are complicated. Sometimes if I do the above, I feel guilty and tell people what they want to know anyway (which is most of the time. WHAT A WEAKLING I AM). Humans are hypocritical too. For example - giving advice you don't follow yourself.



Good characters are complicated. They're changing. Their key characteristics can be affected by stressful or euphoric events. New knowledge or experiences can continuously alter their personality.



Back to the bad characters. Let's say we have a character named Mark. An inexperienced writer may think, "Mark is a rude person." Okay, Mark is rude. But Mark isn't necessarily rude every time he communicates with other people. Inexperienced writers may think, "If he isn't being rude, he's not actually Mark because I'm not depicting him correctly." When you let the characteristics define your character - how can they develop? In real life, the questions we'd have to ask are - Is Mark conscious of his rudeness? If not, why isn't he (don't people react to it or doesn't anyone discipline him)? Does he want to change how rude he is? Is Mark going through a hard time? Bad characters don't take these complex questions into consideration.

Answer 5

Good~

Nice

Brave

Smart

Funny

Caring

Helpful





Bad~

Mean

Dumb

Rude

Boring

Selfish

Answer 6

I read a lot of young adult books and there seems to be this new trend where the girl MC is useless, dumb, gets herself into dangerous situations, everyone loves her and thinks she's brave & special when she isn't, and THE WORST THING is when she obsesses over her love interest for the entire book.

I like characters that are all-around nice people despite any faults they have. (and they need to have SOME faults or they are just not believable)

Preferably I like characters who kick bad guy butt.

Answer 7

First thing, obviously, is realistic characteristics. No one likes a "perfect" character.

Personally, I like female characters who are independent and kick ass, but can still be a "normal" girl: liking fashion/etc, falling in love, being feminine/cute. I also like male characters who are virgins. Lol it's just cute to me. I hate man whores. I also like male characters to be sweet, kind, and funny, basically what I'm looking for in a future husband haha. ^^ The sexy Heathcliff thing is so overdone. Stop stealing his style. He and Catherine were made for each other because they were both horrible spoiled, selfish brats. There I go on a Wuthering Heights rant again.

Answer 8

In this question I suppose the "good "means attractive ... if this presumption is correct then my answer is actually what we term morally bad is apt to be attractive in fiction, yes no doubt that morally good is also attractive. Look at an example : I like Harry Potter most, not only he is brave and all that, but also for his ability to lie quickly+ for his short temper +for his uncombed hair + for his occasionally teasing manner +and at last for his devilishly accurate observation power. This bad things make him seem real and believable.

So bad is actually good

Answer 9

I will like any character who is, in the beginning, unaware of their flaws and grows to realize them, and eventually overcome them. No matter the flaw, this is what makes a good character. If a character is a *****, they need to be self-aware and own that bitchiness.I have more respect for them, or people in real life, when someone is aware of their personality and not pretending to be anything but. So, that goes into me not standing fake people--like sluts who call other girls sluts (maybe it makes them feel better about their slutiness).



Which goes to my next point: A bad character is one who acts oblivious to his or her behavior and is, more often than not, a hypocritical piece of ****. The worst offenders in literature are Zoey Redbird and Bella Swan.

Answer 10

Any character with "unique" characteristics is appealing. Say for example he`s a broken man who`s lost everything and has nothing to lose.... That is boring, rehashed and been done almost as many times as someones said ****. He blinks on average four times in succession and berates himself constantly for his self described idiotic quirks..... That is unique and therefore grabs you (the reader's) attention.

Answer 11

Are we talking "good" versus "evil", or "well constructed" versus "a poor excuse for a character"?



If good versus evil:



I am of the belief that neither of these concepts exist, in the most extreme definitions that are generally attributed to these words. Like Sirius Black once told Harry, the world isn't divided between good people and Death Eaters. There are always grey areas. If you watch Mad Men, Don Draper is a fantastic example of this. In Harry Potter, there's pretty much every character, ever. Lord Voldemort, even. JK Rowling provided him with a back story to give him depth-- because a real person is not a flat, evil person or a flat, good person. For this reason, she did the same with Dumbledore. Throughout the books, he's just this awesome, almost god-like character who does nothing wrong. Gradually, we come to see that he can mistakes, as well. In book 5, he ignores Harry, which turns out to have a catastrophic result. And in book 7, we learn about his past and how he blames himself for his sister's death.



If well constructed versus poor excuse for a character:



This sort of ties in with my previous answer. Real people are not entirely good, nor entirely evil, nor entirely intelligent, nor entirely loyal, nor entirely without their price, etc. Therefore, among other things, a well constructed character needs their strengths as well as weaknesses. Hermione was built to be a know-it-all who trusts nothing but facts and evidence. Luna was built to trust in faith. They each prove and disprove the other's beliefs. Luna and her father believe that the prized horn mounted on the wall of their home is that of the mythical crumple-horned snorckack. Hermione knows they don't exist and that it is, in fact, the explosive horn of an erumpant, and this is proved when it explodes and sets the house on fire. However, Hermione refuses to believe that a set of fairy tales could be true, that the deathly hallows can exist-- after all, it is the Lovegoods who trust they exist, and Xenophilius who wears the mark around his neck. But obviously, she is proved wrong, because they do exist.



Well constructed characters obviously need a lot of other things, as well, like a purpose to the story in general, something that drives them, people they love and people they hate, something that they feel defines them...



And to answer your question about what about a character ruins the story for me, I guess it has more to do with poor writing in general. But when you see it in the characters, I guess it's the writer's inability to construct a realistic character that turns me off of a story more than the character itself being unlikable. There should be a purpose to him/her being unlikable, and if the plot is interesting, I won't abandon it because of a character I'm probably supposed to dislike. If I'm not supposed to dislike him/her, like in the case of Bella Swan or maybe Sherlock in the BBC series (with the epically named Benedict Cumberbatch), then it will almost definitely turn me off of the story altogether. I've really tried to watch Sherlock... but I really can't get into it. Sherlock just annoys me.



I feel like this answer was a little all over the place... sorry about that :o

Answer 12

I like complicated character with a lot of interesting baggage for me to unpack as I get to know them.

Answer 13

Depth.