We all know what it’s like – a friend recommends this subversive new movie that’s absolutely going to shake up the film industry with the director’s creative genius and artistic flair! You find it online after searching through four different streaming platforms for the one niche provider still willing to throw a few bucks towards an arthouse production. You grab a snack, turn off the lights, pop some popcorn and get ready to have your entire cultural paradigm shifted.

Except you only get about twenty minutes in and you have to turn it off. The main character is such a jerk and completely detestable. Every scene is like listening to nails scratching chalkboard and they treat everyone around them like utter garbage without any pushback or confrontation. People bend over backwards to appease them which only makes them even more insufferable to watch. 

And that’s why I won’t sit through The Order of the Phoenix. 

I’m sure we’ve all read stories where the main character is not heroic. I mean, I would hope we all have. Variety is the spice of life and we don’t want every single tale to be some noble King Arthur riding around with his unwavering knights to banish evil at every turn. I actually like a good anti-hero. I particularly enjoy reading stories from morally questionable characters. I mean my favourite fantasy series is Thieves’ World. And it’s right there in the name – they’re all thieves! Well, mostly. It doesn’t really matter. 

My point is that you should write a likable character.

Sure, that may seem like it’s flying in the face of my previous paragraph. Why can others write complete heels and jerks but I have to be stuck with the goody-goody law abiders? Well, first, I didn’t say that. I said your character should be likable. Second, I didn’t even say it should be your protagonist. 

But it probably wouldn’t hurt if it was. 

You see, most people are going to want to cheer for their principal character. Generally we only get behind people that we like. This isn’t always the case and there are certainly stories that follow the redemption of terrible people or even them simply getting their comeuppance. These are a little harder to manage so if it’s early days in your writing journey, do be conscious that you’re choosing a more difficult task while still trying to hammer down the basics. But even if you do choose to have a real jerk of a protagonist, I implore you that you need a prominent secondary character that isn’t. And the sooner you introduce that character, the better. 

In this day and age, you really have to compete for readers and eyeballs. And you’re not just competing against a massive library of past and present literary works. You’ve got film, television, telephones and video games all vying for the recreational time of the broader populace. If you don’t provide something to really grab your reader, they’re apt to simply put your book down and go off to something that’s more enjoyable. They won’t stick around for your hard wrought narrative of whatever fate befalls your detestable protagonist and they won’t enjoy the payoff for having to sit through their unpleasantness. 

So you need to give them a reason to keep with your story. A promise, if you will, that you’re aware things may not be immediately gratifying but they don’t need to worry – you know what you’re doing and you will deliver them that massive payoff in the end if they stick with it. 

And there is no better demonstration than giving them the juxtaposition of an utterly contemptible person with a charming, good natured and witty foil. Be sure to let them know that early and clearly.

So, when considering your cast of characters, ask yourself:

Is my protagonist sufficiently likable/relatable that my reader is going to want to continue reading to find out what happens to them?

If not, do I have some supporting character that my reader can be a cheerleader for?

Am I introducing this likable character early enough that I’ll secure my reader’s trust before the commercial break ends and they go off to watch whatever new Marvel tv show is making the rounds in social media?