12/17/10
Guest Post: Margaret Gelbwasser
Posted In: guest blog
Margaret Gelbwasser
Books:
- Inconvenient
Website | Blog | Buy the Book
In fifteen-year-old Alyssa Bondar’s Russian-Jewish culture, having a few drinks is as traditional as blinchiki and piroshki. So when her mom’s midday cocktails turn into an all-day happy hour, it seems like Alyssa’s the only one who notices—or cares. Her dad is steeped in the nightly news—and denial—and her best friend Lana is too busy trashing their shared Russian heritage so she can be popular.
Alyssa would rather focus on cross-country meets and her first kiss with her running partner, Keith, but someone has to clean up her mom’s mess. But who will be there to catch Alyssa when her mom’s next fall off the wagon threatens to drag her down, too?
I admit it. I’m one of THOSE. The reader who must connect with the MC in the first five pages or I won’t read the book. When I began writing Inconvenient, I didn’t get that. Maybe it was because I had the time to give books a chance and allowed myself chapters to connect with a novel. While revising Inconvenient to get it agent ready, I still didn’t completely understand when—at writing conferences—agents and editors talked about those crucial first pages. I thought they were being unfair. I mean, who decides if a book is worth reading after just ten pages? Then, I had a child and I got it. When you’re inundated with life (and in the cases of agents and editors—life and tons of manuscripts), you’re lucky if you even get to page ten.
However, something new that has come up that I need some enlightenment on is not being able to get through a book because of a supporting character. A character you’re not meant to like in the first place. I’ve encountered this recently with my book as well as others. With mine, it was during a recent interview. The reporter began by saying how much she liked the book and she was surprised she did because she normally didn’t read YA (so I’m hoping I converted her). Then, she kind of hemmed and hawed like she didn’t want to say the next thing. Finally she said, “I didn’t like Lana.” Lana is my MC’s Alyssa’s best friend, and she does not treat Alyssa that well. She’s not supposed to. While I would hope readers would understand why the two are friends and see more than Lana’s insensitivity, I’d be surprised if someone said, “Oh my gosh, Lana was such a doll. I just loved her. She made the book for me.” I’d have to question many things then, including why the reader was so drawn to jerks. (But, hey, if loving Lana made them love my book, it’s all good). Anyway, I told the reporter, “That’s ok. I didn’t like her at times either.” This surprised her and we talked about Lana and the other characters some more.
Another instance was with a writer friend who said he finished a book but hated it because the girls (again, not the MCs), were horrible. And I said, “But, they were SUPPOSED to be horrible.” He said he didn’t care and do teenage girls really act like that (uh, speaking as a former teenage girl, people you think are your friends, can totally be vicious, so yeah they do act like that).
But the conversations got me thinking. Do readers think writers WANT them to like every character, or—and this would be bad—do they think the writer somehow failed if s/he created unlikeable secondary characters. For me, Lana was a girl I’d have fun partying with, but not one I would want for a best friend. However, there were things I did like about her and things I understood about her. Things that never made it into the book because they weren’t important to the story. As writers, we know more about the characters than readers will ever know because little facts—while not interesting enough to put in a book (e.g. a character’s favorite breakfast or favorite locker item)–reveal personality traits that shape the character readers do see.
I have yet to read a book where a secondary character’s obnoxiousness makes me want to stop reading. Usually, their behavior serves as a catalyst for another event or a means for the MC to show her inner strength. To be honest, this topic scares me a little. That antagonists can deter someone from reading a book is something that never crossed my mind. Because what do we as writers do? We need foils for the MCs and we want to make likeable main characters but now we need likeable jerks too? Maybe there’s just a fine line between mean and despicable?
What are your thoughts? Have you ever read a book where you loved the MC but another character’s reprehensible behavior made the book a difficult read and took away from your enjoyment? How about you writers? Do you ever think whether your antagonists’ flaws will repel readers too much?
Related posts:
- Author Guest Post: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
- Guest Post: Steph Su
- Guest Post: Ellen Hopkins
- Guest Post: Christina Gonzalez
- Guest Post: John from Dreaming In Books
18 Comments
-
I love reading about a well developed antagonist. Jerks don't turn me off with their jerky behavior. After all, if everyone was nice in the book, then where's the conflict?
Some of the most memorable characters are villains. Mrs. Coulter from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy always stands out to me. She is a positively awful woman. There is nothing redeemable about her as a person. Yet as a character, she's top notch.
The only time I'll be turned off from an antagonist is if they're too "stock evil." There is no depth, no life in the character beyond the fact that we're just told they're evil. That's more just bad character development than the fact that they're an antagonist.
What I dislike is when an author creates a character I feel I'm supposed to like, but I don't. This can be kind of confusing with a best friend character who it seems the author intends you to like, but they aren't very likable. I wonder then why the MC likes them and if it's really bad, then I may even think less of the MC for associating with the unlikable best friend.
Even a little line from the MC saying something along the lines of, "I know my friend can be mean/superficial/backstabbing/etc, but I like them anyway because of X" But better written, of course.
Something like that communicates to me that the author doesn't intend for you to like everything about the character, but they also give you a reason to look beyond the less appealing characteristics. Like antagonists, it is realistic for best friends and other secondary characters to be imperfect. Not every best friend is steadfastly loyal and amazing, but they can still be worthwhile friends. As a reader, I just need to know that the author knows full well those are unattractive qualities, but also shines a light on some of the character's more redeemable traits.
There are also some traits that cross the line for a best friend type secondary character. I can accept certain characteristics, but if the best friend is doing something I find especially offensive, I'm going to have a hard time being ok with that. I read one book where the best friend secretly dated the MC's crush for a year and that completely turned me off to her. That might be an acceptable behavior for a villain, but it is not cool for a best friend.
-
I love reading about a well developed antagonist. Jerks don't turn me off with their jerky behavior. After all, if everyone was nice in the book, then where's the conflict?
Some of the most memorable characters are villains. Mrs. Coulter from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy always stands out to me. She is a positively awful woman. There is nothing redeemable about her as a person. Yet as a character, she's top notch.
The only time I'll be turned off from an antagonist is if they're too "stock evil." There is no depth, no life in the character beyond the fact that we're just told they're evil. That's more just bad character development than the fact that they're an antagonist.
What I dislike is when an author creates a character I feel I'm supposed to like, but I don't. This can be kind of confusing with a best friend character who it seems the author intends you to like, but they aren't very likable. I wonder then why the MC likes them and if it's really bad, then I may even think less of the MC for associating with the unlikable best friend.
Even a little line from the MC saying something along the lines of, "I know my friend can be mean/superficial/backstabbing/etc, but I like them anyway because of X" But better written, of course.
Something like that communicates to me that the author doesn't intend for you to like everything about the character, but they also give you a reason to look beyond the less appealing characteristics. Like antagonists, it is realistic for best friends and other secondary characters to be imperfect. Not every best friend is steadfastly loyal and amazing, but they can still be worthwhile friends. As a reader, I just need to know that the author knows full well those are unattractive qualities, but also shines a light on some of the character's more redeemable traits.
There are also some traits that cross the line for a best friend type secondary character. I can accept certain characteristics, but if the best friend is doing something I find especially offensive, I'm going to have a hard time being ok with that. I read one book where the best friend secretly dated the MC's crush for a year and that completely turned me off to her. That might be an acceptable behavior for a villain, but it is not cool for a best friend.
-
Great post! I loved INCONVENIENT! It should be on everyones 'To Read' list!
-
Great post! I loved INCONVENIENT! It should be on everyones 'To Read' list!
-
I reckon the problem comes where you have an unsympathetic character – even one who is SUPPOSED to be unsympathetic – who happens to push your buttons, as a reader. Instead of mildly disliking the character or finding them annoying, like the writer intended, they remind you irresistably of someone in real life who made you miserable, or some event that left you devastated and you HATE them. You react to them as if they were the main antagonist.
But they're not. They're not that important. The actual narrative of the book (rather than the one in your head) isn't focused on them, and when it just leaves them behind instead of extracting bloody punishment from them, you feel angry and cheated and the book is ruined for you.
So…that's my diganosis.
-
I reckon the problem comes where you have an unsympathetic character – even one who is SUPPOSED to be unsympathetic – who happens to push your buttons, as a reader. Instead of mildly disliking the character or finding them annoying, like the writer intended, they remind you irresistably of someone in real life who made you miserable, or some event that left you devastated and you HATE them. You react to them as if they were the main antagonist.
But they're not. They're not that important. The actual narrative of the book (rather than the one in your head) isn't focused on them, and when it just leaves them behind instead of extracting bloody punishment from them, you feel angry and cheated and the book is ruined for you.
So…that's my diganosis.
-
I your responses. Really interesting! Small Review, the situation you describe about the bff sleeping with her friend's boyfriend is really strange to me–in the sense of why it was there. Did it seem in that book you were supposed to like the bff or were her actions meant for you to dislike her and a means for the MC to realize this girl is poor excuse for a best friend and help her see she doesn't need her? Or did you feel the betrayal did nothing to make the MC grow? Just curious.
And, Zoe, I think what your wrote makes a lot of sense. It's something I've thought about too. We don't read in a vacuum so we usually bring our own experiences into a novel and it may not be fair, but that's how it is. There's one book I read (award-winning and highly acclaimed) that I thought was very well-written and I finished it (because this was back in the day when I finished books with characters who annoyed me), but the MC just bothered me so much and while this book is considered amazing by many, I can't really recommend it because of my own issues with the MC (I felt she was manipulative and played the victim when she could have changed her life and I find it hard to deal with people like that). My best friend, however, LOVED the book and thought the MC brave and complex. Granted, this was the MC but I think the same can apply to the supporting cast.
Thanks so much, ladies, for sharing your thought-provoking opinions!
-
I your responses. Really interesting! Small Review, the situation you describe about the bff sleeping with her friend's boyfriend is really strange to me–in the sense of why it was there. Did it seem in that book you were supposed to like the bff or were her actions meant for you to dislike her and a means for the MC to realize this girl is poor excuse for a best friend and help her see she doesn't need her? Or did you feel the betrayal did nothing to make the MC grow? Just curious.
And, Zoe, I think what your wrote makes a lot of sense. It's something I've thought about too. We don't read in a vacuum so we usually bring our own experiences into a novel and it may not be fair, but that's how it is. There's one book I read (award-winning and highly acclaimed) that I thought was very well-written and I finished it (because this was back in the day when I finished books with characters who annoyed me), but the MC just bothered me so much and while this book is considered amazing by many, I can't really recommend it because of my own issues with the MC (I felt she was manipulative and played the victim when she could have changed her life and I find it hard to deal with people like that). My best friend, however, LOVED the book and thought the MC brave and complex. Granted, this was the MC but I think the same can apply to the supporting cast.
Thanks so much, ladies, for sharing your thought-provoking opinions!
-
The best friend was dating the MC's crush, not her boyfriend. The MC had liked the guy for years and her best friend of course knew this. Then the bff met up with the crush and they started dating behind the MC's back.
I can't say for certain whether we were supposed to dislike the bff. I guess only the author can answer that. I didn't get the impression we were supposed to dislike her though. It seemed more like the message here was that if the MC were less selfish (the issue she resolved by the end of the book), then the friend wouldn't have been "forced" to date the guy in secret.
The guy ended up being a jerk and so the bff broke up with him shortly after the MC found out they were dating. Because he was a jerk, the MC was also less upset about her friend dating him.
It was all kind of strange. I think the lesson could have been accomplished in a clearer manner and with a less skuzzy bff. Breaking the friend code like that just doesn't sit well for me.
-
The best friend was dating the MC's crush, not her boyfriend. The MC had liked the guy for years and her best friend of course knew this. Then the bff met up with the crush and they started dating behind the MC's back.
I can't say for certain whether we were supposed to dislike the bff. I guess only the author can answer that. I didn't get the impression we were supposed to dislike her though. It seemed more like the message here was that if the MC were less selfish (the issue she resolved by the end of the book), then the friend wouldn't have been "forced" to date the guy in secret.
The guy ended up being a jerk and so the bff broke up with him shortly after the MC found out they were dating. Because he was a jerk, the MC was also less upset about her friend dating him.
It was all kind of strange. I think the lesson could have been accomplished in a clearer manner and with a less skuzzy bff. Breaking the friend code like that just doesn't sit well for me.
-
Huh. Yes, that would bother me too. Seems like the thing the MC and her BFF should have done is talked about it. But I guess where would the drama have been then? Haha.
-
Huh. Yes, that would bother me too. Seems like the thing the MC and her BFF should have done is talked about it. But I guess where would the drama have been then? Haha.
-
I have read some books where I "hated" one character… If the MC manages to confront him/her, I love to hate this character
But in the other way… I'm generally annoyed… I'm kind of protective with MC I like ^^ -
I have read some books where I "hated" one character… If the MC manages to confront him/her, I love to hate this character
But in the other way… I'm generally annoyed… I'm kind of protective with MC I like ^^ -
Kristi, great review. This book seems to be wonderful.
Too bad, that I have many books to read. But then maybe not buy on Amazon. -
Kristi, great review. This book seems to be wonderful.
Too bad, that I have many books to read. But then maybe not buy on Amazon. -
To draw from JK Rowling…
My favorite of the Harry Potter series was the Order of the Phoenix becuase of Dolores Umbridge (sp??)–a totally ruthless, annoying, irritating woman. She got under my skin and I couldn't stop reading!
-
To draw from JK Rowling…
My favorite of the Harry Potter series was the Order of the Phoenix becuase of Dolores Umbridge (sp??)–a totally ruthless, annoying, irritating woman. She got under my skin and I couldn't stop reading!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Currently Reading
Surrenderby Elana Johnson
The companion novel to the dystopian novel Possession. Get ready to meet Raine and Gunner!
Contests
comments