You can kill the spell of identification just as easily as you
can create it-if you lose the readers' sympathy for the character.
You can lose reader sympathy by having your character commit
acts of cruelty to another character with whom the readers identify
more strongly or for whom they have strong sympathy. You
can lose reader sympathy by having the character make dumb
choices-acting at less than maximum capacity. The idiot in
the horror story who responds to creepy noises by going into
the attic armed only with a candle is an example. You can lose
reader sympathy when a character seems too ordinary, is stereotyped,
or doesn't struggle hard enough. The reader wants to
cheer a fighter, not witness a milquetoast wallowing in, say, selfpity.
can create it-if you lose the readers' sympathy for the character.
You can lose reader sympathy by having your character commit
acts of cruelty to another character with whom the readers identify
more strongly or for whom they have strong sympathy. You
can lose reader sympathy by having the character make dumb
choices-acting at less than maximum capacity. The idiot in
the horror story who responds to creepy noises by going into
the attic armed only with a candle is an example. You can lose
reader sympathy when a character seems too ordinary, is stereotyped,
or doesn't struggle hard enough. The reader wants to
cheer a fighter, not witness a milquetoast wallowing in, say, selfpity.
( James N. Frey )
[ How to Write a Damn Good ]
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