BY NANCY KAY CLARK
CommuterLit editor & publisher
SO I’M writing my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) installment the other day, and it occurs to me that my protagonist isn’t particularly likeable (though she does have some good qualities). Does that matter? Do I have to redeem her at the end of the story? Would you read a story that has an unsympathetic protagonist? Would you care about such a protagonist enough to read to the end of the story? I’d be curious to know your thoughts. Email me.
CommuterLit’s Upcoming Holiday Gift Guide — Keep your Submissions Coming!
Thanks to everyone who has sent me your book info to be included in our upcoming Holiday Gift Guide. There’s room for more book listings — please send us by end of day Saturday, Nov. 26 — an image of your front cover (jpg); 50-word promo blurb; link to purchase; and indicate genre and audience. Email me with this info.
Hi, Nancy. Without an outline of why the protagonist is unsympathetic and the context that you have placed them in and how they got there, it’s difficult to provide a useful response. I read lots of stories and books where I don’t particularly like the protagonist but if the narrative draws me into their world and makes me want to know what happens next, I’m in.
Heard a contest judge praise the author of a story with an unlikable MC for their “commitment to the character… you won me over.”