Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Hate Your Characters





Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is characters I like in books I hate. I tried really hard to write a post about that topic, but I discovered that I usually hate books because of the characters. So, I’m doing my own thing with this week’s prompt.

Dear authors, here are ten reasons why I hate your characters.




Reasons I Hate Your Characters







1. I don’t know anything meaningful about them. This is mostly a problem with side characters. The reader learns a few key facts about the main character’s “friends,” and that’s all we get. If the characters are friends, the author needs to show us more than just surface-level stuff. Why are these people friends? It’s probably not because Debbie has green eyes and likes chicken sandwiches.












2. They whine too much. I know that being a fictional person is tough, but there’s only so much complaining I can take. Eventually the character needs to move past whining about a problem and fix the problem.















3. They’re too stupid to live. Once upon a time, I read a novel about a couple who were escaping from a serial killer. The couple spends a few days derping frantically through the forest with the killer on their trail. Then they find an abandoned cabin. As a reader, my thoughts were: Now one of them can keep watch while the other sleeps. Except, that’s not what happens. Our heroes barge into the cabin, start a fire in the fireplace, and have sex on the floor. No! What if the killer had stormed in while they were naked and flailing? After that, I was rooting for the killer.










4. You’re trying too hard to make me love them. I’m a rebellious creature. If you want me to do something, I’ll probably do the opposite. This is why an author should never try too hard to make me love a character. I once read a novel where all the characters were endlessly praising this dead girl. She was so sweet, and so perfect, and had such a tragic death, and blah, blah, blah. By the end of the book, I wanted everybody to shut up about her. I’m a cold-hearted witch. No sympathy for a beautiful dead girl. The author tried so hard to make me love this girl that I just felt manipulated and annoyed.












5. You’re confusing love with abuse. I don’t like it when abuse is presented as love, especially in children’s books. (Think: Twilight.) Here is a brief list of things that are not sexy: stalking, destroying property, non-consensual touching, locking people in rooms, withholding important information, overprotectiveness. If you want me to like your characters, they better not do any of these things.













6. I don’t understand why this character exists. I usually don’t like books with big casts. They confuse me. I want every character to play an important role in the story. Every character needs a clear reason for existing. I hate when characters are just . . . there. I don’t need extra names to remember! *Glares angrily at George R.R. Martin*













7. They have no agency. What’s the point of having a character if they’re not going to do anything? The characters need to make the plot happen. They can’t just sit around while the plot happens to them. I want to see action, not just reaction.














8. They’re a stereotype. It’s 2018, people! We should be past this.












9. Their lives stop when they get into a relationship. I know that relationships are a big deal, and they have an impact on people’s lives, but you don’t stop living when you meet a boy. Some fictional characters get into a relationship and suddenly forget about their friends, their job, their hobbies, their goals, their homework, their chronic illnesses. Cute boys are wonderful things, but they don’t cause amnesia. Calm down, people.












10. I’ve seen this before. Do you know about the Brooding YA Hero Twitter account? If you don’t, you should check it out. There are some types of characters that have been overdone in fiction. Personally, I’m sick of the gorgeous, snarky badboy with a tragic past. We’ve had enough of those. I like characters who are individuals, not copies.












What makes you hate a character?








37 comments:

  1. I hate when characters are too perfect - they're handsome/beautiful, rich, successful, AND really nice, generous, etc.? Come on, no one's perfect.

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  2. Ooh yes, this was a good way to tackle the list. I hate perfect characters. No-one is perfect and I like a flawed character.

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  3. Awesome reasons for hating a character. I love love love #3. And who needs whiny?

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  4. Love your take on this topic!!! Characters that whine are the worst.

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  5. I love this list! I feel like so many of these have the same affect on me but then in a different book the same things wont bother me. Im inconsistent hahaha

    My TTT https://wp.me/p3ftwe-UX

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  6. Yes! This list is perfection and I love your take on the topic. I have heavy issues with lack of agency and TSTL especially. Whining drives me crazy too - especially when they never do anything to change their situation which is frequently.

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  7. Number 5 is a HARRDDD pass. I love what you did with this prompt. As a character-driven reader, I have to really care about the characters and believe that they're three dimensional. The Brooding YA Hero twitter account is hilarious and oh so accurate, I need to read that book!

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  8. Amazing post! I loved how you twisted today's topic. I really hate the characters when they are too perfect.. like they are handsome, intelligent, rich.. basically when they have everything.

    http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/04/ten-characters-i-didnt-like-that-much-in-the-books-i-loved/

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  9. I'm usually a little more forgiving with whiny characters because I can be a little whiny myself sometimes, but there are some characters that take whining to a whole different level of nope. And I am 100% with you on the whole "confusing love and abuse" thing. It's a huge red flag for me.

    - louise

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  10. You hit the nail on the head there. Whiny characters are my kryptonite, and if your MC is all "woe is me, my life is so hard, my nail polish is chipped," I am throwing your book at the wall and marking it DNF. Same with too stupid to live MCs. I'm also tired of the totally ordinary not special at all YA heroine who is secretly The Super Special Snowflake Savior of Everything. Barf. Barf again.

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  11. I love #3. :) So true. Too stupid to live is one of my biggest peeves. #5 too. All of them really though. Hate whiny characters...

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  12. TSTL characters are the worst. You know you've got a problem when people start rooting for the bad guys or start to feel like the MCs deserve the bad things happening to them. I usually have an issue with the stereotype characters too. And I definitely don't like the abusive (disguised as loving) ones!

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  13. This is such a funny post! You are spot on with "you're confusing love with abuse", we see that all the time in books and every time I read it I either pity the character on the receiving end or lose respect for them for putting up for all that rubbish! You are so right with all of these :-) I tend to dislike characters if they are unnecessarily mean!
    xoxo
    http://gingersnaphattie.blogspot.co.uk

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  14. lol that was funny, especially about the characters that are too stupid to live because I totally agree. Also don't like whining characters

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  15. This is an amazing take on the topic and very very true. I would add "throwing together a collection of quirks and calling it a person (almost always a female person)".

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  16. Great list!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/top-ten-tuesday-153/

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  17. YES TO NUMBER NINE. I'm so glad that you mentioned that!! There are books that I've read where there is a MC with a chronic illness, and I get super excited (because we don't really see them). Then they meet a boy. And suddenly get better. Like? I understand if they went on a new medicine or treatment. But (speaking from personal experience) IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT. It'll just come to bite you in the butt, lol. Great post! :D

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  18. Can I just say, picking a cat to read the list is genius. Love it! This list is awesome and thank you for the chuckles. I must say, this list matches the reasons why I dislike some people, especially whiners and those too stupid to live.

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  19. LOVE this, and could not agree more! I get so stabby when all the side characters just... mush together and are indistinguishable. Like why bother? And YEP with #10- why is that "tragic bad boy" trope still a thing? Make it go away please and thank you. I am DYING at you rooting for the serial killer because seriously! Hahha. You know, I actually wholly agree with #4, and at its worst it is always dead people! Like- they go on and on about how "special" Susie is, and frankly, the only special thing I can see about her is her lack of breathing. It isn't believable, and then when they drone on about it, I get automatically annoyed. These are fabulous- and hilarious!!

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  20. I'm quite with you on all these especially #3- there is a very popular book that have the main character being stupid and making stupid choices and basically making her too stupid to be liked and yet, readers love that book which makes no sense to me.

    also, if a character do horrible things and is not justified or if a character keeps doing horrible things and everyone tries to justified his/her actions even when they know is wrong just because of their tragic past and that they need to be pitied. okay, maybe that's too picky.

    great list.

    have a lovely day.

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  21. oooooh!This character kills me: Spoiled rich kid rebelling because parents are absent. The "too stupid to live" characters also get me!! Love this list LOL!

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  22. I just finished a book (I made myself finish) with a whiny POV character who was so wrapped up in superficial stuff like yoga pants and hair that I never liked her. She also slept around and allowed men to disrespect her. Your reasons are all of mine too!

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  23. I agree with all your points on this list, but the ones that annoy me the most is the 'trying to hard' thing, and the 'abuse disguised as love'. The abuse thing is a ridiculously common thing in YA books, and it really has to stop! It sends off such a terrible message about what relationships are supposed to be like, and I don't understand how I'm supposed to root for the characters as a couple when their relationship is clearly so unhealthy. Great list! :)

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  24. When characters are alpha-holes, think they know "what's best" for other characters, or are generally assholish.

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  25. Good insights and I love the photo/quote you posted about love and abuse

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  26. Brooding YA Hero is an awesome twitter account - and even the book was fun. :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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  27. Whining and pure stupidity are two pet hates I have for any character.

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  28. Ha YES THIS LIST!! I really hate characters who's lives end when they get a boy/girlfriend. *eyeroll* And like when they ditch all their other friends?! And then end up crying after the breakup because they're all alone...well who's fault is THAT, genius. *slaps the character a bit* 😭😂 I also hate stereotypes and whiners and the really mean ones? But when it's supposed to be edgy or sexy or something? Gross. Being nice is also fine people! (Although nice AND flawed is good. The perfect ones are not much fun.😂)

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  29. I don't like anyone who's too saccharine-nice, or characters who leap into actions to advance the plot without us as readers having any idea of their motivation.

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  30. I laughed so hard reading some of these... Truth. All the truths...

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  31. Oh my some of these could be used for movies, tv, and life in general. But yes in books you want to choke the characters!

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  32. GAH!! I wish I had thought of this twist on the prompt (then I may have participated!) I get quite peeved over most of these... I really hate whining and the brooding stereotype! Give us reality more authors! <3

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  33. Ha! I love this. So true. I love your numbers 9 & 10 reasons the best.

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  34. I love the twitter account you mentioned and I have to admit that stereotypes bother me a lot too! I also really don't like characters we don't know enough about. It happens so much with secondary characters which is why I love books where I can fall in love with the secondary characters as well.

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  35. Lol that meme about "did I just hear something' :D it's hilarious, and it's so true. OMG, and that with the sex scenes :D ridiculous. The love and abuse thing I totally agree with as well. Very good point.

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  36. "5. You’re confusing love with abuse." Yes yes a thousand times yes. I stop reading books as soon as I see this. And TSTL is one of my most hated things about a character. Like, I get that some people make horrible decisions and it's good to learn from them, but there is a limit! Lol.

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