Tip O'Day #251 - Sympathetic Protagonist Needed?

Dixon challenges the notion that you need a sympathetic protagonist.

Experts often tell the writer that a protagonist must be likeable – somebody the reader can empathize and sympathize with. Well, that’s nonsense.

Agatha Christie’s most famous creation, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, was creepy, snobbish, bombastic and self-centered, taking delight in tormenting his assistant. Even Christie called him “insufferable.” In John Grisham’s novel The Brotherhood, which involves a group of blackmailers operating from within prison walls, there’s not a sympathetic character in the book. The people being blackmailed are even scummier than the convicts. For another example, think about The Godfather. For a time, Michael Corleone seems admirable, since he resists entering the family crime business; then he kills a crooked cop to avenge the shooting of his father, so that’s understandable, right? Eventually, he turns out just as corrupt as his father, even killing family members. Lovable characters in this novel? None I can recall.

My recently-published novel The Assassins Club concerns two serial killers. One is a complete wacko, a disorganized schitzo controlled by the voices in his head. The other is Tyler Goode, a young man in his mid-20s who accidentally becomes a killer when he’s cornered by the town bully, and then kills again when he’s stalked by the bully’s younger brother. He feels like he’s performing a community service, “taking out the trash” and rebalancing the scales between good and evil.

When Ty continues to kill – it’s become a habit he can’t shake – why should the reader continue to turn pages.? He’s a murderer who deserves whatever justice will eventually befall him. Except I want to explore his psyche further, and I’d like to have the reader come along for the ride. So I tried a couple strategies. First, I gave him a dead family – two doting parents, and a wonderful brother and sister – who are wiped out in a hit-and-run accident. Ty feels the world is out of kilter because of these good souls being removed while evil seems to flourish wherever he looks. Second, I portrayed him as shy and insecure, and then I gave him a sweet, trusting girl as his romantic interest. He feels guilty about continually hiding his secret life from her. He feels protective of her, not wanting his hobby to endanger her. He feels fulfilled for the first time in his life.

Hopefully my strategies make this antihero human enough that a reader will tag along for curiosity, to see what happens to the young man with an unusual pastime and a loving girlfriend he must hide it from. My critique group thinks it works. Maybe you will as well.

Tip O'Day #23

This tip is from author Cindy Zelman. To paraphrase her: Get your work out into the world, and don't give up just because the Big Boys reject you.

I've talked to a lot of writers, including published writers, some of them famous, some of them not. Most of them agree that when trying to get work published, don't dismiss small presses, little literary magazines, or other lower circulation venues. Get your work out there, become part of a writing community, become read, and don't be a snob.

It's worth noting that John Grisham's first novel, A TIME TO KILL, was rejected by every major NY publisher. So Grisham self-published. While he continued to improve his writing craft, he and a group of friends sold copies of the book out of the back of his station wagon at flea markets and county fairs around the South. Eventually, THE FIRM was traditionally published and people started asking, "What else have you written?"

Tip O'Day - Guest Post (Parts 7 & 8)

When I asked some writer friends for a favorite writing tip, I was afraid they'd be too busy to help me re-energize the Wredheaded Writer blog. Then, one of the first replies I received was an eight part message from Stephanie Osborn. Woot woot!

I've received lots more tips, and will be mixing in some of my irreverent (irrelevant?) insights as well. But this process will be incomplete without YOUR input. Whether a published pro or rank amateur, you still have valuable ideas. John Grisham isn't necessarily any smarter than you - he's certainly more experienced but he struggles with the same issues that bug you, just at a different level. You worry about burning your grilled cheese sammie, while he is concerned that his surf and turf is served at the proper temp and texture. Same issues, different levels. (I look forward to your phone call, John.)

Soooo, let's see your idea. Email me at montananovels@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook (Dixon Rice Novelist).

Now here's the conclusion of Stephanie's eight-part series:

Stephanie Osborn - Things They Don’t Tell You In Author’s School, Installment #7:

So you have the book edited, it’s in gorgeous shape; the cover art has come down and it’s beautiful. You’re done, right? Nope. Now you get the e-ARC, the electronic Advanced Review Copy. You get to review that, make corrections, and send the corrections back. That's gotta be it, you think.

NOW you’re done? No. Now you get the galley prints. These are unbound first run prints of your book. Again, review for errors and send back the corrections. These will sometimes be things that were missed in all of the previous edits (yes, it IS possible!), but mostly it will be problems in converting the electronic version of the manuscript into print. This usually comes in the form of dropped formatting - a missed tab, lost italics, a strange carriage return, a blank line where it shouldn't be, or an odd symbol substituted for punctuation.

Meanwhile, you and your publisher are working on the public relations and publicity campaign. Start making appearances before the book is released if you want to build buzz. Build a website. Blog. Tweet. Face. Space. If you can get your name out there, and your book’s name out there, do it.

After the book comes out come the interviews, talks, and book signings.

Somewhere in there, you start writing your next book.

Thing Seven: You NEVER really get done.

And finally, Installment #8:

Wait - the book is OUT, right? What more can there BE?!

Thing Eight: Congratulations. Once you’ve realized Things One through Seven, you are now an experienced, professional author.