Would You Hang Out With Your Character?

In romance, it is all about the relationship. It is all about the readers wanting really hard to make sure the two characters get together in the end. Remember, the reader is cheering your characters on, and fighting with them over every one of those hurdles, you, the author, have thrown in front of them. But, you may have created an obstacle that is not going to work the way you wanted it to.

Let's say you create a hero who is truly a "bad guy." He's the rebel. Bring on the leather coat and the scruffy, unshaved look. You are going to reform him (or the heroine is) but he will be changed. You want that transformation to be huge so you really go for it and make him REALLY bad!

Now here comes the problem. You have all heard the statement that "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." Well, our first impression of your hero is "this guy is a jerk with a capital J." We loved your heroine from the beginning, but this guy comes along and you are left with a bad taste in your mouth. Needless to say, we don't like him.

When this happens, we are immediately turned of and are now on a quest to find your heroine someone better to hang out with. Oh, we know that by chapter 19 of your 23 chapters, we'll see that good side, but hey, by then, I can guarantee we have called your heroine (or maybe texted her) and got her going the other way to find the guy we wanted.

So, ask yourself. Would you want to hang out with that guy? Probably not. You would be running the other way just like we want your heroine to do.

If you want to make a guy a "bad guy" you need to still give the reader a glimpse that he is still a "mama's boy" underneath that harsh exterior.

It isn't just about being a bad guy. All of your characters have to be approachable. What if you have a character who does things that are unethical or immoral. Again, you want to show a "real situation" and one where a person is going to be redeemed in the end, but can we like that person? Would you want to have dinner with them? Probably not. 

It is fine to create unique characters that are going to change, but make sure you don't go to such an extreme that there is no way we want to fight for that person and cheer them on.