Perfect example: Melanie Wilkes from GWTWĪnd there you have it: The whole “likeable” question. Here’s the kicker: When I ask the writer what’s going on – like, “Hey, why didn’t Betty get mad and, at the very least, tell Ramona off?” - the writer will invariably answer: “Because I wanted Betty to be likeable, otherwise, the reader won’t care about her.” Ah, I think as I read forward, now it’s going to get good! But Betty, understanding that Ramona had a hard childhood, takes a couple of deep cleansing breaths and decides that Ramona needs the promotion more than she does, so she ignores the whole thing and spends the evening making calls for Amnesty International.īy this time, I’m not only not on Betty’s side, I’m wondering two things: why Betty is such a wimp, and what is Betty’s behavior actually a front for – like maybe she’s so insufferably nice in order to keep anyone from asking who she’s got locked up the basement. Let’s say that Betty’s co-worker Ramona stole her hard-won research and is taking credit for it. In other words, Betty couldn’t be less interesting. I’m reading a manuscript and the protagonist – let’s call her Betty - never gets mad, she always takes the feelings of others into account, she’s always polite, on time, and she never takes an extra cookie, even when no one is looking. I’ll be doing so every other month from here on out, but since I don’t have any of your question on tap just yet, I thought I’d kick it off with a question I’m often not asked by writers – until it’s too late. Hello! It’s thrilling to be here to answer your story questions. After you read her first installment of 'Ask the Story Genius'. We are so proud and humbled that the Lisa Cron, the author of Wired for Story, and Story Genius has agreed to blog with us on a regular basis! In case you haven't yet seen her TED Talk, you can watch it here.
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