Write every day - Day 10

I've been thinking a lot about what makes a character likable. Of course, likability is, to a degree, subjective.

For example, I actually like Hawkeye as a character and did, in fact, care about what happened to him in Endgame. I find him relatable because he is, among other things, not actually a superhero. He developed his skills over time and often under duress; he earned them. Also, he's more vulnerable than the others (and, arguably, has more to lose), but he keeps on fighting. (I should add two salient points. First, some of my conception of Hawkeye has been augmented by reading Fraction's Hawkeye. Also, I'm leaving aside Clint's post-Snap behavior in Endgame because I feel it is monumentally out of character for the Hawkeye I've come to know and admire and even, I believe, for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of him.) I recognize that my take on Hawkeye is an unpopular one, which makes it a good illustration of my point about the subjectivity of what makes a character likable.

So, if you were asked to come up with, say, three qualities a character should have to be likable to you, what would they be? And do you find yourself writing protagonists and supporting characters with those elements? As always, these questions are totally optional, but I'd love to hear your answers.


Tally:
Welcome
Day 1: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, yantantether, ysilme (16/16)
Day 2: alexcat, alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, yantantether, ysilme (15/16)
Day 3: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, yantantether, ysilme (13/16)
Day 4: alexseanchai, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, ysilme (13/16)
Day 5: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, ysilme (14/16)
Day 6: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, ysilme (14/16)
Day 7: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, talkingtothesky, ysilme (14/16)
Day 8: alexseanchai, tcassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, navaan, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, ysilme, talkingtothesky (11/16)
Day 9: alexseanchai, auroracloud, carenejeans, cassini, china_shop, cornerofmadness, falkner, sierranovembr, silveradept, st_aurafina, sylvanwitch, tinx_r, ysilme (13/17)
Day 10: china_shop

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ysilme here: yesterday, I added another 100 words or so to my alibi sentence. Not much, but I'm still quite proud of it as it was for a proper, to-be-published story, which I find quite hard to do at the moment. I think I've talked more hours on the phone this week than I usually do in a month or more! *g* But hopefully, most of the organising is done by next Monday and I'll have my mind back to myself. Today, I wrote about 200 words of nonfic so far.

sylvanwitch here: I'm pleased to report that I think I hit upon a solution to my plot and pacing problems in the first half of the ambush project. I was considering it while in the bathroom (of course--and yes, I know there's a gross but effective metaphor here), and it just sort of came to me what the first half was missing. So I pounded out a 606-word narrative-form outline, and I think I'm going to be in MUCH better shape to make this beast better. Yay!