When you're reading, what is it that gets you interested in the story? The twists and turns of the plot and the unanswered questions that you're super-curious about probably play a big role ... but if you don't care at all about the characters, you're unlikely to make it through to the surprise twist or big reveal.

This is particularly crucial for your protagonist, of course ... but it's also important for other characters. You may even want readers to have some sympathy for the villain of the story, perhaps holding out hope that they can be redeemed.

Having sympathy for characters isn't the same as finding them likeable. Some of your characters might be actively unpleasant! We can still feel sorry for them and hope that their lives will improve.

Here are four things you can do to increase reader sympathy for pretty much any character in your story:

1. Show Their Self-Doubt (Without Dwelling On It Too Long)

Show your character struggling with a difficult decision or doubting whether they can achieve something, and it'll be hard for readers to not have some degree of sympathy.

The main danger here is letting your character wallow in self-doubt (or letting it turn into self-pity). We want them to struggle but take action ... not sit around whining endlessly.

2. Make Them Vulnerable (Physically and/or Emotionally)

Characters who are vulnerable in some way will often get instinctive sympathy from us. Perhaps your character is injured and in physical danger ... or maybe they've had their heart broken in the past and they're terrified of it happening again.

You might find some of the ideas on this list helpful: 15 Ways to Make Your Characters Suffer (for the Good of Your Novel)

3. Show Us Their Backstory – and How it Still Affects Them

Even if your character seems pretty unlikeable, their backstory can explain a lot about why they are who they are. Showing even snippets of a character's backstory can be a great way to gather reader sympathy ... potentially turning around our opinion of a character.

K.M. Weiland has a great series of blog posts about backstory techniques, starting with Prologues vs Flashbacks.

4. Give Them Moments of Kindness

Even the grumpiest characters or nastiest villains can potentially have moments where they show their better nature. Perhaps the antagonist, who's constantly sniping at your protagonist, reveals a soft spot for puppies or babies. 

A few moments of kindness for an otherwise horrible character aren't completely change our view of them ... but they may give us hope that the character has the potential to be someone better.

The reader doesn't have to like your characters, but they do need to feel some degree of sympathy towards them to actually care about them. Readers who don't care what happens to your characters (or who find them unengaging and flat on the page) won't keep turning the pages.

The ideas above definitely aren't the only ones you can use ... but hopefully they give you a good starting point for building more reader sympathy for your characters.

Spotlight On: Advanced Fiction Pack

The Advanced Fiction Pack is one of my series of self-study seminar packs. It contains seminars on story ideas, heros & villains, handling viewpoint in fiction, and adding depth to your characters. 

If you're looking to create memorable characters and engaging stories, this one's for you! Check it out here:

aliventures.com/self-study-packs

The Advanced Fiction Pack is $20, or you can get all six packs (24 seminars in total!) for just $50.

Happy writing,

Ali