How to Write Unlikable Characters

And why you might want to

Photo by Pars Sahin on Unsplash

The first fiction novel I chose to read this year was about a 30-something woman who cheats on her husband with a married man. Her marriage falls apart, his doesn’t. She has a number of bad dates while she continues to date the married man . . . blah, blah, blah. I could not get into this book and could care less what happened to this character.

The writing itself was good. The author and character had a good voice (and by good, I mean that it was unique and felt like a real person talking to me), and the method of delivery interesting since she had little side notes like the movie Ferris Bueller who speaks to the audience, and yet I could not finish the novel.

I moved on to a different novel yesterday, and I’m reading quickly and enjoying the story. I’m eager to get back to it each time I put it down.

What is the difference? Is it because I didn’t like the character in the first story? Do characters need to be likable for readers to want to read them?

I don’t think so, actually. I’ve read many stories about characters who were degenerates, unscrupulous, dishonest, chauvinists, thieves, and so on. Characters do not have to be perfect, and readers can dislike aspects of a character and still enjoy the story and even root for them.