How to show respect for your characters

Hey guys, DarkShockBro here.

Being a creative writer myself, I tend to read a lot of fan fiction and watch a lot of cartoons. During this time, I tend to pick up on certain characteristics common to every work of literature. Some of these traits are good, others not so much.

My most recent pursuits have been focused on why characters are considered to be unlikable. And, after encountering a few characters that almost no one seems to like, I decided to generate backstories for them. And, to my surprise, after reading them, those same characters became more meaningful, complex, realistic, and, to my surprise, likable. Obviously, Diamond Tiara was the first beneficiary of my practices, but I've been giving backstories to other characters as of recent. And that got me to thinking: what makes characters unlikable, and what can be done to make them likable, or at the very least, respectable?

The answer, while seemingly complex, is actually a lot simpler than I initially believed, and I think it would be beneficial if I shared my hypothesis with you.

First, and most importantly, characters have reasons for acting a certain way in a certain situation. No person in real life is born to be nasty, and this principle should carry over to fiction, unless that character is not human. And I don't mean inhumane, I mean ghosts, spirits, and demons. Additionally, if you do not believe you can portray a certain character with respect, then don't write that character. It's really that simple.

Second, characters born from hatred are bound to be unlikable, and regardless of what you may think, if you write a character to get back at someone or something that wronged you, you, and only you, will look bad. And by characters born from hatred, I'm usually referring to the Alpha Bitches, Jerk Jocks, or other mean characters that are similar to people the writer despises in real life. Writers all over the world, please do me a favor and never do this. Fiction is meant to be a relaxing gateway away from the pressures of reality, not a halfhearted way of venting complaints. True writing comes from love and enjoyment, not hatred and venting. In essence, if a character is nasty for no discernible reason, I direct my hatred towards the writer, not the character.

Third, the more hateful and nasty a character is, the more you, as a writer, have to focus on the reasons as to what makes the character tick. And do not be afraid to use some really dark reasons such as parental abuse as long as you can portray that reason realistically and connect it to the character's behavior. For example, in my story, A Diamond in the Rough, Diamond bullies ponies only after having her parents divorce when she was four, being bullied by another group of ponies, not having somepony to talk to after the incident, retaliating with her biting words, having her mother reject something that got Diamond her cutie-mark, and constantly dealing with her divorced mother not being impressed with anything Diamond has done, no matter how hard Diamond tries to impress her. As a result, Diamond feels a desperate need to convince her parents that she isn't useless, and she also despises ponies with no cutie-marks, believing them to be lazy enough to hide behind excuses such as the potential blank flanks supposedly have. This, in my opinion, is a reasonable progression of events that leads Diamond to become the hateful pony we see on the show today. Now, forget about everything I just told you, and simply go with canon Diamond Tiara, who is a spoiled brat who consistently bullies the Cutie Mark Crusaders for little to no other reason besides she enjoys it. Which character do you like more? If you answered the former, I rest my case.

Fourth, I believe the difference between a hero and a villain can best be explained using the "explain does not equal excuse" theory. Heroes, while not perfect (at least they shouldn't be), are still considered to be very moral characters. I believe the reason for this is twofold. One, they tend to have more positive traits than negative ones. Two, and this is the crux of my argument, the negative traits that they do have are explained and excused by the force of their positive traits. Villains, on the other hand, tend to have more negative traits than positive ones, and their negative traits (if the writer is doing their job, that is) are explained thanks to prior experiences and relationships between other characters. However, that does not change the fact that the villain partakes in immoral actions more often than not, unleashing his or her negative traits on the world and on other characters. If a people understand this concept, the quality of literature in the world should dramatically increase.

Finally, please never ignore these rules and purposefully make a character unlikable unless you have a very, and I mean very good reason for doing so. And I mean reasons on the level of mental illness, mind control, or blackmail. However, if you do believe you can pull placing an intentionally unlikable character in your story, I highly advise you to be careful, as this is, in my opinion, a huge risk.

I hope that shed some light on how to make your characters more realistic, developed, and, dare I say likable. The world would be a much better place with less hate, and you can help start that change by following these rules. I believe if characters become more likable in the fictional world, than that love and care put into making those characters may start to carry over in real life. Ultimately, as a creative writer, I can safely state that if you respect your characters, they'll respect you back and allow those who see your characters to give you respect.