The main character for the story I'm currently working on is not exactly a good guy. He's an excellent leader and motivator that keeps a crew of sailors alive after being shipwrecked on the coast of the Sahara desert. Underlying that, though, there's a strong selfishness and greed that fundamentally drives him. There's a turning point in the story where his motivations shift from staying alive to chasing immortality (there's a good deal of spiritual stuff in the story, voodoo, macabre blood magic, that sort of thing). At first this doesn't interfere with much, but the final ritual requires a betrayal of three of his closest friends, a decision he makes. I'm not trying to paint him as a good guy or anything, the problem is the story continues for quite a while after his betrayal, and I'm not sure if a reader will be able to stay invested in the character after that event. They don't have to like him, I just want people to be invested in him. Any tips?
Hm, I think it‘s doable. My best advice would be thinking about the questions I‘ll list below. 1. I can understand someone‘s intentions and actions even if I don‘t agree with them. So first you should look into why this character chases immortality. What is so great about immortality that he sacrifices these important bonds? Can the average person understand this? Is this something I can relate to even if I don‘t agree? Is he afraid of sickness or dying without ever achieving something? It is also important to shape this character so that his personal past echoes this belief. How did he become this way? This is also a way to give someone a motive we can understand. 2. Is the story still satisfying? I personally feel like every plot point has to go somewhere. E.g. if him and his friends were to start the story hunting a dragon, then I‘d be seriously disappointed if the story ends with 3 dead friends because you changed the whole mission somewhere in the middle of the book. The main issue is addressed at the start of the book (inciting incident) and needs to be resolved at the end of this book. 3. What does he learn from this? I also think it‘s important to think about how this decision will shape him as a human being. Will he regret? Will he finally become really strong because there‘s nothing holding him back anymore? Where does this decision lead him in the end?
I agree with many of the points made by Coppe. In general, if you want to make us invested in a character, even when they aren't a good guy, develop, develop, develop. Make him complex and unique so people are fascinated by him even when he does repulsive things. If you think that's not enough add a touch of sympathy. Show us what made him this way, how if our lives had gone a certain way we could have ended up making the same choices. And, even if this sound a bit shallow, you can also make him cool. Make him tough, effective, smart (without crossing the line into Gary Stu) and people will admire his qualities even as a bad guy.
I think some of it depends on the POV used to tell the tale. With this, I suspect 3rd person limited or even omniscient will do better than 1st person. First person leaves less reader interpretation into motivation and identified passion. Also, the perspective of the other crew members, for example (up to the betrayal) can help. They may not like the captain, for example, but respect him. They may not totally trust him, but know that if they want to survive, they need to follow him, etc. After the betrayal, it really depends on what is yet to happen in the story--how engaging it is. Many readers will expect some form of 'payback' for the terrible deed(s), I suspect. Or that's how I see it.
I would probably approach this as the character versus death. If you can convey his fear of dying in an extremely powerful way, you are essentially asking the reader to focus on hope versus despair rather than loyalty versus betrayal. Nightmares of having the essence of who he is consumed, memories of loved ones he lost in his early years, these are the things I would use to help cement that type of mindset. I hope this is helpful in some way. Good luck mate!
