Uhh.... as for Bleach ive seen the episodes to im not totally usre if the book continue on afterwards but... Spoiler it is VERY cliche at the end. in fact if he knew what he would become at the end he would likely shoot himself dead it is that lame
In that case, I guess most writers don't have to worry about their writing qualities as long as their books can sell.
The manga is still ongoing. It's on it's last arc, but in my opinion, it should have ended before the Fullbring arc. Too much illogical nonsense happens to the point where my "suspension of disbelief" has been destroyed.
Humanizing For a character to be believable, and to carry a story, they need to be humanized. Whether it's the 'bad guy' or the 'good guy' the reader needs to be able to connect with them. Why do they like the 'good guy?' Does she have compassion or is she a killing machine? Does the 'bad guy' have a motivation or is he just doing 'bad' to do it. It's the qualities that make them 'real' that grabs the readers attention and keeps them riveted to the story. Why do people like Jack Reacher? His unique code of honor and tendency to refuse to walk away when he runs across something. Why do readers like Honor Harrington? Because she not only is a great soldier but someone with a lot of human weaknesses. Self doubt about her appearance and an incident in her past made her sympathetic to the readers. Why do people not feel utter disdain for Darth Vader-despite all he did? The ending of Return of the Jedi. It humanized the character as did the descent during the The Rise of the Sith and how Palpatine manipulates Anakin to become Darth Vader. The list could go on and on but the message remains the same. For the mass paperback market, keeping the reader entertained is the name of the game. I love to read but even I can't stand a book that doesn't entertain me (or provide some sort of desire to continue reading). 'Polaris' by Jack MdDevitt bored me to the point I put it down. In my opinion, I don't know how the 'series' is considered good. Humanize your character, put them in a setting/world appropriate for them and you'll keep a reader interested even if the writing isn't the greatest.
I've heard that Bella is apparently just a Mary Sue relationship with Edward. According to Rational Wiki, IIRC, Bella was not originally given any definite physical description so that readers could insert themselves as her. Later when she was given an appearance, she matched the author in every way, indicating that she was supposed to be in a fantasy relationship for the author. What you want to make sure if is that the characters have flaws and that they don't seem perfect.
She probably wrote Twilight as her teen fantasy that she wished she had.Some writers do that to attract readers. If there is a too perfect world, would the perfect characters get bored just like the reader?
They should. I'm currently in the process of writing about the male version of this. A socially awkward girl, who does have a boyfriend (not perfect, as she makes fun of him for spending time on Warhammer and World of Warcraft), is friends with an even more awkward boy who has a bit of an obsession with her and who spends a lot of time writing stories about hot girls.
What about imagery? I think that is also important for the readers to see if the characters are very compelling in a crappy written book.
I don't think the characters need to be all that compelling to make a junk book rise into the stratosphere. Anyone out there read Flowers in the Attic? - what a lulu. And the lead characters a couple of idiots. If you don't know the story it's about a mother who wants to inherit a fortune - she won't inherit if her father finds out she has children so when they go to stay at his mansion the kids are locked up in a room attached to the attic. The kids are Cathy 12, Christopher 14?, and the twins Corey and Carrie who I think are 5. Within six months the guy is eyeballing his sister. And the whole thing becomes a will-they won't-they incest tease. The reader is more interested in the situation, as the characters become rather incidental. Why else would a reader forgive a heap of character flaws?
responding to the initial question For me, a character is compelling if they seem like a real, three-dimensional person with complicated thoughts and opinions. Even if the story is amazing and the plot is otherwise believable, Mary-Sues or shallow characters annoy the heck out of me.
So a great character needs to be someone we can believe in or pretend we are for a while, understandable and approachable? For me a compelling character has to be a bit messed up inside, it's not enough to be an admirable hero type or even a sexy, smoking hot babe. If they aren't conflicted, a true mix of light and dark, grappling with some hard stuff that's not easily resolved than I don't really care about them. I read the Mortal Instruments series as much because I cared about and identified with Jace as because I enjoyed the read.
Compelling characters have logical motives, strengths and weaknesses, a sense of past, present, and future, goals, relationships, and deal with some sort of struggle.
For me, a compelling character is torn between two types of moral behavior; how he should behave, and he wants to behave. For example, a married man who attends church and is renowned to being level-headed and responsible, falls in love with young, vivacious stripper with a taste for larceny. Our man is torn between being the honorable man he has always been, and being someone who surrenders to his new found passion. He finds himself doing things and behaving in ways he never did before. He's lying, being dishonest, and though it disgusts him, there is a side of him that loves the excitement. It is a moral dilemma because his behavior doesn't just hurt himself, it hurts his wife, kids and all those who admire him. Such characters are more than merely flawed; they are tearing themselves apart. They are going through more than a change; they are experiencing a complete metamorphosis. As a reader, you just have to keep reading and watching the change. You have to know which side of his inner struggle will win. These characters are fascinating because they are questioning everything they've ever been, and at the same time questioning what they are about to do. All kinds of emotions are in play. On top of that, "being torn" is something we can all relate to. We want to eat right and be healthy, but we have to have that chocolate cake! We've all been there.
Couldn't agree more. I use to work with somebody who always said: "I don't need a hairstyle, i have personality." Boy, did he have personality, he was interesting to be around and said the right things at all the wrong time, in the words of Hunter S Thompson as he describes Dr Gonzo: "There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die". I only ever saw him get "shut up" by one person. A young sassy lil number in some really tight jeans. Just a stray thought i had, my bad. :3
No, I think it's relevant. We all know those people that are so loud and interesting that we'll remember them for an eternity, even after we stop seeing them. These are the people that we want to model our characters after: people that have personalities. And maybe they won't be loud, but we should always keep in mind: those things that the loud people say are the things that everyone else just thinks. As the saying goes: "Drunken words are sober thoughts." Just because your character isn't loud, doesn't mean their thoughts aren't just as interesting and thought-provoking as what those super interesting people say.
It wasn't the story (actually...there wasn't even a story) that made loads of teenage girls love the Twilight books. Bella has an extremely simple description, which made her an empty shell, so literally any girl could imagine themselves in her body. Edward is constantly described as the perfect looking boyfriend, and for some reason the world seems interested in 'dangerous' sexual tension Sadly, more and more girls are turning to books focused on sex *cough* 50 shades of grey! *cough*, which is making it hard for them to see a good story
For me there are a few things about Twilight (I have read all of the books). The story is compelling in the sense that I found myself wanting to know more about how Bella and Edward's relationship would progress and also about how the lives of the vampires and werewolves were conducted. I found that I wanted to know more about the created world. Then there is Bella going through what I think a great many teenagers go through. I remember feeling useless, not special and awkward as a teenager and I'm pretty sure most teenagers go through that. She became an easy character to relate to for that reason. Finally, I think that the Twilight books tap an aspect society that girls in particular are socialised into as they grow up - that we would be very lucky to find a perfect man who will love us and look after us forever. Plenty of my female adult friends who are not into fantasy and really dislike vampire stories found themselves caught up in the Twilight books because of the love story. I have friends who read every book multiple times just for the romance of it. The love story in those books is a very particular type - it's about a young, weak woman being looked after forever by a much stronger, handsome man. This taps in very much with what girls are still being brought up with as the ideal life so reading about it is compelling for many women and girls. Plus - Stephanie Myer writes simply. There are no sentences or words to struggle over. It's all kept very simple and easy to read and that too makes a difference.
