I recently got the edited manuscript of my second novel, Staking a Claim, back from my editor. Prior to handing it over to her, I sent it out to several beta readers. Amongst the feedback I received out of that process were some comments about my protagonist (the heroine of the story, Kate), being unlikeable. This was not entirely surprising. Kate does have some troubling personal flaws and, while I’ve enjoyed writing about them, I can understand why someone might not enjoy reading about them. However, one of the central elements in the series is that Kate has a character arc and, learning from her mistakes, she grows along the way, becoming a better person by the end.
I’ve planned this arc over three books, so it could be happening too slowly for some readers. As a writer, it’s impossible (and completely unnecessary) to please everybody, but while I like Kate, having several readers say they didn’t was a sign that I needed to seriously consider doing something about it.
In response, I added a couple of chapters where Kate acts in a way I hoped would make her more appealing to readers. One of these chapters worked well and had the bonus of improving the setup for another part of the story. I was much less certain about the other. In this chapter, I have Kate agreeing to look after her neighbour’s cat for an indeterminate length of time. Why, you ask? Because people who adopt pets are likeable, right? (Yes, that’s about as deep as my thinking went). While I wasn’t sure about the outcome, I did enjoy writing the chapter and thought I’d throw it in and see what my editor thought.
Not much, as it turns out. Her problem is less with the cat and more with the neighbour (I’ve called her Tabitha). Deep down, I knew that adding a new character late in the story wasn’t the greatest idea. My editor agrees. I thought I could perhaps return to Tabitha in Book 3 but my editor has suggested I get rid of her altogether. She’s also pointed out that Kate only agrees to mind the cat after Tabitha begs her to, rather than doing something selfless of her own volition, thereby having less impact on her ‘likeability’ as a result.
If you’d like to read the chapter for yourself, you can do so in Part 2 of this post, here:
Image by Steve Mantell from Pixabay
Anyway, my latest thoughts are that Kate should adopt a cat, but that she should do it in partnership with the hero of the story, and the cat should be a stray rather than being owned by someone known to her. I’m hoping it will indicate a generosity of spirit that might not have been previously evident and that it will also show a positive development in her relationship with the hero.
I’d love to know your thoughts on this idea. Do you think it could assist in making my protagonist more likeable? Would you think more of someone if they adopted a stray? And while I think about it, I’d also love some name suggestions for a cat looking something like the charming creature in the picture above. I’ve called him ‘Piddles’ in the chapter I’ve written, but that was as much to make a lame joke as anything and I’m by no means attached to it. Let me know in the comments if you’ve got something better!
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A gritty and engaging story of human faults, fears, and frailty, What Friends Are For is the prequel short story to my tragicomic novel, Taking the Plunge. Introduce yourself to the characters from the novel and find out where it all begins for Kate, Tracy, Evan and Lawrence.
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