• Featured Universities
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Grants for Writers
  • Home
  • About
  • Writing Programs
  • Blog

Is Nice the Ultimate Four Letter Word?

By MFA Staff Writer Leave a Comment

“You pick your friends, not your family.” That phrase is usually spoken after one of our siblings does something like wear your favorite shirt and then spill red wine on it. It’s meant to say, “Hey, that’s your sister…so go on and make nice.” But when authors pursue “niceness” the result may sometimes be…dare I say it…boring. Is nice the ultimate four letter word?

I’ll go out on a limb and declare that characters who are always nice should be avoided, just like four letter words in every day speech. Author Drew Chial makes an excellent argument for why your characters don’t have to be likable:

“Your character doesn’t need to be someone the audience wants to have a beer with. They’re not running for president. You don’t need to file down their jagged edges. Well developed characters are just as likable as characters that are just like us. It’s more important for your hero to feel like a human being than a delegate for all of humanity.”

In other words, we all have moments when something really grinds our gears. As adults, we’re taught not to over-react. Even Kindergarteners are told to play nicely. But this is the beauty of being an author. Your character can go bat-shit crazy and that would make fantastic reading. However, there are rules.

Your character’s actions and reactions should be in keeping with the plot. There should be character development along the way. Their actions should speak to their moral compass. And lastly, they should show change from how they started. This can be in the form of them becoming nice or conversely, developing a bit more of a backbone.

The movie “The Truman Show” illustrated an idyllic town where everyone was nice and helpful toward their neighbors. But it wasn’t real. The same would be true if every one of your characters was squeaky clean nice. You may wish to have that person as your best friend, but if they really were your best friend, chances are that once in awhile you’d see another side to them.

Related Posts

  • Create Compelling Characters…Read on to learn the secretsCreate Compelling Characters…Read on to learn the secrets
  • A Social Shift in WritingA Social Shift in Writing
  • Character is More than Eye ColorCharacter is More than Eye Color
  • What Do You Want to Be?What Do You Want to Be?
  • Editor vs Beta ReaderEditor vs Beta Reader
  • Why Competition is Good for YouWhy Competition is Good for You
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
Facebooktwitterpinterestyoutube

Related posts:

  1. Create Compelling Characters…Read on to learn the secrets
  2. 25 Ways to Write an Awesome Novel
  3. Why Competition is Good for You
  4. The Naughty List

Leave a Comment Cancel

Latest Podcasts

How to Create Compelling Characters

How to create compelling characters…brought to you by New York University, ranked as one of the top MFA programs in the United States.

How to Work the Film Festival

Promoting Your Work at Film Festivals Writer/filmmaker Jason R. Davis founded the Chicago Horror Film Festival and the Indy Horror Film Festival. Here he gives advice for writers on how to best utilize film festivals to market their project.

Latest Videos

Chatham University

Chatham University’s Words without Walls is a ground-breaking program within their MFA degree focusing on nature, travel writing and social outreach. It is the premier graduate program for nurturing students interested in place-based writing and innovative community programs.  

Abilene Christian University

Abilene Christian University (Texas) ACU’s M.A. in English is a 36-hour master’s program with tracks in literature, composition and rhetoric, and writing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue17A_9_eAE&list=PL1gDOFpWJTaMCKCHy6Mhj2JCG-yTc6-eQ

MFA Showcase

Sponsorship

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© Copyright 2016 Evatopia, Inc.
All Rights Reserved