Now that you’ve gotten acquainted with your hero….do you like him?

Number of entries received for the 2007 InnermoonLit Award for Best Short-Short Story to date: 62

Brian and I happen to be of the mindset that your story’s hero need not be heroic, which might sound a bit odd.

It seems that, particularly in certain genres, the powers that be tell writers that their protagonists must be likeable, someone the reader admires. You know, like the strong and sassy lady detective with the smokin bod and Holmesian abilities who flosses twice a day and never forgets to water her houseplants and whose only flaws are her driving ambition and obsessive perfectionism. OK, maybe that’s a bad example, in that likeable traits can be pushed so far that the character ends up coming across as unlikeable, but you get the general idea.

Brian and I don’t agree that the reader must admire your protagonist. To us, it’s more important that your main character come across as believable yet oddly fascinating. Think of it in terms of a dinner party full of strangers. You might be introduced to a very nice yuppie soccer mom, the kind of woman you’d invite into your home for a book club meeting or ask to babysit your children with no hesitation.

Then there’s the slightly creepy tattooed guy lurking in the corner, telling stories to a small throng of intrigued listeners. You might want to become friends with the woman, but your curiosity would likely be more piqued by the man. His twisted psyche is the one you’d want to peek into; if you had to choose, his secrets are the ones you’d want to learn. Likewise, your reader will likely be more drawn to someone whose world is a bit different than her own.