Empathy.
This is a tough one. I have been told by many people wiser than me and read in many blogs that you need to create characters that your reader can feel empathy with.
But, what does this mean in the context of fiction?
It isn’t sympathy, although sympathy can create empathy. It isn’t a matter of liking the character either. But it is certainly one of the main components of creating believable characters.
Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge, cites empathy as-
“Empathy, which literally translates as in feeling, is the capability to share another being’s emotions and feelings.”
This seems simple and is a really neat definition, but how do you go about writing characters that the reader can empathise with? This is really a question, because I don’t think I’m near enough to an answer to write about it with the sort of definitiveness that I would like.
The way I see it is, we don’t need to agree with a character, we don’t even need to like a character, we just need to have a clear understanding of their motivations. And these motivations need to ring true with the relationship which the reader has with the character and with the course of action that the character is taking.
Does that make sense? I’m not even sure if it does to me, but this is part of the process I am undergoing through these rewrites.
In my WIP I think the problem of distance from the MC and therefore lack of empathy with her is linked to her passivity and this is something that I am addressing in this round of rewrites.
