Have you ever noticed how the most common trait a character can have in a book is a love for literature? Like there will be a bookish main character just loves to read/write and that’s the only interest they will have.
Now, this isn’t an inherently lousy interest. After all, the reader likely shares this love of literature. The reader can easily relate to a character who shares their hobbies. This character does usually end up a fan favorite. Often times you will even hear the writer say that this character is the one they relate to the most.
So this gives me the feeling like writers are using minimal effort to endear a large chunk of the audience to their characters. By using a simple formula, they are using the same everyman for their readers to project themselves onto.
But when you’re writing a story, you should be able to write convincing characters with an array of different backgrounds and interest. After all, a writer’s job is to allow readers to connect with someone of different backgrounds. They shouldn’t keep using the same lazy cliche of the clumsy, social outcast, bookworm.
They should have the creativity to think up interests for their characters that aren’t just their own. Or at the very least, use a different one of their hobbies that don’t directly relate to literature!
Maybe this is just a personal grip that I have. In my first Creative Writing class, my professor told us to avoid cliches, and if we use them, we need to earn them. I really took that to heart, and maybe that’s why it feels like the laziest hobby a character can have for me.
I Think Thinks 