On one of my first forays into writing... actually, it was more like the stumbling of a bull in a china shop... but whatever it was, the first thing I did was make my lead character completely UNsympathetic to the reader. Yeah... not very bright, huh? I think my initial heroine was a total brat, spoiled to the teeth with strong opinons that held no water. She was early 20's and knew absolutely everything about everything and had some sarcastic rejoinder to add to everyone's conversation. Ugh. Slap me, please. I had no idea what I'd unleashed. It was awful.

Now, I have to say in my defense, I was only fifteen. But still... looking back, I see how it ba-a-a-a-a-a-ad it truly was.

As I got older, and kept at it, I found more people giving me input and one of the main things I heard again and again was that while they loved my hero, my heroine was a spoiled little unlikeable b*tch. Wow. That stung. I worked diligently and before long, I actually had folks tell me I was improving. Now, hopefully, I've finally found a nice balance with making my characters human but flawed. This is one of the ways that helps readers sympathize with your leads.

Years ago, someone send me a list of ways to make your characters more sympathetic. I kept the list, but unfortunately, I have NO IDEA where it came from or whom to give credit. It's a wonderful list and I found it extremely helpful. Here's the list -- I hope it helps you too!

Ways to Make Characters Sympathetic
1. Give the character an undeserved misfortune.
2. Increase the jeopardy for the character (make everything go wrong).
3. Make the character an everyman.
4. Give the hero/heroine insecurities and problems (this is where the conflicts come in to play).
5. Make H/H someone who likes himself or herself.
6. Make H/H someone who is courageous.
7. Make H/H someone who helps the unfortunate.
8. Make H/H someone who is loyal to a friend.
9. Show the H/H giving of themselves for the benefit of another (self-sacrifice).
10. Make H/H fight for a just cause.
11. Show the H/H doing any little good act (petting the dog).
12. Have the character surrounded by people who like him or her.
13. Have someone say a good thing about the character when he's not around.
14. Give the character touching or endearing quirks.
15. Make the character someone who is very physical.
16. Make the character someone who is fun and playful.
17. Make the character someone who is funny, witty or clever.
18. Make the character someone who is thoughtful and intelligent.
19. Make the character someone who is the underdog.
20. Make the character someone who goes their own way in the world (the loner hero).
21. Make the character someone who stands up to the masses.
22. Make the character the outsider who wants in.
23. Make the character someone who relates to kids well.
24. Make the character someone who loves his family or animals.
25. Make the character a person who takes responsibility for his own actions.
26. Make the character a person who has a generous heart.
27. Make the character an ethical person who cannot be corrupted.
28. Make the character a person trying to pull himself or herself up by his or her bootstraps (a h/h who solves his or her own problems).
29. Make the character a person that gets by with very little.
30. Make the character a modest person.
31. Have other characters be worse.
32. Make the character be genuine (a caring attitude toward others).
33. Make the character a crazy man in a crazier world.