I'm in the middle of working out some of the finer points of my novel Vapor Trail. One of those "points" is trying to find a way to make the reader care about the main character. That might seem a bit simple, but it is of vital importance to the novel and here's why.
Over the past two days I've read several reviews of the new Lone Ranger film that stars Johnny Depp. I read a review in the local paper that mentioned that the audience has a hard time caring about why they two protagonists, Tonto and the Lone Ranger, are chasing the bad guy (I would link to it but the paper's website is atrocious and I can't locate the article). Then today I read this in the WSJ by Joe Morgenstern:
Nor is there any reason to care about the masked rider on the white stallion; he's mainly Tonto's foil, a handsome boob played blandly by Armie Hammer.
"Nor is there any reason to care," that's what I'm trying to avoid in Vapor Trail. I've been focusing on plot and on story, but not on character. It's tough all the time making sure that the reader cares about the character, cares so much that they want to read on.
Right now I'm reading Les Miserables. Victor Hugo makes the reader care so much about what will happen to Jean Valjean that he can write chapters and chapters about houses and people in the Parisian suburbs, and about Waterloo, and about all sorts of other things and I'll keep on reading since I want to know what will happen to the hero.
It's my goal for the next few months . . . to give the reader a reason to care about Vapor Trail.
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