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*In this issue... ** If Gallup Rated Character Popularity*
============================================================
* If Gallup Rated Character Popularity*
by Bruce L. Cook
A fiction writer has the power to create characters who are likable,
despicable, or something in between. For me, sometimes, the pitiable
characters grab my full attention.
But, the fiction writer is reminded, a successful story must satisfy
the reader, not the creator. And, if fully guided by this principle,
the writer needs help in deciding how to portray characters. That is,
the Gallup organization would sample 1,000 representative readers and
publish the results so authors would know what readers prefer. (I
don’t fully agree with this, but I would still like to see a Gallup
poll on character likability, zero to 100 percent.)
Thinking of a writer I won’t name, the protagonists are a married
couple who never endure real disagreement, and whose invincibility is
unquestioned. They are charitable but ruthless when on a seemingly
unreachable quest to right whatever wrongs they encounter.
My question for this writer – does such a perfect couple satisfy
readers 100%? Or does it frustrate them because it presents an
impossible scenario? Maybe it just bothers writers who read the story,
because they feel pity for the author? Only Gallup could know.
As one example, Gallup couldn’t find Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime
and Punishment 100% likable because his personality is imperfect.
Statistically, readers who dwell on competition might view him at 50%,
while empathetic readers rate him at 100%. So he might be 80.2%
likable.
Should a fiction writer hone characters in the hope of satisfying
readers at 100% likability? Or should writers who do that deserve the
contempt of writers whose view on life may be more like the adage “It
is what it is”?
Then, just to complicate matters, consider that opinion surveys offer
more than one Likert scale. A survey may well rate a character as to
likability, believability, empathy, integrity, durability,
foolishness, etc.
Better yet, in today’s digital world, perhaps someone will develop a
writer’s “app” that assigns ratings to a story’s characters and
(without feeling) admonishes writers to include an optimal “mix,“
reminding one of the romance novel formula.
While I would reject any such app, I do try to see goodness in
everything. In this case, that might mean that publishers would become
objective in considering works by lesser known writers. Publishers
could even abandon worn-out ideas and give more attention to new
ideas.
In fact, if it ever could come to that, I could find this survey idea
likable after all.
Bruce L. Cook
========================================
*Strategies for Peace, by Bruce L. Cook and Maria Cristina Azcona
(eds.) <http://www.strategiesforpeace.com/>
Print: $19.99
BRUCE L. COOK AND MARIA CRISTINA AZCONA - Full Index. I join Maria
Cristina Azcona in offering this collection of viewpoints on peace
making. She and I joined Ernest Kahan in 2014 to establish the
Worldwide Peace Organization in Argentina. Here we identify a
startling variety of facets on the crystal which represents peace.
Virtually everyone claims to want world peace. Only a few take
measures to promote it. Each writer who seeks peace suggests a unique
dimension. It's our hope that this volume will encourage students,
professors, and peacemakers to consider this comprehensive look at ten
strategy perspectives which, if taken seriously in private and public
life, might lead to our shared objective - worldwide peace in our
time. * Leadership * Language and Leadership * Interspiritual * World
Citizenship * Family Relations * Role of Women * Education * Medical
Actions * The Arts * Conflict Resolution*
========================================
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We have developed a world peace website: www.wwpo.org
Publishing New Writers,
April, 2017 (no. 1804)
Publisher:
Dr. Bruce L. Cook
1407 Getzelman Drive
Elgin, IL 60123
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