Characters Readers Care About

           So I'm Rocky, and Ashley did decide that we could talk to you. Not! that we're, like, dangerous or anything. Or quarantined . Or shut up all day. I mean, well, that I have her permission to write. Here. On this blog thingy.

            *sighs* She thought that it was a good idea that you hear from the characters during Character Month. That's what I mean.

           And she told me to tell you that readers want to read about characters that they care about. Because they'll stop reading if they don't. And because, uh. . . who wants to go on an adventure with someone boring or hateful or over-pitiful, or. . .

            What exactly did she say again?

           Wait, now. I can get it. I'll remember.

           This is kind of like that time when Jaykin sent Oddball and me to Kyn. But you see, we forgot the way. Or I forgot the way. Oddball is good with direction. Okay, he's actually the best mapmaker I've seen in a long time. But the map got burnt, uh, zapped. By Bolt.

           Wait. You don't know who Bolt is. He's a dragon. And him and Oddball, well. They sort of get along. They act like they don't like each other, but they really do. If you pretend you're not looking. But he ate Oddball's maps.
 
           We knew that Kyn was up east of Shamdram though. So we thought we'd rely on Oddball's memory and just walk until the people started talking jibberish. Because if you know Kynians, they don't ever make a law of sense.

           Really they don't. You get arrested for the dumbest things over there. Like eating turkey on a Tuesday. Sitting up instead of down. Going out without a hat on. They even write all the laws on the town hall wall in case you forget. But they had so many stinking laws that they had to make more walls to put them on! Oddball about went crazy when-

           What were we talking about?

            Characters, yes, and caring about them, and why. I forgot why. Right. That's where we left-

            Yes! Ashley made me a list. I'll copy it out for you.

            Reasons people well care about your characters:

-if they are funny or charming, like Captain Jack Sparrow

-if they are virtuous, like I can't think of anyone at the moment

-if they are sacrificial for people they care about, like Katniss

-if they are smart or clever, like Sherlock Holmes

           Hey! No. Not that button. I need to see that list again.*bangs fist on table*

           Low places. I hate computers.

But she also said something about faults. I know it wasn't fault lines. It had to do with characters. So it must be bad things about a character's character. Faults. Of course. Because readers like relatable or human characters.

           Human? So your characters shouldn't be animals. No dogs. No dragons. No things either. Though I'm not sure how you would have a thing for a character. That seems boring a story about a, a, hammer. Now a story about a mountain. That could be interesting. Stories of all the different peoples who climbed. Their adventures. The mighty wind howling around it, the rain beating down on it, but still it stands. The people who it inspired when climbing it. the people who missed death by a crag it's cliff face. But it must not be right because Ashley said humans only. I suppose some nut head tried it or else Ashley wouldn't specify that a character must be human.

And so readers like characters that they care about and. . . . remember that. And- there had to be something else. Think, Rocky. Think! Characters, likable characters.    

            I don't know a rock from a hard place! I don't read. You guys read. You know what characters you care about. Why do you care about them?

           And afterward, we will later hear from Peril. Who knows what she'll talk about. Or if she'll even get around to it in time. The month's almost over, Peril!