This is going to sound like a humblebrag, and I REALLY don’t mean it to be, I’m just super excited to have FINALLY figured out something important for my writing.

The most common feedback I get about my characters is that they’re unlikeable, and I’ve never understood why, because their behavior is within the range of characters I love whom everyone agrees are very likeable and compelling. But this morning, rereading a book by another author, I finally got it. Caring about other people is so natural to me that it’s rarely a matter of conscious thought. When I write, the things I make explicit are the things that are NOT obvious, but I don’t discuss the ways in which the character cares about other people, because it’s a given for me. But not everyone thinks that way, and so my audience, not knowing whether this character is supposed to be good, mean, calculating, etc. doesn’t assume that compassion is there unless I tell them so. To me, being this explicit feels as awkward as announcing aloud, “I’m opening the refrigerator door to get the orange juice, because I want juice this morning,” but at least I FINALLY know what I’ve been doing wrong all these years.