Well, a sympathetic motivation is always handy. Note that it wouldn't have to be a motivation the audience agrees with, but as long as they can sympathize, see why they're doing what they're doing and can even picture themselves doing the same thing, that's a big help to making this character appeal to the audience.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
I'm trying to make the motivation sympathetic, and one the audience could agree with, but as such, that's a very YMMV thing.
However, it's difficult to find a theme that works for a sympathetic motivation - I don't want to get into Cliché Storm with the motivation, but don't want it to be too wacky either.
Hmm. Yeah, it's definitely a YMMV thing. Not everyone will sympathize with this character, but that wouldn't mean you failed, just that people have different interpretations.
Can you tell me a little bit about this character, or the world the character lives in? I might be able to help find a realistic and non-cliche motivation.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
@ War Jay 77:
About the character and settings:
She's 21 years old, Indian-American (Indian in the sense India the country, not Native American) and lives in a large U.S. city (trying to decide between Texas, California or NYC) and has taken to criminality, albeit low-level for now, as Money, Dear Boy, and she's the sort of girl who's Kicking Ass in All Her Finery. She hates being seen as a tomboy, dislikes tomboys and likes to be as girly as she can but also likes cars too - she owns a Cool Car, in this case, a 1980s Ford Sierra imported from Europe (Artistic License – Law with the setting, but there could be In-Universe justification, despite the 25-year rule on imports!).
She's from a poor background, lives in an area with many examples of The Alleged Car and poor people everywhere including drug dealers, but doesn't want to go down the drug dealer or get into a gang as such. She's more of The Fixer - type character who wants to be The Fixer for good purposes, but finds it difficult to get an opportunity to do so.
Her favorite way of dressing is usually Bare Your Midriff with leggings (crop top, sports bra, halterneck) and she has a distinctive accent - not decided where yet in the U.S. it could be from, but it'd be relevant to Texas, California cities or NYC. Often the crop top and leggings are in very pastel colors, reflecting her colorful personality.
Racism could play a part in this too.
In general she's a Nice Girl but can lash out about things relating to race or anti-American statements, and hates tomboy behavior (but would her interest in cars alongside girly-girl things make her a hypocrite?) and doesn't like people seeing her as a tomboy.
The setting is an Alternate History 1990s - starting at 1997, and it's set in the U.S. mainly - and I'm looking at Texas or California cities as the main settings.
Well, the obvious one would be that she's turned to a life of crime in order to make a living. Being poor and being a racial minority definitely contributes to people struggling in such a way that makes them commit crimes just to get by. If she started out doing it in order to survive, and then maybe became greedy, that'd certainly be a realistic and understandable motive.
While a bit cliche, it's also very realistic, and so people would certainly understand and relate to her POV, even if they think her actions are wrong.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallGood point about turning to a life of crime to make a living, not sure though where The Fixer fits in on this sort of thing, especially since, technically, she's her own boss, doesn't fit in with any local gang or criminal syndicate.
Only in It for the Money is one of her traits, and would Even Evil Has Standards apply to her, or is it Everyone Has Standards, for someone who's misguided, but not really evil, per se?
However, she's trying to be The Fixer, but this is a character type I've never really tried to write about before, and I want to know what cliches to avoid about a fixer to avoid it being a cliche storm.
She's not a Flat Character, and over her Character Development, she ends up on the protagonists' side anyway.
In terms of Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness, she's more of a Harmless Villain, despite actually being a Badass (at least for now) and doesn't really want to be bad.
My main problem is how to make her The Fixer role have something the audience can relate to.
Edited by Merseyuser1 on Sep 25th 2019 at 11:22:02 AM
Reading the page for The Fixer, it's basically a skilled, well-connected person that people go to when they need something done. Make your character good enough at it in one or a few areas (maybe she's good at, who knows, procuring weaponry, or finding you a hitman, or manipulating law enforcement somehow, or something else), and perhaps she has enough clout to charge for her services. It'd slot nicely into her "in it for the money" tendencies, too.
One sort-of sympathetic way you could play the Only in It for the Money aspect is by having her justify her money-grubbing as financial security, a remnant of her days from when she was poor. The fear of not knowing where your next meal will come from, having to choose between paying rent or electricity, hoping your car has enough gas to make it to payday, and knowing that even a small setback like getting the flu or the car needing a repair could make everything come crashing down are very real things that can leave lasting marks. Give her a younger sibling or someone else she feels responsible for, and watch all of these worries grow exponentially. Make those clear, and you'll be well on your way towards the hectic glow of watching your readers question if they wouldn't have done the same thing.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."

I've been giving my story a full clean-slate Continuity Reboot, with the original character going from blonde Girly Girl to a Girly Girl Significant Green-Eyed Redhead.
I'm developing a character - a Punch-Clock Villain at that, who's not even evil, just a little misguided, and I want to make her into an Anti-Villain who the audience can sympathise with, and is likeable. She's an important character, a tritagonist really. I'm not sure how to develop her character this way.
The setting is an Alternate History in the 1990s - with 1997 being the starting point (although there is a flashback to 1994 in it).
The Big Bad is a horrible, spiteful old woman - and is more of an Evil Matriarch Narcissist (in the sense of being an Evil Matriarch to her three daughters, who, incidentally, don't want to be like her) than a Take Over the World -type villain. She's got no redeeming qualities, and for the sake of this story, isn't an Arch-Enemy.
On the subject of my main character, she's already in a relationship (although that's less integral to the plot) so love/romance tropes don't really come into it.
There's also another side story - for one of my characters, Katelynn "Lynn" / Jana (an important major character out of my four major characters, excluding the Big Bad) who gets Alternate Identity Amnesia. The alternate identity amnesia will be an important plot point (see separate thread).
As for what my work is, it's not a webcomic, it falls under the Literature folder on a trope page on this site.
Edited by Merseyuser1 on Sep 25th 2019 at 9:37:47 AM