What Makes Readers Care About a Story?

 Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Abbie Emmons' videos, and one of the main things I’ve heard her talk about is why people engage with stories and what makes them matter. One of her claims (and this was likely hyperbole, so I’m not taking it fully literally) is that people don’t really care about the storyworld or gorgeous writing or anything extra like that, rather they come to a story to experience the characters and their internal conflict.

To a certain extent, I think this is true. I mean, I definitely come to stories for the characters. Everything else can be chef’s-kiss wonderful, but if I don’t care about the protagonist, I’m going to knock off at least one star from the review. Vice versa, there can be any number of iffy sections with the writing and I might not even know what the what was the plot, but if I fell head over heels for the characters’ journeys, they’ll go on my favorites list till the end of time.

So, while this statement is certainly true for me, I’m not 100% sure if such is the case for all readers/watchers (since we’re talking about stories, this would include movies and TV shows). Do people care, we’ll say, mostly about the characters in every instance? Or are there communities, whether niche or mainstream, who actually care more about other aspects of story?

Night Job Detectives: aka The Mystery and Suspense Readers

I think many mystery readers enter the genre for the whodunit, the puzzle of finding the answer, as opposed to wanting to follow a particular detective. They may also like the author’s writing style, but may not care overmuch for the character himself.

For example, earlier this summer, I watched Death on the Nile, and the characters are… not people I would want as friends, we’ll say. Hercule Poirot is very vain; the leading lady is entirely self-absorbed; and the villain is certifiably crazy. The only character I liked at all was Bouc, but he was supporting cast so he didn’t drive the whole movie. Even so, I stayed for the puzzle of the mystery and to see if my whodunit theory was correct (it was 😉).  

In my observation, that seems to be the prevailing drive behind most of these murder mystery stories. Readers/watchers might not love the characters--after all, half of them are eccentric, the other half are fruitcakes, and half of each are going to die, so best not get attached. The detective is often either too smart for his/her own good or kind of bumbling around until they stumble over the solution. However, the mystery is intriguing, and the audience wants to know if they can solve it before the characters do.

On the opposite side, I used to love BBC’s Sherlock. This was partially because I was a BIG mystery girl in my early teens, but it was also because I loved the reimagined Sherlock and Watson. I’d read some of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales and, of course, they’re incredible mysteries, but I didn’t find the characters particularly likeable. However, with BBC’s Sherlock, I wanted to hear specifically from that quirky cast, not even about the mysteries they were trying to solve.

Writer-Artists: Lovers of Storyworld and Atmospheric Writing

While I don’t know if anyone comes exclusively for the storyworld, I think it is a make-or-break point for many readers. After all, what is Middle Earth without the Shire, Rivendell, and the Misty Mountain? The depth of the setting and the iconic destinations hold as much weight in the story as the characters themselves. What’s more, I’ve heard that Tolkein created his stories in part to give Britain a modern mythology as well as to showcase his love of languages and the language he’d created. Those are all more worldbuilding elements than they are characterization.

On the other hand, what are the Shire, Rivendell, and the Misty Mountain without Bilbo, Legolas, and Thorin? It’s their placement in the story that turns it from a neat geography textbook to a life-changing adventure. Would people still be enamored with Middle Earth if the characters weren’t as layered and nuanced as the landscape itself?

Adrenaline Junkies: I Just Want to See Things Go Boom 

The Transformers movies. Need I say more?

But in all seriousness, there are whole genres of action and adventure stories whose appeal has to do with the visual spectacle rather than with the characters themselves. Similar to the suspense/mystery lovers, viewers may like the main hero character, but the actual draw is in the wild action sequences, the riveting chase scenes, and the CGI spectacle that thrills the heart and captures the mind.

But, just to throw in another side, even though I grew up on superhero shows, I had no true interest in them until the Marvel movies started coming out. And it wasn’t because of the incredible visual, the big-name actors, or the heart-pounding plots, it was because I loved the characters. I loved not Captain America, but Steve Rogers, your All-American, tenacious, kind, actually good male hero. I loved not the god of Thunder, but Thor, a Medieval space prince who grows into a human actually worth calling king. I loved not Scarlet Witch, but Wanda Maximoff, a girl who’d lost everything yet still chose to use her power to fight for her country and protect her people. So, with that, I’d say Marvel has done an excellent job of turning a niche genre into a marketplace item by delving into characters, their backstories, and individual journeys instead of focusing exclusively on the action.

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All that to say, I think there’s weight to both sides. I think you can always improve a story by improving on the characters; however, some people will actually come for action, mystery, or a whole new world, and I think that’s wonderful too. After all, you can probably improve your character's journey by improving on all of those elements as well. 😉

So, what about you? Do you come to stories more for the characters or for action, world, or mystery? Another element that I missed? Maybe a mixture of many things? I would love to hear from you, and I will see you in the comment section!