Just say the name “Steve Urkel” and someone in the room will groan.

Did you watch Breaking Bad? If so, do you remember the character Chuck McGill, Saul’s brother? He has been ranked as one of the most aggravating characters ever. And he is. He’s a jealous, manipulative liar. Although we should feel some sympathy for him because of his mental illness, his tinfoil hats (and blankets) make his character even more aggravating to Saul—and thus, to us. (The audience might have a different reaction if Saul did.)

Pete Campbell in Mad Men is another aggravating character because he believes himself to be better than everyone else. We only learn to like him when Don starts to accept him. (By the way, if you study Don Draper, the writers make certain we love him despite his faults because he does two nice things before doing something bad.)

The writers take it in a different direction with Frank Burns on M*A*S*H by making fun of him and having him be a comedic relief.

How many other ways can you take your most aggravating characters and have them be accepted by your readers?

Writers are often told to make their character(s) sympathetic. But what if you want a character to be aggravating? We’ll discuss all the many ways a character can be aggravating and still read-worthy at our Nutz & Boltz meeting on Monday, Jan 19, 6:30 p.m., Braums, 7101 S. Broadway, Tyler. I bet you can think of several aggravating habits. But do you know how to make those aggravating characters a little lovable, too?