--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have to have a character worth caring…" description: "\"I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not to start writing books about people I don't have a lot of sympathy for because I'm just going..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/richard-russo-1691_book_i-have-to-have-a-character-worth-caring_1665071.png" --- # I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not… ![“I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not to start writing books about people I don't have a lot of sympathy for because I'm just going to be with them too long.” quote by Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/richard-russo-1691_book_i-have-to-have-a-character-worth-caring_1665071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/richard-russo-1691_book_i-have-to-have-a-character-worth-caring_1665071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/richard-russo-1691_book_i-have-to-have-a-character-worth-caring_1665071.png) > “I have to have a character worth caring about. I tend not to start writing books about people I don't have a lot of sympathy for because I'm just going to be with them too long.” [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author stresses that writers should create characters they care about, because deep sympathy sustains long‑term storytelling. **In simple terms:** Writers need empathy for their characters. Key Takeaway Write characters you care about. Themes writing empathy character development Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice literary When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - short stories - character workshops Key Concepts Narrative empathy psychological depth Questions to Reflect On - Which characters in your work feel most alive? - How does empathy shape plot decisions? A Different Perspective If you lack sympathy, the story may feel flat and disengaging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not looking for sympathy, just understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-looking-for-sympathy-just-understanding/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Zara, sympathy is just a good excuse to buy greeting cards and make sorry eyes and secretly gloat over how glad you are that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-jones/zara-sympathy-is-just-a-good-excuse-to-buy-greeting-cards-and-make/) [Carrie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-jones/) > [You can't make someone love you, all you can do is be someone who can be loved ,the rest is up to the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-make-someone-love-you-all-you-can-do-is-be-someone-who-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The only character worth exalting in Scripture is the character of Christ. 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If you feel you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/to-know-what-you-want-to-understand-why-you-re-doing-it-to-dedicate/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [The only meaning of life worth caring about is one that can withstand our best efforts to examine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-only-meaning-of-life-worth-caring-about-is-one-that-can-withstand/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/his-morality-is-all-sympathy-just-what-morality-should-be/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Everyone thinks football is easy, you're on the pitch for two or three hours and you go home, but it's just not like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-ramsdale/everyone-thinks-football-is-easy-you-re-on-the-pitch-for-two-or-three/) [Aaron Ramsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-ramsdale/) > [Somehow I had come to believe that because a person is in need, they are candidates for sympathy, not just charity. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [As a rule, I am very skeptical of tying books to anniversaries. I don't think readers care. I also feel that it just about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/as-a-rule-i-am-very-skeptical-of-tying-books-to-anniversaries-i-don-t/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More by Richard Russo > [“The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-problem-with-the-contemplative-life-was-that-there-was-no-end-to/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“That, very simply, was what adulthood must be all about—acquiring the skill to bury things more deeply. Out of sight and, whenever possible, out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/that-very-simply-was-what-adulthood-must-be-all-about-acquiring-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“Miles couldn't help admiring women for their ability to dismiss the evidence of their senses. 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Here's another who's never going to write well again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/when-authors-who-write-literary-fiction-begin-to-write-screenplays/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“There was something about spending money they didn't really have that made him optimistic about more coming in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/there-was-something-about-spending-money-they-didn-t-really-have-that/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Some authors have a very hard time understanding that in order to be faithful to the spirit of the book, it's almost always impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/some-authors-have-a-very-hard-time-understanding-that-in-order-to-be/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [HBO is really famous for hiring good people and staying out of their way until they ask for help, or need it. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/hbo-is-really-famous-for-hiring-good-people-and-staying-out-of-their/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-material-in-the-world-or-in-my/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Where was the middle ground between a sense of adventure and just plain sense?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/where-was-the-middle-ground-between-a-sense-of-adventure-and-just/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“Non basta una vita "One life isn't enough”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/non-basta-una-vita-one-life-isn-t-enough/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“... Mr. Purty has cheered me up. The task he has chosen for himself, of wooing my mother with a bright red pickup truck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/mr-purty-has-cheered-me-up-the-task-he-has-chosen-for-himself-of/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“So what? Few men, Miles reflected, lived so comfortably within the confines of a two.word personal philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/so-what-few-men-miles-reflected-lived-so-comfortably-within-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) [Explore all 214 Richard Russo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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