How to Write a Grump Readers Will Root For
When I began writing my latest book, The Fake Out—a rom-com between a sarcastic small-town librarian and a fun-loving football player—it became apparent about three seconds into the first draft that I had a grumpy-sunshine situation on my hands. If you aren’t aware, the grumpy/sunshine trope is one that pops up often in movies, books (especially romances), and, it should be said, in real life. Given a relationship between two people, almost always one is the grump and the other is the sunshine.
(5 Tips for Helping Your Readers Empathize With Your Villain.)
Let’s face it. We all love to see the curmudgeon-y loner get bowled over by all that Golden Retriever energy. Give us popcorn and let us watch how that always-smiling woman next door manages to equally annoy and captivate her surly neighbor. We can hardly stand it when the two argue, bicker, and annoy each other and still manage to fall in love.
Some of my favorite grumpy/sunshine relationships include: eternal optimist Jess and He Who Could Find Sometime Wrong with Everything, Nick, in the TV show, New Girl. In Gilmore Girls, Luke was a quintessential grump with a hidden heart of gold who would do just about anything for the people of his small town, especially Lorelai, a woman who made him want to pull his hair out because she was so chatty and happy and nice. My newest favorite grumpy/sunshine pairing is Roy and Keeley of Ted Lasso. Pair Roy’s anger issues with Keeley’s bubbly personality and somehow, it’s like two halves finding each other. Pure magic.
That same magic finds its way into the stories we love to read, too. It happens to be a favorite trope of mine, and I know I’m not alone. So, what makes a grump one we love?
Here are some things I keep in mind when writing:
1. Give that grump a backstory.
And make it a good one. Grumps are grumps for a reason. Most often, they’ve dealt with trauma of some kind, whether as a child or an adult. They’ve learned that the best way to get through life is to depend on the one person who’s always been there—themselves.
Backstories help us to understand why a person acts the way they do and gives us a chance to relate to them. Readers are desperate for those connections with characters.
In my newest book, The Fake Out, Mae Sampson has been let down by all the men in her life—a deadbeat felon for a father, a cheating ex-boyfriend (who also happens to be her boss). It’s no wonder she’s leery of charming, handsome men like the one she finds sleeping her library.
Check out Sharon M. Peterson’s The Fake Out here:
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2. Show us the grumpiness.
A grump isn’t really a grump if they don’t act like one. Grumps aren’t all the same. For example, you have the sarcastic grump who has a quip for everything. There are the silent grumps who miss nothing. Or the blustery, yell-y sort of grump. A grump in a full state of grumpiness often lends itself to humor naturally.
Readers can forgive a lot when a character can make us laugh… even if they’re on their worst behavior. As I developed Mae’s character in The Fake Out, I realized she used sarcasm to keep people at a distance. If she let a man get close to her again, it could only lead to heartache, and nobody wants that.
3. Give the grump a soft side.
The best part of a grump is that underneath all that bluster and Big Loner Energy beats a heart of gold. Sure, we might have to dig a little… or a lot. But it’s there, just waiting to be put to good use.
Perhaps he’s got a soft spot for children. Maybe she fosters rescue dogs. What if the billionaire grump coaches his nephew’s soccer team? What if her heart melts only for a certain handsome, happy-go-lucky mail carrier? (What? Mail carriers do not get the respect they deserve*.)
In The Fake Out, Mae is the person you call when you’re in trouble. She’ll do just about anything for the people and things she loves—her mom and sister, her best friend, her library. She’s fiercely loyal and protective, sometimes to her detriment.
4. Make the grump just like everyone else.
While a grump may seem confident in their taciturn ways, in truth, they have the same moments of self-doubt and insecurities that anyone else does. The difference is that they’re very good at hiding it by showing… other aspects of their personalities.
The grumpiness is all an act to protect a bruised heart. But no one loves to be angry and guarded all the time and at some point, something has to give. We readers want to be there when it happens.
Although Mae might show the world her practical, confident side, through her internal monologues, readers learn she’s a constant ball of anxiety and fear. Exhaustion and fighting her internal fears and external problems will lead to either a broken heart or a chance at love.
5. Let the grump remain a grump.
In the end, some things never change. As our grump finds love and a happy ending, it’s important to remember that a grump isn’t going to wake up overnight and start speaking Unicorn and Rainbow.
Those very things that made them grumpy, also made us love them. Is she still going to be stubborn and hardheaded? Yes. Is he still going to be the strong, silent type with the slightly off-kilter stare? I hope so. Because those are an innate part of our grump’s personalities.
Personalities don’t change but circumstances do. Hearts soften. Grumps find love, a person they can be truly vulnerable with and that changes them in other ways. You could say, they learn to use their powers for good. By the end of The Fake Out, Mae is still cautious in who she trusts, fiercely independent, and always ready with a snappy comeback, but she’s opened her heart to the person who didn’t give up on her.
A well-written grump is one readers will always root for. We love to witness their fits of grumpiness but more than that, we love to see them find a happy ending. In the end, that’s all a grump really wants—a happily ever after.
And maybe some damn peace and quiet.
And to get those kids off their lawn.
Do you have a favorite grump from fiction?
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*I have a friend who wrote a romance about a mail carrier because she thought hers was hot. And now he’s switched to being MY MAIL CARRIER. My whole family calls him “Walt” because that was his name in her book. (Not to his face, of course.)