User blog comment:Bubblegum 366/Characters nobody cares about. At all./@comment-25052433-20141101160057

What you're describing are the typical character dynamics for almost any story. While I do agree that many of these concepts are cliché and unappealing, they are almost always going to appear in some way.

What can make or break a character in these circumstances is how the character's personality is developed regardless of which dynamic they serve. Sadly, they are almost always necessary, otherwise, it would be almost impossible to write drama or suspense, which of course, come together to make horror.

Think about it like this, is Jason Voorhees was out at Camp Crystal Lake, and came across a team of Army Special Forces, or Navy Seals, it would be a very quick Jason movie, as he would likely be mowed down in minutes.

You almost have to have those drunk teens to give him something to do.

So, the best way to get around that, at least as far as I have found, is to try and make the character's personalities as identifiable to the reader as possible. Form some degree of bond, and the reader will typically care what happens to them.

If you write hallow cliché characters though, yeah, the reader will just be waiting for them to die off.

Good blog!