The Book on FICTION WRITING | Advice for New Writers

Creating Likeable Characters

For someone to commit to your book, they will most likely need to like the main character. Note that I'm saying 'main character' here, not 'protagonist' - whether you're writing a traditional hero tale, focusing on an anti-hero, keeping things morally grey, or perhaps detailing the fall of a character into villaindom, either way they need to be likeable.

Why is a likeable character so important?

If no one likes your MC ... why would they bother reading about their exploits?

Likeability doesn't need to mean that your character is some goody two-shoes who can do no wrong. We don't have to want to be their friend. It means that the reader has some kind of reason to support them, to want them to win, or at least a willingness to follow along in their journey.

Whether your MC is arcing towards self-improvement or self-destruction, they must be likeable in those early pages and consistent from there onwards for the reader to want to stick around.

Tips for creating likeable characters:

1) Give them a 'Save the Cat' moment

This comes from screenwriting, but it applies to all story telling. 'Save the Cat' was a term coined by Blake Snyder in his wonderful screenwriting bible by the same name, which itself comes from an old Hollywood plot device called 'Pet the Dog'.

A Save the Cat/Pet the Dog moment is when the character does something that we like right at the beginning of the plot, giving us a thing to cling on to for the rest of the story. For example, saving their neighbour's cat which is stuck up a tree.

Using this plot device as you introduce your character earns them the favour of the audience - suddenly, no matter how else they're acting, we know that there's something in their personality which we can root for.

It's like an anti-hero who beats up bullies, or a villain MC who's really nice to their mother. We can attach ourselves to this introductory moment and cling to it for the rest of their arc.

2) Help us connect with your character

So a Save the Cat moment is our thing which we can root for. Now, dotted throughout the plot, we need situations where we can connect with your MC on an emotional level. Exactly what that emotion should be varies from story to story, but it could be empathy, sympathy, a desire to be their friend, relating to their plight, etc. 

No matter the emotion, it makes us connect to the MC on a deeper level, and reinforces our desire to support their journey.

Some things to consider for your MC include:

---Flaws and mistakes

We all have flaws and we all make mistakes. These things are inherent in the human condition. Flawless, perfect characters are often quite boring. They're not very realistic, and you know they're always going to win. So why turn the page? You know how it's gonna go.

A character's own flaws, and the mistakes they make, give them something to grapple with. It challenges their sense of self, and perhaps makes their journey more difficult - meaning they have to self-improve to be able to move forwards.