Podcasts › Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo
#244. How to Create Characters Readers Will Love (5 Essential Elements)
What's in this episode
Readers don't fall in love with likable characters. They fall in love with characters who want something specific, stand to lose something personal, and can't quite get out of their own way. Here's how to build one. Think about the last time you truly fell in love with a fictional character. Not just related to them—but actually stayed up past midnight because you needed to know they'd be okay. And then felt that strange grief when the story ended, because it meant leaving them behind. That kind of love doesn't come from likability. It comes from investment. And those are two very different things. Most writing advice conflates them—which is part of why so many writers end up with characters that feel solid in theory but don't quite connect on the page. In this episode, I'm breaking down the five elements that create real reader investment—whether you're building your first character from scratch or trying to figure out why a character you already love isn't landing the way you hoped. You'll hear me talk about things like: [03:25] Why a vague character goal like "she wants to be loved" isn't actually a goal—and what gives your story a spine instead. [06:07] The difference between s