Likeable characters can become the beating heart of your narrative. Readers root for them and stick with them throughout their journeys. But what exactly makes a character likeable? It’s not just about being nice but making them relatable.
So, let’s look at how to write such characters!
Kindness WITHOUT An Agenda
A likeable character is helpful, compassionate and patient with others because it’s part of their personality … NOT because they want something in return. They will even be kind when it’s not convenient to themselves.
Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) can be dramatic and impulsive, but her deep kindness shines through everything she does.
Forrest Gump’s kindness is pure and never changes, even when others attempt to take advantage of him.
Ted Lasso always gives others grace, even when they’re contemptuous of him.
Give Them an Optimistic Outlook
Optimism can be endearing, especially when it’s grounded in awareness. An optimistic character can seem clueless or over-privileged if they are overly naive. Likeable characters acknowledge reality, but choose to see the positive in it.
Jo March in Little Women is a good sister to Meg, Beth and Amy. Jo also wants to earn her own money and is determined to succeed as a writer. Jo does not mention love, a rich husband, or children like many women of her time. When she gets her first pay cheque then, we cheer for her.
Phil Dunphy in Modern Family is goofy and sometimes child-like, but that is not where his characterization ends. He is a committed father and husband, providing for his family. When his real estate business is not going so well, he hides this from wife Claire as he doesn’t want her to worry. This makes him lovable rather than a man-child like Homer Simpson.
Have Them Lift Other Characters Up
A character become likeable when they put others first. They validate the other characters and support their own journeys. They help them deal with setbacks, as well as celebrate others’ wins.
In Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee is a constant support to Frodo. Sam accompanies Frodo on his epic quest and encourages him through its trials and tribulations.
Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice is quite reserved, but offers constant support for her sisters. She understands the sacrifices she may need to make to ensure the family is financially secure. Her acceptance of this makes readers root for her.
Last Points
Remember there are three elements that contribute to a likeable character: kindness, optimism and uplifting others. Just ensure they are not naive or over-privileged in doing so. Then you will have a likeable character that resonates with readers and viewers alike.
Good Luck!
Lucy V. Hay is a script editor, author and blogger who helps writers. She’s been the script editor and advisor on numerous UK features and shorts & has also been a script reader for 20 years, providing coverage for indie prodcos, investors, screen agencies, producers, directors and individual writers. She’s also an author, publishing as both LV Hay and Lizzie Fry. Lizzie’s latest, a serial killer thriller titled The Good Mother is out now with Joffe Books, with her sixth thriller out in 2024. Lucy’s site at www.bang2write.com has appeared in Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life, as well as a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK (ninth in the world.). She is also the author of the bestselling non-fiction book, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays: From TV Pilot To Feature Film (Creative Essentials), which she updated for the streaming age for its tenth anniversary in 2023.
Thank you for this. Most helpful.
Glad it helped! Thanks for telling me
This is so helpful, Lucy! In one of my first MG manuscripts, the character had such a lack of self-confidence that beta readers sometimes pitied her vs. liking and rooting for her. The tips you mentioned worked great for me!
The only hitch I had was giving an optimistic outlook. I was so worried about people pitying my MC that one of the first fixes was to stop her from dwelling on the bad. But I had an editor at a major house think she was bi-polar because she bounced back way too fast. Finding the right balance is hard! Any tips for others who struggle with this?
Yup, this is common. Balance is the key, but so is relatability. We want characters that feel ‘real’, even in genres that are UNreal (such as fantasy or sci-fi, or ‘larger than life’ genres like horror and thriller). Putting ourselves in the character’s shoes is my first step, as is weighing up what exactly has happened to them. The more serious the adverse life event for your character, the longer it will take for them to bounce back. So ask yourself, ‘where on the scale is the adversity?’ is my top tip here.
Thanks, Lucy! And ooh, figuring out the ‘scale of adversity’ sounds like a great future post.
Good advice, especially the optimism. I think even though we hit characters with a lot of challenges, they need to bounce back from the dark thoughts rabbit hole fairly quickly and find their way back to optimism and what they can control. We admire characters who can do this, and it makes a bad hand dealt seem ever more unfair…so we root even harder for them to succeed. 🙂
Yes, absolutely! Optimism is such a key trait – but it only counts as optimism with a healthy dose of realism. Contrast is everything.
I love this. So helpful as I am digging deeply into my characters.
Delighted it was useful. Good luck with your characters!