Memorable stories are built on memorable characters. Readers may forget a setting, a subplot, or even parts of the plot itself, but they rarely forget characters who feel real. Whether you’re writing a picture book, novel, short story, or screenplay, strong characters help readers become emotionally invested in the story. The good news is that memorable characters aren’t created by accident. Authors use specific techniques to develop personalities, motivations, flaws, and growth that make characters feel believable. If you’re struggling to create characters readers care about, these four strategies can help.

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Start With a Character Map

You can’t go wrong with developing a character map, which is a collection of details about your character. Not only does character mapping give you more consistency in your story (because you’ll refer back to it over and over), it lets you examine your character in depth.

When writing a story, authors tend to focus on the story arc, which plays a pivital role in the character’s development. Yet, the character is independent and should be evaluated as such.

Here’s a simple example of a character map.

1. James Griffith is an 8 year old boy.
2. He was born and raised on a farm. He’s never been to a city and knows little about what lays beyond the barbwire fences.
3. His favorite things to do are watching papa ride horses and work in mama’s garden.
4. He is afraid of snakes but loves all kinds of bugs. He also enjoys getting his hands dirty. He does not enjoy when mama yells at him for tracking mud in the house.
5. He hopes to be a cowboy one day, like his papa, and spends his hard earned chore money collecting cowboy gear.
6. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever become a cowboy because he broke his leg sneaking into the horse barn. He is scared mama and papa will sell the horses to pay for his hospital bill.

A character map doesn’t need to be complicated. The goal is simply to understand who the character is before asking readers to care about them.

Have you seen what I’ve done here? Out of thin air, I created a name. Then an age. Then a place. Then personality and experiences. I’ve even included hopes and dreams. Each character in your story should have a character map. Not only will it help you determine who they truly are, it makes writing your story come to life.

Note that you will come back to your character maps constantly, whether to remind yourself of your character’s attributes, or to change an attribute. Nothing is set in stone!

Give Your Character a Meaningful Arc

The best characters develop through the story in what the industry refers to as a character arc. If nothing has changed, the story can hardly be interesting. Consider James Griffith from the above character map.

In the beginning of the story, he wants to be a cowboy. In the middle, he still wants to be a cowboy. And in the end, he wants to be a cowboy. How exhilarating…

Compare that character arc to the following:

James wants to be a cowboy. James breaks his leg and his parents sell the horses which crush his dream of becoming a cowboy. James meets an injured horse that needs a home and becomes a cowboy.

Readers don’t become attached to characters because of who they are at the beginning of a story. They become attached because of who those characters become by the end.

Memorable characters have meaningful goals, meaningful flaws, meaningful conflict, and meaningful growth.

Nothing about a major character is minute or unimportant. Everything matters. Readers and listeners want to know what the major character was, is, and becomes. They want closure. They want tension. They want to know how the major character deals with conflict and setback. Readers and listeners, when they meet a new character, are hooked as long as the character is believable.

Make Characters Believable

There’s nothing worse (OK, maybe there is) than a character that does not operate consistently with their character map. If your character is shy, they won’t go run up on stage when it’s their turn to sing in front of the class. They’ll hide or run out the door! A strong character isn’t going to be nervous – unless he’s only strong on the outside!

The more believable and consistent a character acts, the more readers can identify with them. Is your bunny character happy? Then it shouldn’t be moping around when it hears bad news. It should be optimistic. Is your toad grumpy? Then don’t make your toad happy to have visitors.

Believable characters don’t always have to be typical characters. That is to say, characters can be unbelievable in so much as they can be understood by the reader. In the following examples, who is more believable as a major character?

1. Torace was one of the giants of old. He lumbered heavy on his left foot when dragging that ancient cedar of a club. His few yellow teeth were all that was attractive about him.
2. Piper loved to drive on the highway. Although still in diapers, she was able to see, steer, and step on the pedal like a professional.

Although someone could force a story with Piper, it would be difficult at best and terrifying at worst. Too much happens that is fighting against the natural preconceived notions of humanity. Unless we as writers provide excellent story premise to make Piper more believable as a character, people won’t be willing to give her a chance.

Torace feels believable because his behavior aligns with our expectations of the world he inhabits. Piper can work as a character too, but only if the story provides enough context for readers to accept the premise.

Joanna Penn discusses creating believable characters in greater detail and offers additional strategies for writers who want to strengthen their character development skills.

Appeal to Emotion

Publishing expert Jane Friedman discusses connecting deeply with readers and highlights two areas of focus – vulnerability and emotional capacity.

Readers connect most deeply with characters who have flaws, vulnerabilities, and room to grow.

When I play make believe with my young son, he often introduces himself into the story. You may wonder what special powers he gives himself? Well, everything. He typically has no weakness whatsoever and while he absolutely loves it, it makes play time for me a bit draining. What can you do against an opponent who has no weakness and any weaknesses you dream up quickly vanish?

The same is true with creating major characters in your story. Although it’s fun for an author to dream up a perfect character that can handle any situation like a boss (which everyone wishes they were deep down inside), the reader simply won’t connect with them because the reality is far from it. We all have flaws. We struggle. We come up short and don’t have all the answers. If we want readers to love our writing, they must be able to identify in some way with a character and that often happens through vulnerabilities. Who do you feel more drawn to as a reader in the examples below?

1. It was Bill’s turn to speak. He was an excellent speaker. He had no fears of anything. He spoke. And it was perfect.
2. It was Sam’s turn to speak. He never could speak in front of a crowd. Trembling, he approached the stage. This time was no different than the last.

Don’t you hurt for Sam? Don’t you want to know what happens next? Will Sam’s character arc develop him to conquer his fear or at least experience some form of redemptive conquest?

Bill may be competent, but readers often connect more strongly with Sam because they understand his struggle.

Questions to Ask About Your Main Character

What does the character want?

Everyone wants something. That’s what makes people exciting!

Wanting something and not getting it (or getting it yet) increases the tension in a story.

The more tension there is, the more engaged we are as readers to see what happens next.

What stands in their way?

Human experience is filled with difficulty and resistance.

Characters who get what they want without hardship are not relatable.

And unrelatable characters don’t attract readers.

Not only do you need something to stand in the character’s way, it must be believable and realistic within the work you’ve created.

What are they afraid of & What are they willing to risk?

Goals become more meaningful when something important is at stake. Characters who risk nothing rarely create tension. The greater the sacrifice, the more invested readers become in the outcome.

Fears, anxieties, pressures, traumas, and internal struggles are a big part of how we relate to characters.

Consider some of the most iconic characters of all time.

• Superman – Afraid of never belonging with the people of earth despite his best efforts. Afraid of crossing his own moral boundaries in his quest for justice. Afraid he’ll cause hurt to those he loves most.
• Harry Potter – Afraid he’s no different from Voldemort. Afraid he’ll never be accepted. Afraid he’ll never know his own family history. Afraid he won’t be able to save his friends.
• James Bond – Afraid he won’t be able to do what the world needs him to. Afraid his own strength and savvy is not enough. Afraid of hurting the people he loves. Afraid of trusting people who may have ulterior motives.

What flaw must they overcome?

Put another way, how will they change?

If a flaw is not overcome during the character’s arc, it’s useless.

We crave change. We want to see a transition from dark to light. From weak to strong. From low to high.

Not only do characters need flaws (yes, preferably more than one just like people), they need to develop through their flaws from beginning to end.

This overcoming might look like acceptance, resilience, resolve, or humility. It doesn’t need to be completely erased – just overcome.

Final Thoughts

Strong characters don’t emerge by accident.

They are intentionally crafted through thoughtful planning, meaningful growth, believable behavior, and emotional depth.

Just like real people, fictional characters become compelling when they struggle, adapt, and change.

As you revise your manuscript, look beyond your plot and examine your characters closely. Are they believable? Do they have meaningful flaws? Do they change? Will readers care about what happens to them?

If the answer is yes, you’re well on your way to creating characters readers won’t soon forget.