There are a lot of writers out there with a basically solid story but a protagonist no one cares about.

Folks in this position have often sent their manuscript out (what feels like) a million times, to no avail. So that manuscript has been relegated to being a “drawer novel”–one that lives on their hard drives.

If you’ve got a story like this, you may have received feedback from agents and editors to the effect of “I love the writing/story/premise, but I just don’t love this character” or “I’m not connecting with this protagonist the way I’d need to in order to sell this novel” or “this character doesn’t feel relatable for me.”

Which may have caused some frustration on your part. Isn’t the literary world full of “unlikeable” protagonists? Protagonists that most readers have absolutely nothing in common with?

Yes. But even so, there’s a critical element in those stories that causes the reader to connect with those characters.

In my latest post for Jane Friedman, I share exactly what that element is, and how to put it to work in your fiction.

Never miss a post! Subscribe to my newsletter.