StoryGodmother Newsletter #38 - Unloved Characters
I hope January has been a good month for you. It’s passed in a blur for me, with the added busyness of Winter Writing Cheer and the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize. Alongside my work with writers, I’m busy working on my own projects.
So far this year, I’ve written a short story commissioned by Aquila Magazine, a script for a short film I’m producing and directing, and I’ve begun editing book 2 of the Unchosen One middle-grade fantasy trilogy. Please do sign up to my newsletter for readers to keep up to date with what’s going on: newsletter for readers.
RESOURCES
When they don’t love your character...
As writers, we know (or should know) our characters inside out. We love our protagonists, even though they may sometimes drive us up the wall with their choices. We may feel huge empathy for many of our characters – including our antagonists – as we possess the knowledge and insight as to why exactly they are acting the way that they are.
However, what happens when other people just don’t ‘get’ your characters? When those protagonists that you have breathed life into and spent ages nurturing are shunned by readers? Misunderstood? Disliked? Neglected? Overlooked? It can feel frustrating, even upsetting, when people don’t seem to click with them.
Firstly, and most importantly: don’t panic, and don’t take it personally. As long as it isn’t the vast majority of readers who don’t get your character, this is absolutely fine. If there are many more readers who don’t connect with your character than who do connect, it might suggest a bigger problem somewhere with the crafting of the character, and that is definitely something to examine. But if that isn’t the case, here are some reasons why readers may not fall in love with the characters that you do.
Chemistry
Sometimes readers just don’t particularly like them or just don’t particularly want to spend time with them, but that’s real-life. There are people we meet who we don’t particularly like or click with – certainly not on a close-friend, can’t-wait-to-hear-more-of-your-story level. It is just the way it is. Some people we interact with for years will never go beyond ‘acquaintance’ due to the lack of natural chemistry, not lack of opportunity. Some strangers we meet feel like they could easily be best friend material. It’s not a ‘one size fits all’. Your reader needs to feel that chemistry with the character and it won’t be right every time.
Likeability
Not every character – or indeed protagonist – needs to be likeable, but for some readers that is what they look and hope for. There were a few reviewers (who I think were all adults) who just didn’t get on with my protagonist, Nine, in The House At The Edge of Magic middle-grade series. They found her prickly, didn’t like the way she treated some of the other characters, and so on. Yes, she’s prickly. Yes, she’s rude. But she’s traumatised and hardened from years of isolation, bullying and fear. If I wrote her as a fluffy, kind and polite character, it is simply not going to ring true. But for some readers, this was just not a reading experience that worked for them, and that is absolutely fine.
In cases like this, readers may well be drawn to the concept, world or genre of your story rather than the character exploring it.
Experience
But being a likeable character isn’t necessarily enough in itself. Sometimes the experiences readers have had affects how they feel about characters. We cannot see inside readers’ heads – but every reader has their own treasure trove of experience, memories, likes and dislikes, that we as the writers aren’t privy to. This readers’ lens affects how they see the world, affects how they feel about books, and affects how they appraise our characters.
…And what you can try to do about it
Finding the fit
But all of that is still OK. I have said many times that every book does not have to be for every reader – some people love a certain book, others cannot stand it. Finding the fit is also true with characters. Let readers find those characters that they do love and champion, that they are intrigued by, and feel strongly about because finding those characters and their stories will open up a whole new world to them. And that is what stories are for. And it won’t be every single character they encounter. This is why we need lots of different types of books, featuring different types of characters, written by different types of writers.
Offer a variety of characters
We’ve explored how readers connect with characters differently, and I hope this is reassuring. Let readers play and experience your book however feels right to them. Let them ‘make friends’ with the characters who they are drawn to, and offer them a variety of different characters in the cast – and don’t worry if the strongest connection isn’t with your protagonist.
Look at reviews (of your own book as well as books you’ve read by other authors). Which character do readers commonly report as their favourite? What can you learn from this? In my multi-POV adult historical fiction novel, The Players - Act 1, almost every review I see highlights a different favourite character. As the book is about a small troupe of strolling players, it is intended to have an ensemble feel. I had debated writing the book in single or multiple POV. I’m so glad I stuck with multi-POV, as this has allowed greater depth into some of the character’s minds, and has cleary paid off.
Some people absolutely connect with the bright-eyed, optimistic lead actor, who is the main character of the group. But others fall in love with the hurting, kind-hearted manager (one reader told me, “I would kill to see Robert happy”. Fingers crossed, it won’t come to that). Others adore the relationship between the two brothers who have some serious issues to sort out with each other. Some people love the scene-stealing but desperately lonely antagonist. Some people hate him. It’s fascinating. And yes - absolutely fine.
Agents and Publishers
It is worth mentioning that an agent or publisher is unlikely to take on your book if they don’t feel that connection with your main character. It won’t feel right to them. It doesn’t mean that no-one will feel that connection. It’s about finding the agent or publisher who ‘gets’ your protagonist, who feels that click, who is rooting for them, who understands them, and who wants to spend a long time in their company - because they’re going to have to if they are involved in creating and championing the book’s publication!
Closing thoughts
As mentioned earlier, if you’re having repeated problems with the reception of your characters, do go back and assess the characterisation. Check you haven’t missed anything and make sure your characters are the strongest they can be. If the writer has done their best, then it’s over to the reader to decide.
CHARACTER CORNER
Six top tips for creating strong characters:
Spend quality time with your characters – understand their hopes, dreams, fears, wants and needs.
Understand the key relationships they have with other characters and how this has shaped them.
Explore how this character is different from others you have read about or created.
Create a believable back story, even if it isn’t all shared with the reader.
Allow your character’s voice to come through. This can take time to develop, so be patient.
Have some kind of memorable quality to your character – why will the reader remember them, years in the future?
If you like this, keep an eye open for my Story Godmother writing craft book Walking With Characters, which will be coming out later this year!
WRITING COURSES & EVENTS
As requested, there are a multitude of exciting courses coming out this year. All sessions will be recorded if you’re unable to attend live. This is what’s planned for February:
You can also follow me on Eventbrite to be notified automatically as soon as a new course is listed.
AUTHOR SKILLS: How To Survive and Thrive in a Writing Career
Monday 9th, 16th & 23rd February at 7-8pm - 3 weeks - £35
An opportunity to learn about a wide variety of skills needed in addition to being able to write a good book! We’ll be looking at different areas over the three weeks that will help you survive and thrive as an author:
Week 1 – Creative
Week 2 - Practical
Week 3 – Emotional
The session is recorded and available for a limited time after the event.
Tickets £35 (plus Eventbrite admin fee) and available here:
Author Skills Tickets, Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
HOW TO MAKE A CHAPTER WORK
Thursday 19th February, 7-8pm - 1 week - £12
In this session, we’ll be looking at all the necessary ingredients to include in an effective and exciting chapter and how to edit your chapter once it’s written.
How To Make A Chapter Work Tickets, Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
LOUND AND CLEAR: Creating a Strong Character Voice in Fiction
Tuesday 24th February, 7pm – 1 week - £12
A good character voice can make a huge difference. Not only does it improve the reading experience, but it is also essential for stories that will be read aloud – from picture books to audio novels. We’ll be looking at how to make your character’s voices as strong, distinct and engaging as possible.
COMPETITIONS
WRITING MAGAZINE CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE
Huge congratulations to our Chapter Book category winners:
1st – Jasper Crimson, Vampire Detective by Laila Murphy
2nd – Deeny Dinos: T-Wrecks by Helen Addyman
3rd – Derek and the Pancake Pandemonium by Rhiannon Pipkin
These stories demonstrated a high quality of writing, fantastic imagination and strong concept. Congratulations also to everyone on the longlist and the shortlist. Keep writing – the competition is open again this year! To find out more about the winning entries and their authors, do keep an eye open for future issues of Writing Magazine.
Keep an open for announcements for the picture book category. The longlist will be announced on 2nd February and the shortlist on Friday 6th. You can find these on my social media platforms:
and at my website: www.storygodmother.co.uk
WINTER WRITING CHEER
I’m excited to say that Winter Writing Cheer has got off to a strong start. For those new to the scheme, Winter Writing Cheer exists to help writers improve their writing through access to free, discounted or affordable events and services, whilst raising funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
After a fantastic Agent Panel Q & A (a big thank you to our four fabulous agents who came along for the panel) and the How To Write A Series session, we have raised an amazing £992! I’m thrilled to say that along with the discounted opening chapter critiques this should help us smash the £1000 target once again! This couldn’t happen without your support – thank you so much to everyone who has supported the events, by attending or spreading the word.
Don’t forget to come along to the final event in the Winter Writing Cheer – a FREE Ask Me Anything on Thursday 5th February, where I should hopefully be able to announce the final amount raised this year.
Winter Writing Cheer: Ask Me Anything - FREE event Tickets, Thu, Feb 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
You can read more about the Winter Writing Cheer initiative here: #WinterWritingCheer – The Story Godmother
And more about the charity here: Alzheimer's Research UK
If you’d like to visit the fundraising page to check progress or make any donation at anytime, you can do so here: Amy Sparkes is fundraising for Alzheimer's Research UK
OUT AND ABOUT
I love going out and meeting writers and I’m keen to do more of that in 2026. I had a wonderful time working with the lovely Exeter Writers last year, running a workshop on writing fantasy. If you’re looking for a speaker on any aspect writing craft or writing industry, please do get in touch. I’ll happily do anything from workshops to talks to 1:1s, from small writing group meet-ups to writing festivals!
STORY GODMOTHER WRITING COMMUNITY
Do you use Facebook? Great – join the Story Godmother Writing Community on Facebook. It’s a free, private and friendly group, where writers can share encouragement, thoughts or interesting finds. I also share weekly writing tips, and I’m there to answer any questions you have. Come and join us! Story Godmother Writing Community
It’s a private group and a friendly bunch – a safe space for you to grow as a writer. And it’s absolutely free.
If you request to join, please do make sure you answer the membership questions and agree to the group rules otherwise you cannot be admitted.
END NOTES
Thanks for reading! Have a great February!
With writerly love,
Story Godmother
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