by Tamela Hancock Murray @Tamela_Murray

While people supposedly have more leisure time than ever, the dream doesn’t always match reality. Readers looking for entertainment have more options than ever. So when you write your novel, take the time to give careful consideration to creating your characters. Ask:

Does the character deserve a happy ending?

An editor once told me she didn’t like my heroine. She said my heroine didn’t deserve the hero. I didn’t express my disagreement, but softened that character in my novel until the editor was satisfied. I trust that my readers liked her more after I followed the editor’s advice.

Does the character have an annoying flaw?

Another time, a critique partner told me she didn’t like my hero because he was superstitious. She didn’t seem to care that a plot point was the hero’s journey in overcoming superstition.  I don’t know if that happened here, but I think sometimes writers hit on a reader’s pet peeve and cause her to dislike a character. In another example, a fan was upset that my heroine was taller than the hero. I thought this made them unique, but the reader called my heroine an “Amazon.” I suspect that in the past, a beau may have dumped the reader for a tall woman, so I unintentionally hit a nerve. As writers, we can’t force every reader to love our characters. In real life, even the most delightful people have enemies. Why else would the Bible have so many verses about how to treat enemies?

Do you like your characters?

I’ve read more than one book where the author seems to hate the protagonist. By this, I don’t mean that the character keeps having problems; I mean how the writer portrays the character that readers are intended to love. I don’t understand why a writer would work this way, and it’s a struggle for me to finish a novel with this kind of vibe.

What to do?

When writing, we can make our characters as deserving, likeable, and believable as possible. Then we can hope our readers will love them as much as we do!

Tamela Hancock Murray has been a literary agent since 2001 and has been involved in the publishing industry for over three decades. She is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels, novellas, and nonfiction books. One of her short historical romance novels,  Destinations, won an RWA Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Tamela is honored to represent many top authors and she continues to develop new talent. She earned her BA with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Today she enjoys living in Northern Virginia with her husband of over thirty years. Tamela and her husband are the proud parents of two lovely adult daughters. An avid reader, Tamela can often be found perusing anything from obscure religious texts to the latest bestseller. Tamela loves meeting with authors. Whether you are new to the business, a multi-published author, or somewhere in between, she looks forward to meeting you!