Relatable Characters by Allison Symes

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

I love the story of Mary Magdalene mistaking Jesus for the gardener, briefly blinded by grief. It is easy to visualise and understand. This story and that of Doubting Thomas help make the resurrection more real to me. Thomas did the right thing and got his doubts dealt with by the only One who could deal with them. 

There are Easter stories we don’t know. I like to think one of Jesus’s first appearances on Easter Sunday would have been to His mother, Mary. From recalling the words of Simeon at Jesus’s dedication about a “sword will pierce your soul” (and she would have remembered that on Good Friday, I’m sure) to overwhelming joy Jesus was alive again, that is a tale not in our Bibles but it is highly likely.

The one thing these characters have in common from a writing viewpoint is they are relatable.  

As I write flash fiction, I use a lot of characters. I don’t kill them all, honestly! I don’t need to agree with their outlook on life or their actions but do need to get into their head and know why they are as they are. This is one way in which fictional writing can encourage empathy. Readers need characters to root for. 

Sometimes you can root for characters to fail (usually for villains, though it was a close thing with Alan Rickman’s portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood:  Prince of Thieves). For my villains, I must know what drives them. I just don’t agree with their conclusions or actions. I’ve rooted for some of my characters to fail. That can feel odd but it is a good sign the character has “got to me”. This is the reaction I want my readers to have.

Characters should trigger a reaction as it is a sign the character “lives” and the story is more likely to take off. Ironically, much as we might want to not examine our flaws too closely (it is never something anyone rushes to do), examining flaws is a great way into creating relatable characters.

Why? Simply because we work out what the flaws are and then why the characters have them. That last bit is vital. 

For example, if we have a character who is grumpy but we know they have caring responsibilities and are not sleeping much, we’re going to be sympathetic. If the character is grumpy just because they want to be, sympathy will vanish, yes?

So give some thought to flaws, then the good things about your characters, and put them in situations where flaws and virtues will show. That will take your readers on an interesting journey. 

If it is the case you’re not published yet or are writing for your own pleasure (the latter is how I started), doing the above will still help you produce stories which have a better chance of being accepted, whether you follow through on that or not.

Happy character relatable writing!