7 Reasons Readers Don't Care About Your Novel's Characters

Readers not caring about your characters is a big (and common!) problem. In this video I go over seven reasons that readers, editors, or agents might not connect to your characters.

1. You're not conveying the character's personality.
2. You're talking about what the character is like but you're not showing it.
3. You're showing your character's least flattering traits without giving a reason for why they are that way.
4. You're not conveying what the character wants.
5. You're not showing the problem preventing the character from getting what they want.
6. Your character is a stereotype or built on tropes.
7. You're not including sensory information to place the reader in the character's shoes.

[kukalakana]

I hate, hate, HATE when others in a story talk about how sickly nice a character is but the way they are actually portrayed just makes them creepy.

[strategicgamingwithaacorns]

An example of showing over telling:

George R.R. Martin tells us Gregor Clegane is a nasty person.
George R.R. Martin shows Gregor Clegane chopping off his own horse's head in a fit of rage before attacking Ser Loras Tyrell.

[Randomcorpse]

I love that there is 0% fat in these videos. I feel like there wasn't a second I wasn't learning something. Thankyou.

[Minnesota_Fatts]

The worst words someone can say about your characters: “I don’t care about/what happens to any of these people.”

[csldc]

I've now watched several of your videos. Thank you for jamming them full of USEFUL, RELEVANT information! There's nothing more annoying than clicking on a writing tutorial and having to sit through an impromptu 60-second review of the vlogger's new favorite latte, extraneous info about how they feel about their hairdo that day, or a cameo featuring their boyfriend/girlfriend. Your videos show that you respect your viewers' time, and frankly, I fricken appreciate it. Thanks! Subscribed!

[dougc]

What kind of monster hates Winnie the Pooh?

[hawkins]

Trying to make the character likeable by having the character do too many good deeds, may backfire by making the character seam unrealistic.

2:25 1. Not conveying the character's personality or conveying an unintended personality.
3:59 2. Telling instead of showing the character's personality.
5:35 3. Showing the character's negative traits but not explaining why the character has those traits.
6:40 4. Not indicating what the character wants or longs for.
7:19 5. Not introducing an obstacle to what the character wants.
8:05 6. The character is a stereotype or a trope.
8:50 7. Not putting the reader in the character's shoes by not giving information from the character's senses.

[mudturtle]

Wait, who doesn't like Winnie? He's a chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff! He's a silly willy nilly old bear! I love Winnie!

[jiggermole]

Friend didn't believe me when i told them you can find tutorials for anything on YouTube. You just earned me a dollar. Thank you. Oh and subscribe because these are very helpful.

[sarawawa]

Im here because part way through writing my stories I find I don't like my own characters lol

[elawilt]

thank you, im a very young writer with a crazy story, and only 10K words, and this helps me see my mistakes more clearly.

[EllenBrock]

Hey guys! I'm so excited to have a new camera, new mic, and new background!

I've wanted to bring you guys higher quality videos since I started my channel so I really hope you enjoy the improvements! (I'm still working on my editing skills.)

I appreciate you all supporting me through my technological struggles. Thanks so much for watching! Happy writing!

[kodos]

I am amazed and impressed with the thoroughness of her lesson. She’s able to communicate her ideas so succinctly it makes me want to watch more. I wish I had a friend like her.

[Mylkzi]

WHO THE HECK SAID THEY DIDN'T LIKE SAMWISE GAMGEE
STEP UP AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARDS!!

[SysterYster]

I realized I had a problem with the relationship between two characters that were supposed to like each other. At first, I thought she didn't get enough screen-time (the MC obviously did) so I tried writing more scenes with her. Then I realized that wasn't the problem. The problem was that she didn't speak with the MC enough. She was there, hanging with, but didn't say or interact much. Adding that interaction made it a lot better. Funny how it was so clear in my head when I wrote it, I didn't notice that it was so lacking at first. I had a friend read it and she pointed it out that she didn't like that character and I had to find out why. XD

[missmermade]

Number 1 should have been: Stop creating obvious Mary Sue's. 😂
Thanks for the tips! Can be really helpful

[vulpixelful]

This video makes me curious about Severus Snape. He wasn't very dynamic in the first book, but I'm sure a lot of people were surprised that they cared about his fate. What if his initial characterization was rejected for being too flat?

[WyrdFayth]

The tip about characters needing to want something rather than being content with what they have is spot-on (to a point I lose investment in my own characters if they're happy with life), but it also just reminded me of my favorite semi-"subversion" of that.

I absolutely adore Reluctant Heroes who _would_ be perfectly happy and have no great aspirations, but get dragged around by the plot and thrown into situations they can't ignore. Of course that creates a situation where they do still have a goal they're striving for, namely getting back to enjoying a normal quiet life, so it's not a full subversion. But I do love where the average protagonist is striving to make things happen, occasionally you find the char who just wants things to stop happening, and I always end up giggling at the thought of a well-written Reluctant Hero and the perpetual state of 'done with everything' that tends to come with it. ♥

[quahntasy]

Somehow YouTube knows I am writing a novel and suggested me this video. This helped thanks!

[dennou]

Great to see a new Ellen video! My goal is to use your editing service when I'm done with my novel(s), one beautiful day!