Whether you’re writing humor or drama, fantasy or adventure, crafting characters that stick with your readers is essential. It’s one of the most powerful storytelling tools in your arsenal—and fortunately, it’s a skill you can learn and sharpen.

Creating characters that are not only relatable but memorable isn’t immediately obvious when you’re starting out. But it’s not impossible. With a few focused strategies, you can give your readers someone they’ll recognize instantly and care about deeply. Let’s dive in.

Making a character memorable

The first step in building a character that readers remember is giving them unique traits and quirks. These are the things that make your character visually or behaviorally distinct—what sets them apart from the crowd.

Give Them a “Limp and an Eyepatch”

The phrase “limp and an eyepatch” is borrowed from Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat. It’s shorthand for giving your character something immediately identifiable. Think of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. He’s hunched, twisted, talks in a high rasp about “my precious,” and constantly wrestles with himself. That internal conflict—Smeagol versus Gollum—is instantly recognizable. The way he moves, speaks, and emotes is burned into pop culture. That’s his “limp and eyepatch.”

Not every character has to be as dramatic as Gollum, of course. A unique voice, a catchphrase, an odd posture, or a memorable silhouette can all serve the same function.

Use the Silhouette Test

Close your eyes and picture Mickey Mouse. Now do the same for The Thing from Fantastic Four. You can immediately identify each character from their outline alone. That’s the silhouette test — and it’s instrumental in comics and graphic novels. You’ve made a strong design choice if you can recognize a character by its shape alone.

In short, make your characters visually and behaviorally distinct enough that your audience doesn’t have to guess who they’re looking at or listening to. Give them a trait or tick that can anchor them in your readers’ minds — whether it’s a verbal quirk, an iconic outfit, or just the way they carry themselves.

Making a character emotionally relatable

When writing compelling characters — especially in comics — one of the most crucial aspects is making them emotionally relatable. We’ve already talked about how to make a character memorable. But memorability isn’t enough. If your audience can’t connect emotionally, the character won’t stick. Let’s explore how to create characters that resonate on a deeper level.

Perfection is Boring

A great example of what not to do comes from the first season of Reacher. In that season, the title character was essentially Sherlock Holmes with abs — hyper-competent, always right, never making mistakes. Sure, it was fun in a campy way, but emotionally? It was a flatline.

By the second season, they gave Reacher some flaws. He made mistakes. He screwed up. And suddenly, he became far more compelling. Why? Because we could finally relate to him. Watching someone struggle makes them human.

Characters like Monk, Columbo, and even Sherlock Holmes became enduring not because they were perfect, but because of their flaws. Monk’s hiccups were more interesting than his brilliance. Holmes’ later years—plagued by addiction and isolation—were more captivating than his polished deductions. Those imperfections made them real.

Raise the Emotional Stakes

If you want a reader to care, give your character something to lose. Emotional stakes are everything. Ask yourself: What happens if this character fails? Then make it matter. Let the audience know why it matters. Is it love? Family? Identity? Revenge? Redemption?

You can even break it down into a simple exercise:

• What does your character want?
• What do they need?
• What can they lose?

Answering these three things will give you a strong emotional framework to build from.

Let Your Characters Change

Growth is gripping. That’s why origin stories work so well — it’s not just about how someone got their powers; it’s about how they changed. That transformation is the hook.

Remember when we got tired of every superhero movie starting with an origin story? That fatigue overlooked something important: an origin story shows how a character evolves. And change is what keeps readers invested.

Think about it: static characters (like the Lone Ranger) are fine for certain formats. But in longform storytelling, we crave evolution. We want characters to face conflict and come out different on the other side. That’s what gives a story emotional weight.

Three Practical Exercises

Let’s talk tools. Here are three solid exercises to help you write more emotionally resonant characters.

1. The “Why Should I Care?” Test

Write a short bio for your character. A paragraph, maybe two. Then ask yourself: Why should I care?

If you can’t answer that, your readers won’t be able to either. Use that “so what?” reaction to refine your character’s emotional stakes and motivations.

2. The Dialogue Test

Can you identify a character just by their dialogue? You don’t need phonetic accents or exaggerated slang. Instead, think about:

• Idioms they use
• Their tone — Sarcastic? Guarded? Blunt?
• Their emotional vocabulary

Would Laurence Olivier and Bill Burr describe a bad day the same way? Definitely not. Let word choice reflect personality. That’s where voice comes from.

3. Throw Them Into a Tough Situation

Put your character into a dilemma—and not just the “falling building” kind. Social embarrassment, moral conflict, awkward silence—these smaller moments often reveal more.

Ask yourself:

• What do they do if they make a mistake?
• How do they handle embarrassment?
• What happens if they’re given power or money?

These reactions say as much about your character as any dramatic showdown ever will.

Bonus: Use Character Questionnaires (If It Helps You)

Some writers swear by those huge character questionnaires—favorite dessert, childhood pets, where they go to think. Personally, I find them tedious. But they can be helpful, especially if you’re just starting out or feeling stuck.

They can lead to unexpected insights, even breakthroughs. So don’t dismiss them out of hand. Use what works for you. The ultimate goal is to understand your character well enough that their actions feel natural — even surprising, but still true to who they are.

Emotionally relatable characters aren’t perfect — they’re flawed, they grow, they struggle. Give your characters something to care about, and your readers will care too. Keep pushing, keep questioning, and above all, let them be human.