Falling in Love with Your Characters (and Why It Matters)

Think about the books you’ve read. I bet there are characters you remember clearly, the ones you fell in love with because they were funny, interesting, challenging, or simply unforgettable. I know you have at least one in mind.

Now think about the characters you’ve written. Do you feel the same way about them? Loving your characters matters; it makes your story deeper, more authentic, more memorable.

I’ve been thinking about this because in Shadow King, The Devil Inside, and Stone Heart, I created characters I genuinely care about and still think about. Each book has taught me something new about character work, and with my new work-in-progress manuscript, The Cardinal Witch, it's been no different.

I found myself attached to them in a whole different way. I’ve always believed writers need to know more about their characters than they’ll ever show on the page, but this time the worldbuilding pulled me in so deeply that I surprised myself with how invested I became. And if you love your characters, chances are, your readers will, too.

So how do you do it? How do you make that leap from like to love? Here are a few tools that helped me:

Start with curiosity, not control

Don’t try to engineer a character you’ll love — discover them. Don’t force them into a preconceived mold. Instead of starting with a bio, start with questions: What do they fear? What do they do when no one’s watching? Curiosity builds empathy, and empathy builds connection.

Let them surprise you (and challenge you)

A character becomes real the moment they do something you didn’t plan. That only happens if you give them room to breathe (translation: don’t over‑outline).

Here’s an example: DeShawn in The Cardinal Witch was supposed to be a minor supporting character. A means to an end. Then I wrote a scene where he interacted with someone else, and the chemistry between them was simply irresistible (with a nod there to Robert Palmer, that my Gen X peeps will get). Suddenly he wasn’t minor at all and now I can’t imagine the story without him.

Build emotional logic, not just backstory

Backstory explains where a character came from. Emotional logic explains why they make the choices they do. What old mistake drives them? What belief shapes their reactions? When their inner world is consistent, their behavior feels real — because we’ve all lived versions of those choices.

I’ll stick with The Cardinal Witch for an example: Declan. Declan’s backstory is a little dark, he’s been hurt not only by other people but by the consequences of his own actions. And that’s taught him that wanting things is dangerous because it only leads to pain. So, when he does want something, he denies himself. Turns away because that’s easier than opening himself up, and this behavior comes out in small, subtle ways. But they all tie back to the emotions and beliefs born from his backstory.

Don’t skip the ordinary moments

Plot beats matter, of course. But the quiet moments are where affection takes root. Those small details make characters human and relatable. How they eat, relax, and argue. The small morning routine (no small talk before coffee). The odd quirk (carries a little lucky stone everywhere they go).

One other character in The Cardinal Witch is Kes. She’s very smart (like prodigy smart) and she came from a small town and large family, and growing up was hard because kids aren’t always kind to things and people they don’t understand. When her mind would race and she’d start to churn, her grandmother would cook with her. Now, in my story, when she’s anxious or working through something, she’s in the kitchen cooking because the precision and the process ground her.

How I knew I’d fallen in love with my Cardinal Witch characters

I think the truth is that I loved them long before I finished the first draft — I just didn’t realize how much. When the manuscript went off to early readers and I suddenly had empty creative space, I didn’t want to start something new. Instead, I wrote short stories about the supporting cast.

That’s when I understood the depth of it. The more I explored them, the more they opened up. One character’s family is from the South, and now she has a multigenerational family tree, five brothers, complicated cousin dynamics, and a whole emotional ecosystem that shaped her. I adore her. And writing those stories made me realize where there are parts of The Cardinal Witch where I need to share more of this deep dive so that hopefully readers love them as much as I do.

This kind of character love isn’t sentimental. It’s not about treating them like “my babies.” It’s about craft — about building a world that feels lived‑in and honest. When you love your characters, your readers feel it. And they’ll carry those characters with them long after they’ve closed the book.

Love your characters deeply and your readers will follow them (and you) anywhere.

Photos sourced from Unsplash.com. Thanks to Hush Naidoo Jade Photography and Tim Mossholder.