I’ve been reading a fair few romcoms lately (both as an editor and for funsies), so I thought I would do a thread about how to make sure that your main character pops right off the page and lodges themselves right in your readers’ hearts.
A little disclaimer: previous clients – please don’t worry that I’m talking about you. I will NEVER reference specific stories and I only share topics that I find myself returning to on several occasions.
Main characters in romcoms are the foundation on which the novel stands. This is true in other genres as well, but in romcoms we NEED to fall in love with the main character, because they encompass so much of the story. Crime, sci-fi, historical… these all have external forces driving the story along. We might want to see someone face justice, be scared of aliens, or weirdly attracted to Henry VIII despite his murderous tendencies – so in all of these stories the main character doesn’t have to do as much heavy lifting. They need to be interesting, we need to care about them, but in a romcom – the main character is EVERYTHING. They hold the story in their hands, so we have to like and believe in those hands rather a lot.
There are three things that I think make the main character of a romcom someone we root for in the same way we do for a best friend:
- EVERYTHING ELSE THAT’S GOING ON
Despite the main focus in a romcom being the romance, it cannot be the only thing going on. The main character in particular needs to have a rich life – they need to have aims and goals that are totally independent from finding love.
These aims can be a source of joy (since they bring them together with the love interest in some way) or conflict (as they pull the lovers apart), but they need to be present and consistent throughout the story.
A great author to check out if you want to see this in action is Ali Hazelwood. Her main characters are so full of their own purposes, but it doesn’t detract from her stories – it enriches them.
2. YOUR MAIN CHARACTER NEEDS A PERSONALITY
I’m not a massive fan of those personality questionnaires you answer on behalf of your characters, but in a romcom your main character does need to have a distinct and well-constructed personality, as this is what will draw readers into the story.
Are they bubbly? Grumpy? Bubbly all the time apart from when they are hungry, when they turn into a monster? Are they able to make small talk? If not, do they stand in silence? Do they ask weirdly deep questions? Are they a cat person? A dog person? A fish person? Did they grow up in a single parent household? Have they experienced illness in a close relative? Did they grow up in a city or a village? Did they get good grades at school? Are they very studious now? Would they get fooled by a conspiracy theory? Do they believe the best in people? If not, what made them so cautious?
These are just some of the questions that you could answer to build up the personality of your main character, and out of these building blocks flows both the romance and comedy.
Romance and chemistry grows out of a well-formed main character because readers will want to see them specifically find love. Your main character hates mice? But now he’s met a lab technician and she helps him to see all the good mice can do in the scientific community.
Terrible example, but true and compelling romance rises from the personality of your main character (and their love interest – don’t forget to make sure they do some legwork too)
And the comedy is a natural fallout of the same thing. Your main character is grumpy and clumsy, so readers will take delight in reading about all the times their jolly love interest catches them before they fall down stairs or into a woodchipper.
The love interest needs to be fully fleshed as well – and think about how their personality can contradict and complement your main character. You don’t want them to gel too well and essentially be twins separated at birth, but they need to have a certain amount of common ground so that it’s believable that they fall in love.
One author whose characters practically claw their way off the page because they are so chock-full of irresistible personality that spawns a novel’s worth of romance and comedy is Emily Henry – Book Lovers is my absolute fave.
3. REMEMBER DIVERSITY
Very sadly, romance is an area where diversity has been largely overlooked. Until very recently, if I story had just one character who wasn’t white, slim, able-bodied, English speaking, middle or upper class, well-educated, Christian (or agnostic), and heterosexual, it was heralded as fresh and edgy.
Whether you’re a romance author or write in a totally different genre, diversity is absolutely something you should be thinking about.
Including a wide range of different characters in our stories is important. It’s the difference between someone seeing themself (or at least part of themself) on the page or never really feeling like they are the kind of person stories are written about.
Firstly, make a list of all your characters and their defining characteristics. Alarm bells should begin ringing in your head if under race, sexual orientation, class status, or any of the categories listed above you’re doing a lot of copy and pasting.
And then the real work begins, because diversity cannot be token. These characteristics define how your characters see themselves and the world. It’s not enough to just tell the reader that someone is fat or uses a walking aid or is on Universal Credit; you need to show how this affects them through their attitudes and behaviours.
I know there can be some nervousness around writing what or who you know. However, the alternative is that you populate your novels with people exactly like yourself. I don’t know about you, but that would make my novels very dull.
Where you don’t know something; go find it out. Where you’re not sure; do your research. If you want to make sure you’ve been kind and fair in your representation of someone who differs from you; employ sensitivity readers.
One author who includes a wide range of diverse characters in her novels in such a natural and creative way is Olivia Dade – I’m reading Ship Wrecked right now and it is glorious
I hope this thread has been helpful! If you need help with any part of this, then please get in touch – I love helping other writers make their stories shine. I have a wide range of editorial services – find out more here.
Anna Britton 