I feel there’s a disconnect between what I mean by “good character” and the more popular meaning. Because I’ll say a character is good, I don’t mean morally good, likable, or even relatable. I mean utility. The character works for the story the author wants to tell.

A good character makes the story work. Their personality, history, how they think, and what they fear help make the story make sense. It’s believable. It doesn’t feel like they’ve just been shoved into a plot point because the story needed to go somewhere.

The most important thing is that I understand the character’s actions even if I don’t agree with them. The logic is there. And by logical, I don’t mean that they think and feel the way I do or even make the most responsible choices. What I mean is that they are internally consistent and change in believable ways. 

It’s more fun for me to work with morally gray characters. I can do more with them creatively. Morally gray characters give me room. They give me freedom. They’re allowed to be selfish and contradictory and petty and tender and awful and surprising, sometimes all in the same chapter. They’re not constantly trying to be “correct.” They don’t exist to model behavior. They exist to create pressure and make choices that reveal something true.

I don’t care if my characters are likable.

And that’s the part people don’t always want to hear. My characters are not meant to be your friends. They are not the arbitrators of what is good or bad. They are not here to teach you life lessons. They’re here to tell a story. That’s it.

And look, it may resonate with some readers, and it may not resonate with others, and that’s fine. I’m not mad about that. Everybody’s allowed to want what they want from fiction. But what matters most to me is that what I intended is what gets conveyed. 

If you finish and understand someone you wish you didn’t, then the character did their job. Even if you hate them. Especially if you hate them.

My characters aren’t necessarily meant to be rooted for or relatable. Some of them would be objectively terrible people if they were real. They’re going to do what they do. They’re going to make sense while they do it. And I’m going to let them.