What makes a fictional character feel real?

In this episode of Unpublished, Angela and Daniel dig into one of the most important parts of writing a novel: character development. As Angela continues drafting Eros et Flamingo, she talks through how she is building Sal, Aaron, Carlos, and the supporting characters who will shape the story’s emotional core.

This episode explores how writers create complex characters, how backstory shapes motivation, and why a manuscript needs more than a good premise to truly work. Angela discusses moving from fan fiction to original fiction, avoiding self-insert characters, writing realistic relationships, and figuring out what makes two characters click on the page.

Along the way, Angela and Daniel talk about reading like a writer, emotional restraint in fiction, short stories and fan fiction one-shots, literary agents, manuscript research, imposter syndrome, and the books that change how we see the world, including Heart the Lover by Lily King and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Whether you are writing your first novel, developing fictional characters, drafting a romance, moving from fan fiction to original fiction, or trying to make readers care deeply about the people on the page, this episode is all about finding the heart and soul of a story.

Because a plot can be clever, the stakes can be high, and the tropes can be fun, but without characters readers love, fear for, question, and occasionally want to throw across the room, there is no book.