5 Steps to Making Your Female Characters Likeable

Writing characters that people are invested in is a hard job, but writing a likeable female character? Practically impossible. We all know that a woman needs to be liked so that an audience can care about her. It's the absolute only way to get an audience engaged in a female character's journey. Here are five simple steps to making your job as a writer easier.

Make her hot

It's a known fact that women's likeability factor jumps considerably when they are physically attractive. Sexy = lots of likes. Non-sexy = confusion. Does your female character scream and cry and laugh like a crazy person? Make sure she's rocking a red lip and stilettos so that your audience can be distracted by her beauty. They shouldn't be paying attention to what's actually coming out of her mouth. That's not important.

Make her quiet

Speaking of what's coming out of her mouth, why let her talk anyway? We can assume if women are talking, it's probably about something serious and/or funny and/or vaguely annoying, so let's just cut that part out and have her stand next to a couch. There is beauty in silence.

Make her agreeable

If your female character absolutely has to talk, she should agree with everything her male counterpart says. This is important. Likeable characters do not create conflict. Conflict is bad (for women).

Make her weak

Physically, mentally and spiritually, writers. Don't shy away from making your females characters weak characters who need to be saved. Enter Strong Male Complicated Character. He is hero. She is saved. Audiences love a good damsel in distress story. Give the audience what they want!

Make her uncomplicated

No one has time for a complicated female character. Audiences are too busy dealing with their awesomely damaged male characters. Here's what to do: Find two boxes. If your female character can fit into both of those boxes, then you are doing something wrong. She needs to fit into one tiny, little itty-bitty General Box. Olivia Pope, Christina Yang, Cookie Lyon—all these female characters are unicorns. You don't want your female character to be a unicorn. It’s too much work. You want her to be a fly. An uncomplicated, simple fly. People know what a fly is. They know what to expect from a fly. Flies are relatable. Unicorns are not. Simple. Keep it simple.

It's hard to make people tune in week after week, season after season just to follow women and their crazy storylines. It's hard to make them believable. But that's just it, writers. Female characters should not be believable. They can't be. The more one dimensional you can make them, the better. Remember: The ultimate goal for female characters is likeability. And when it comes to women, the simpler the better.

Sam Bailey is a Chicago-born actor and writer. She has worked with many companies, including Second City's Diversity & Outreach and was an inaugural Bob Curry Fellow. Her written work has been seen on live lit stages across the city, including Guts and Glory, 2nd Story and The Paper Machete. Sam is the creator of the new web series You're So Talented, which was recently honored by the Tribeca Film Festival as part of its New Online Work program.