Write Real People

Your readers can tell when you’re faking it.

They might not know exactly what’s wrong, but they feel it. Your hero faces the destruction of their entire world, yet somehow bounces back like nothing happened. Or they break down and never recover, leaving your readers unsatisfied. 

As a writer, you need to understand how real people survive catastrophe. We think resilience means being unbreakable or “tough,” but it’s not that simple. 

When you understand how resilience actually works, you’ll be able to create more authentic heroes. 

Why Characters Feel Fake

Think about the last disappointing novel you read. Chances are the characters felt hollow when the crisis hit. Maybe they became invincible superheroes or simply helpless victims. Neither reflects how actual resilience works. 

Real resilience is about knowing how to rebuild when something does break. When you give your characters the right tools, readers start believing in them. 

The Three Tools Every Resilient Character Needs

Psychologists have identified exactly what separates people who thrive under pressure from those who don’t. Master these three tools, and you’ll never write another hollow hero.

Tool #1: Mental Flexibility (The Reframe)

Resilient characters don’t get stuck in disaster thinking. When everything goes wrong, they shift from “this is terrible and unfixable” to “this is bad, but what can I do about it?”

Look at Samwise Gamgee facing  a desperate situation in the wasteland of Mordor. He doesn’t despair, but reframes: “I can’t carry the Ring for you, but I can carry you.”

Sam acknowledges reality but chooses to focus on what he can control rather than what he can’t. 

Tool #2: Connection with Others (The Lifeline)

Resilient people maintain relationships and build new ones, especially when it’s hardest.

Sam demonstrates this perfectly throughout The Lord of the Rings. Even when Frodo becomes distant and suspicious due to the Ring’s influence, Sam stays present. He understands that their bond is their real strength.

Characters who maintain connections feel more human, and their victories feel earned rather than handed to them via the plot. 

Tool #3: Meaning-Making (The Why)

Resilient characters find ways to make their suffering meaningful. They’re enduring for something that matters more than their own comfort.

Harry Potter could have been crushed by losing his parents, but instead he transforms that loss into purpose: stopping Voldemort so other children don’t become orphans. His pain becomes his fuel. That transformation from personal pain to universal purpose is what made this series so popular in the public imagination. 

The Mistake That Ruins Character Development

Resilience doesn’t just appear overnight. Your character won’t be a fully-formed hero after just one traumatic event. 

Real resilience builds gradually, and so should your character’s. Harry Potter builds resilience through facing challenging encounters: school bullies, then magical obstacles, then life-threatening adventures, then true evil. He learns new skills with every experience. 

Don’t cheat your readers out of this journey. Let your character fail sometimes. Let them learn. Let them grow stronger through experience.

Practical Next Steps to Making Your Characters Unforgettable

Start building your characters’ resilience from page 1:

• Before your story begins: What smaller challenges has your character already overcome? 
• Throughout your story: Give your character people to genuinely care about. Even loners need someone: a person, a place, a principle worth protecting. 
• During every crisis: Let your character find personal meaning in their struggle. What makes their suffering worthwhile? 
• In every scene: Show resilience through their actions, and not internal dialogue. 

Put It Into Practice Today

Your readers connect with characters who face real problems.

Try the following steps on your current projects:

• Open your manuscript to a crisis scene and ask yourself if your character is reframing the problem, connecting with others, or finding meaning? If the answer is no to all three, rewrite that scene. 
• Write three sentences about a challenge your character overcame before your story started. This will inform how they handle current obstacles.
• List every relationship your character has. If the list is short, add someone.