About this episode

The episode explores the debate over character relatability in writing and features an interview with writer C.L. Polk on crafting descriptions from a character's perspective.

Not long ago, everybody was arguing about whether characters need to be "relatable". We get to the bottom of a debate that still makes us intensely grouchy. Plus we talk to one of our favorite writers, C.L. Polk, about how to write excellent descriptions in your fiction -- and it turns out to be all about connecting to a character's POV.

People in this episode

Host: Our Opinions Are Correct

Guest: C.L. Polk

Topics covered

• writing debate
• character relatability
• fiction writing
• point of view
• literary analysis

Keywords

• writing
• characters
• relatability
• fiction
• C.L. Polk
• descriptions
• point of view

More episodes of Our Opinions Are Correct

• 7 Years of Correct Opinions! · November 27, 2025 · 57 min
• Frankenstein's Monster and the Bad Science Daddy · November 13, 2025 · 54 min
• The Future of Science Fiction Conventions · October 30, 2025 · 55 min
• Spooky Season Books and Hellbenders · October 2, 2025 · 56 min
• Three Ways of Looking at Bruce Lee (with Jeff Chang) · September 18, 2025 · 1h 3m
• Encore Episode: Silicon Valley vs. Science Fiction: ChatGPT · September 4, 2025 · 56 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Our Opinions Are Correct podcast page.