Birds of Prey: writing unlikeable characters

Birds of Prey: writing unlikeable characters

July 1, 2026 · 30 min · Season 18 · Episode 1810

About this episode

The episode discusses how to create emotional connections with unlikeable characters, using Birds of Prey as a case study.

How do you create an emotional connection between a reader and an unlikeable character? That's one of the most common questions we get as editors. The answer lies in understanding the anti-hero protagonist and Birds of Prey offers up a whole group of them to study. And where there are multiple protagonists, there are multiple plotlines. And each of those plotlines needs its own premise statement. It's a full episode this week! Enjoy! -V.

People in this episode

Hosts: Melanie Hill, Valerie Francis

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Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Birds of Prey

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