How I Write Jonathan Franzen: How to Write Truly Great Characters | How I Write
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Nov 26, 2025 
Jonathan Franzen, an award-winning novelist celebrated for his psychologically rich works like The Corrections and Freedom, shares his insights on character creation. He discusses the importance of comic distance to avoid victimhood, while emphasizing self-examination to develop authentic voices. Franzen contrasts trauma dumping with crafting relatable characters, and stresses the significance of precise details over clichés. He also explores how observing everyday life fuels character depth, alongside his disciplined writing routine and the search for the perfect tone.
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Start With A Single Comic Desire
- Find a single sentence that captures a character's problem and desire to drive the story forward.
- Present obstacles so scenes show characters wanting different things and create drama.
Humor Creates Moral Distance
- Humor gives the author necessary distance to depict a character honestly without endorsing victimhood.
- Laughing at a protagonist signals nuance: no one is wholly good or wholly bad.
Face Shame To Free Your Pages
- When shame blocks honest writing, investigate why you feel ashamed instead of suppressing it.
- Either postpone that material or transform the shame by finding a way to make it ridiculous or laughable.
