Do you think that the characters we create have to be likable for our respective readers? Does likable mean relatable?

If I take a closer look at two of the main female protagonists of the story in my debut novel: Friday Evening, Eight O' Clock, subjectively, of course, I do like them, the more so, I sympathize with them, with Tasha, a freelance journalist at the turning point of her life, and with Liz, her new editor-in-chief, also having career-driven choices to make, that would change everything around her, I realize, that as their story moves on, their actions, the way they behave in various circumstances, the way they interact with other characters in the book, or how they try to achieve what they have dreamed of, may not be necessarily likable at all.

On the other hand, it's Tasha's naive straightforwardness or Liz's success obsessed nature that draws the tension and the conflict to the entire story. It's the difference in how they see the world around themselves, and what they think is right or wrong that possibly makes the reader wanting to know where the journey will bring them.

In the process of writing Friday Evening, Eight O' Clock I never did any plotting, I just sat and wrote, following Liz's and Tasha's every step, as the characters formed along the way, their motivations and the challenges they encountered becoming more clear and tangible.

With their flaws or weaknesses, with their unconventional ways of facing various unexpected situations, with their sarcasm, or humor, I hope that these characters are lively and real, not in any way ideal, but memorable, staying with you, as a reader, just a bit longer after you finish reading the book.