How do you know you have a character worth caring about?

[Ivy]

I'm writing from a place of emotional vulnerability

I have his character in my head - has the nicest handwriting, nicest stationary, quiet & well behaved in class, a lot of guys like her, she's in honors classes, her mom was a room helper

This is very much an image of a girl I grew up with. She was pretty & popular, had more guy friends because other girls disliked her yet some girls wanted to be her friend.

I often wonder what it was like to walk around in her shoes.

The only background I have is:

Daughter of older parents, miracle child, parents dote on her

Her dog is her closest friend

Her best friend moves the summer either before seventh grade or high school.

Her parents become a host family for an international student.

She looks just like her father. Both her parents are lighter skinned but she turned out with dark features

I want her to have a name like Sarah

She thinks she is bland because she has brown hair and brown eyes

[Maria]

For me personally, the character must have something she cares about. The easiest way would be to give the character a goal that they would like to accomplish by the end of the story. I'm reading a book about a conman and usually books that hinge on the main character lying make me cringe, but this one doesn't. The character has a goal (get the money) and something he cares about (his crew). The two happen to converge, which makes it easier for the reader to connect. Even in Harry Potter, who technically isn't the most active character, his goal of belonging to a family helps readers sympathize with him.

So, for your story, you'd have to decide what's the thing the character cares about most and how to craft a goal from it. Does she want more female friends and take steps to alienate her guy friends to make it happen? (This is more of a YA plot, not expected in an adult book.) Does she wish her parents were younger and finds fault with them? Does she want to be interesting and tries to take steps to do so?

It's a matter of figuring out what the character cares about most and then what they would like to change in their life. To me, caring and motivation matter most in character development from a readers POV. (From a writers POV, I won't deny it's fun to give them a back story and hobbies and such.)

A few things I've heard from around the writing world...
1) Active characters are easier to connect with than passive characters (I do believe this one)
2) Voice is extremely important (I don't think this is true, but it definitely makes your character stand out)
3) To add complexity, give your character conflicting goals and things they care about. (I do think this is true , but it entirely depends on your goals for your own story).
4) You have to know everything about your character, favorite color, favorite song, etc. (The best books I've read, can't tell you what the character's favorite color is.)

Lastly, I would read books and pay attention to the way the author crafts their characters. It might spark some more ideas.

Good luck with your story!

[Jocelyn]

So, it is hard to make a character people love! Some things I do is 1) give them flaws because nobody is perfect, and they'll be relatable. Maybe your main character can come off as condescending when she doesn't mean to or smth like that 2) like @Maria said above giving them a goal is also good! Maybe give them something holding them back like maybe she wants to go to a college after but she wants to stay and take care of a grandparent and 3) Quirks and give her very specific traits like one of my characters is obsessed with strawberries after meeting his crush. Hope this will help!