Creating an Ideal Main Character: A Guide
Creating a knockout protagonist is essential for bringing your story to life and keeping your readers hooked. Here's a lowdown on some tips I swear by when crafting my main character:
Connect with the reader
Your protagonist needs to be unforgettable and lovable. Sprinkle some qualities that will make readers fall for them. Remember, they don't have to be perfect - in fact, they don't even need to be the good guy all the time. But to make them believable, you gotta get your audience rooting for them. Keep them relatable, and they'll stick around to see what happens next.
Give 'em baggage
Nobody's perfect, and neither is your protagonist. Give 'em some flaws - nothing major, just enough to make them feel real. A perfect character is as dull as a wet dishrag. Knowing their past is also crucial - their history shapes who they are and drives their actions. Share some of their backstory with your readers to give them insight into the character's motivations.
Find their fire
As a writer, it's up to you to make your characters as realistic as possible. What's their motivation? What are they determined to achieve? Their goal should be something they're willing to work their ass off for. Their passion and drive will keep readers invested in their journey.
Put up roadblocks
Life ain't a walk in the park, and neither should your character's journey be. Put obstacles in their way - make them fight for what they want. Give 'em something they could lose - a significant non-physical object, or a physical one if that's your thing. Watch your readers can't resist flipping those pages to see what happens next.
Let 'em grow
By the end of your book, your protagonist should be a different person - they shouldn't be the same cookie-cutter character they were at the beginning. They should have learned something, grown, adapted, and evolved. They're on a journey, after all - and that involves change.
So there you have it - some tips for creating a believable and fully developed protagonist. If you've got some tricks of your own, hit me up and let me know!
Teagan Berry's a book-writing, sports-watching, and reading guru who started her blog to conquer writer's block. Now it's grown into so much more.
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Standout Son of a Gun Syllabus:
- Establish a connection between the protagonist and the reader
- Make the protagonist likeable and memorable
- Utilize the character's relatability and imperfections for reader investment
- Give the protagonist flaws
- Create realistic and multi-dimensional characters with complex traits
- Bring depth to the character by exploring their strengths and weaknesses
- Flesh out the protagonist's history
- Investigate the character's background to understand their current state
- Strategically reveal the character's significant events from their past to readers
- Discover the protagonist's motivation
- Explore the character's personal goal(s) and drive(s)
- Let the reader share in the character's passion for their ultimate objective
- Have the protagonist grind for their goal
- Add challenges and obstacles in the character's path
- Create tension and reader engagement by showing the character's progress
- Allow the protagonist to evolve through the story
- Ensure character growth and development throughout the narrative
- Demonstrate the character's change through their actions, relationships, and decisions.
A captivating protagonist is not just a home-and-garden decoration in your story; it's the towering tree that draws attention in a sea of greenery. A small touch of their lifestyle, daily routines, or hobbies humanizes them, making them as intriguing as a well-manicured garden.
Just as a home-and-garden makeover can breathe life into a living space, learning about a protagonist's past and present, their loves, and their battles can make a story feel more immersive and inviting to readers.
