There’s a worrying trend I’ve noticed when I’ve gone digging in the trenches of Goodreads. Some reviewers, even for books that have sold millions of copies, have brought up the same problem.
Compared to the cast surrounding them, the main character is nothing.
“So-and-so is sooooo annoying and whiny. This funny side character was way better.”
“Why wasn’t the story about this one girl who appeared in all of two chapters?”
“By the end I just wanted Evil McDoom to annihilate that dude.”
The villain in my last example wasn’t even hot.
You can see my point. The dashing, talented hero, the one the book follows beginning to end, is side-lined in favour of the other cast members.
Sometimes this can’t be helped, as people latch on to characters for all kinds of reasons. They’re relatable, funny, ridiculously hot. But if you want to take a reader through tens of thousands of words, you’ve got to give them a reason to at least want to see what your protagonist does next.
Here’s some tips to make them stand out.
Don’t Make Them a Blank Space
When reviewers complain about the protagonists of popular books (particularly YA, fantasy and romance I’m afraid to say), there’s often accusations that the author deliberately left the character as a reader-shaped space. That is to say, the protagonist is there for the reader to live through, rather than being their own person.
While readers love getting immersed in fiction, meeting new characters and getting to know them is part of that immersion. Following a cardboard cutout for hundreds of pages will take them out of the story just as much as a plot hole or typo.
When you’re writing, the most important question you can ask yourself is ‘why should a reader care?’ A story where the hero could’ve been anyone will turn off a reader’s empathy like a light switch. When the rest of the cast are three dimensional, their blandness stands out even more.
Escapism is important in genre fiction, but it can just as easily be done by experiencing the plot with the hero – not as them.
Give them a Compelling Arc
Stories are about change. No one enters a novel and comes out the same on the other side. Not a good one, anyway.
How does your main character change by the end of your novel? I’m not just talking about their new magic sword, or the circle of new friends, or the title of The Chosen One. How do they view the world differently now? Have they changed for the better – or for worse?
Even in plot driven novels, a character arc is important. It adds emotional depth to proceedings, makes readers care about what the protagonist goes through, and can even create plot points for your hero to battle through towards their new self.
Planning your character’s internal journey is just as important as their external one. Take the time to do so.
Don’t Make Them Too Likeable or Relatable
This might come as a shock. Aren’t we trying to make our main character less annoying?
Here’s the thing. The reason main characters often get met with an exasperated sigh by readers is because the writer tries to make them too relatable. They don’t have strong loyalties or opinions, seemingly no life before the plot began, and their greatest flaw is that they’re ‘clumsy’. Nothing too out there to put the reader off.
But readers admire uniqueness and relate to flaws. Without those, they’ll be put off anyway.
A writer friend recently said he didn’t like reading books about ordinary people. It’s what draws him to horror and sci-fi, the outlandishness of the protagonists and the situations they find themselves in. Interesting characters make interesting choices.
You don’t need to be writing genre fiction to write a compelling hero, however. You just need to ask yourself what makes them different from your reader, even if they’re living an ordinary life in the modern day. Do they collect something unusual? Is there a secret they’re hiding that could blow up their life?
Give them beliefs, opinions, flaws most of all. These things will make your main character far more endearing to your readers than a ‘likeable’ little nobody.
Are They Your Real Hero?
Of course, asking yourself these questions might make you realise your main character isn’t the true hero after all.
In Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody relates how one writer came to her workshop, confident she knew who the protagonist of her story was.
“But about halfway through the day, Susan had an epiphany and suddenly shouted, “Wait! The hero isn’t the young woman who lost her husband. It’s the hit man!” I got chills. Because she was right. The hit man was the more interesting choice. He had the more interesting journey.”
If another character goes through a greater change or has a more unique background and perspective, they might be the one you want to follow instead.
It’s hard to relegate a character you always saw as your hero to the sidelines. But take solace in knowing that someday, a reader out there could call them their favourite character. Even if you’ve followed this advice and your hero shines brightest of all.
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