Work was hard, my family was crumbling, AND on top of that, there was a serial killer who wanted me dead. Could things get any worse? Probably not. I sighed and flicked on the light switch in my kitchen, before trudging over to the refrigerator. Just as I pulled out a dish of leftover macaroni and cheese, my cellphone started to ring and I just groaned, banging my head against the door of my refrigerator. I had spoken too soon.
Villains are important in every story, yes, but what about the main character, or the hero, of your novel?
People are complex. Thousands of thoughts and dozens of different emotions flash through an average human’s head…each day. So, one way you can make your protagonist realistic and likeable is to make sure that he or she has a train of thought. Are they thinking about dinner or about the murder they’re trying to solve? Are they easily distracted or very focused when it comes to a task?
What goes on in a person’s head, especially a character’s, helps define who they are and what their personality is like. Now of course, to what extent you divulge their feelings and intuition depends on what point of view you’re writing from. For instance, it’ll be much easier for you to explain what a person’s thinking after a deadly car crash when the story is told from first-person point of view as opposed to third-person point of view.
Does that make first-person POV better or superior?
Nope!
It just means that when your writing and the way you depict your hero will be a bit different.
Alright, so that’s one way to make your protagonist relatable…but how about another one. How about motivation, skills, and disadvantages? Every person has their weaknesses, like a craving for chocolate-peanut butter ice cream or math and they also have different skill sets. Some people are better at drawing while others are more talented at singing or performing in some sport. It’s important to make sure your own characters have both talents and things they’re bad at incorporated in them.
And motivation.
What gets your character up in the morning? Is it a 60-pound dog licking their face? Or is it a child demanding their attention? Something keeps the protagonist in your story running and it’s your job to figure out what it is. Be careful about making it cliché such as implying that they live for justice without having a unique background behind it.
It’s also important to figure out some other details about your character such as information about his/her family. Are they married? Do they have kids? If not, do they still live with their parents? Do they have siblings? What was their childhood like? What number kid was your protagonist in their family?
Of course, friends are a factor to consider as well. Does your character have several friends or just one close friend? Or maybe they have no friends? Are they happy in their relationships? Do they have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Other little things like how your main character likes their coffee (or do they prefer hot cocoa or tea), what kind of house they live in, what kind of hobbies they have, and how they like to style their hair can be valuable when writing too.
Every detail you add to your character will make them feel more and more realistic. The goal for a writer should be to make their main character seem like an everyday person that someone could possibly meet. (And probably like.) Not only will this make your story seem more interesting, but it will also make your readers become more invested in your characters.
So to sum that all up, it’s important for an author to get to know their main character as if they were getting to know a new friend. In fact, one way to do this would be to pretend to interview your character, writing down your questions and then responding with your character’s answers. Another way to do it would be to come up with your own outline to use for your different characters.
Just make sure your main character is up for the challenge your story presents.
-D.P.
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