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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Sept 12, 2022 22:41:59 GMT -6
I seem to have written myself into a trap. In my urban fantasy story my concept for my main character is he's an ideal hero in a grey and black world but he still strives to be a hero. The thing is I've run into a situation where I have a supporting character who has a more interesting backstory and character motivation than the main character. As I'm writing the story my Muse keeps telling me to make the supporting character the main character.
Has anyone faced this issue where you find other characters more interesting than the main character? If so, how do you remedy it?
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Post by RAVENEYE on Sept 14, 2022 10:33:52 GMT -6
I've heard this is a common problem. It comes up regularly at the conferences I've attended. The argument generally goes that we are pretty much programmed to expect certain universal traits in our heroes, and so sidekicks or side characters get to have the unique qualities and quirks that heroes don't, which makes them more fun to write and to read.
Is it too late to add unique quirks and motivations to your hero? A story may feel like it's written in stone, but it's not too late until the thing is in print.
Yet a hero's story told from the POV of the more interesting side character might be a unique angle to go with too. Either way, the revisions would likely be substantial, so I guess it just depends on which change feels best for the story.
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Meth
Smoke
Posts: 16
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Post by Meth on Oct 5, 2022 6:27:47 GMT -6
imo write the pov of the character you enjoy the most. I agree with raveneye about lots of heroes ending up with similar traits.
Whoever you choose as pov should have a damn good reason to be pov. It makes a world of difference to the story
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Post by Alatariel on Oct 5, 2022 12:18:46 GMT -6
It would be an unexpected development to assume one character was the MC and then actually have that character killed in, like, the second chapter and making the side character the new MC.  Of course you don't need the first MC to die to achieve this but the thought did pop into my head. Throw them off the scent. Reminds me of Psycho. (spoilers ahead in case you haven't heard of the famous Alfred Hitchcock film) I thought Marion was the main character and then she's murdered by Norman Bates. Turns out HE'S the MC. I watched it when I was about 13 and had no idea about the twist and didn't know the ending. So the change was surprising and interesting to me. But to answer the question, yes, I've worried about this in my own writing. I've seen it in SO many books and TV shows that I don't want to fall into the same trap but it's so hard. I try to give my MCs fun quirks and varied interests. When the MC is more morally grey or chaotic good, they are way more interesting. Most MCs are Lawful or Neutral Good and it's boring. Throw some chaos in the mix and some questionable morals and BINGO. You have a dynamic MC. |
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Post by pelwrath on Oct 28, 2022 8:35:34 GMT -6
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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Nov 2, 2022 22:17:06 GMT -6
It would be an unexpected development to assume one character was the MC and then actually have that character killed in, like, the second chapter and making the side character the new MC. Of course you don't need the first MC to die to achieve this but the thought did pop into my head. Throw them off the scent. Reminds me of Psycho. (spoilers ahead in case you haven't heard of the famous Alfred Hitchcock film) I thought Marion was the main character and then she's murdered by Norman Bates. Turns out HE'S the MC. I watched it when I was about 13 and had no idea about the twist and didn't know the ending. So the change was surprising and interesting to me. But to answer the question, yes, I've worried about this in my own writing. I've seen it in SO many books and TV shows that I don't want to fall into the same trap but it's so hard. I try to give my MCs fun quirks and varied interests. When the MC is more morally grey or chaotic good, they are way more interesting. Most MCs are Lawful or Neutral Good and it's boring. Throw some chaos in the mix and some questionable morals and BINGO. You have a dynamic MC. That's the dilemma I have. The main character for my urban fantasy, noir-inspired, story is of the Lawful Good alignment. I thought of putting that character in a world that operates on the side of morally questionable and seeing how he adapts to it. The question is how to do that without making the character feel stale. Meanwhile, the secondary character, Jessica operates as his proverbial Girl Friday but a Girl Friday with a dark and troubled past that she'd like to have put behind her. I have considered a POV shift scenario where the story goes from the MC David's perspective to Jessica's perspective and back again. |
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Of course you don't need the first MC to die to achieve this but the thought did pop into my head. Throw them off the scent. Reminds me of Psycho. (spoilers ahead in case you haven't heard of the famous Alfred Hitchcock film) I thought Marion was the main character and then she's murdered by Norman Bates. Turns out HE'S the MC. I watched it when I was about 13 and had no idea about the twist and didn't know the ending. So the change was surprising and interesting to me.
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