Let's talk about.....

[lilsneak]

Main characters

Well, me and my friends were discussing about main characters from the shows and books that we love/hate and I was surprised by how much they disliked some characters. The main problem is they are often too whiny, too weak, too Mary Sue-ish [or Anti-Maru Sueish], too emotionless, too emo, too lovestruck.....you get the picture.
So, bbs, tell me, what do you think a main character should be like?

Comments

[ilthit]

This!

Except I'd say "changed" instead of "grown"; grown works most of the time but I also like the cold shower ending of character deterioration, surprise revelations about characters you thought you knew etc. But I guess you have to be really good to write that. Mostly "grown" is safer!

There's this whole theory about how the main character should be in some way an empty vessel for the reader to project themselves onto, but I don't believe it for a second. They have to be interesting. (Perfect is not interesting, either.) They have to feel like people you might know. How are you supposed to identify with or understand an empty vessel?