Is your protagonist boring? In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Colleen Story offers tips for creating a more interesting main character. When Story confronted this very problem in her recent work, these three tips helped:
- Have your hero interact with other characters. If you don’t have a good handle on your protagonist, put him or her into scenarios with characters who feel more real. Their authenticity may help bring forward your hero’s personality.
- Figure out what your hero cares about. Ask what people, values, or material goods your protagonist cares about. If you only have one or two, dig deeper.
- Figure out what you care about. “We can only write convincingly about those things that touch us deeply,” Story writes. Give your hero motivation that you can relate to. Alternatively, keep experimenting until you find an angle that resonates with you.
