I don't want my protagonist to suffer

It isn't much of a story if the character isn't suffering in some way. Because then there's no stakes, no conflict, no motivation, no plot drive, often no plot direction. The suffering could just be internal. But it needs to be there.

 

Looks like the majority here are into suffering ;-) If I was a more accomplished author, I might be keen on a debate about just how necessary that is.... but I'm not :-(

 

I should clarify my post. I was talking more generally about my feelings as I am writing, and noting/acknowledging that there is a difference between my "feelings" as I put my MC through things, and my technical/creative writing recognition of, and appreciation for, the need for drama to make a story work. I also think that the more invested I become in a character the more the story has the chance to appeal to others, if I do my job right as a writer. I'll cut off my MC's hand or other appendage, including head, if makes the story go. I simply don't like to do it.

I also believe, BTW, that a story must engage the author before that author can engage others.

 

From a reader’s perspective: I think your feelings while writing aren’t a bad thing but on the contrary a good guideline how much you can expect from your reader. I recently discovered that when really bad things happen to characters I like, I at least need a break before reading on (sometimes even dreading to continue), no matter how much I’m intrigued by the story/plot. And the better the whole thing is written, the stronger is the effect. I usually read on after a while, but I know people who won’t, especially when they page forward to the end (which is something I don’t do) and discover that things won’t get any better (and with better I don’t mean necessarily a classic happy ending).

From a writer’s perspective: I’m quite generous with catastrophes/conflicts/suffering hitting my characters – at least in the plotting phase. It’s different though when I really start to write it down, and often I make at least little corrections to soften the blow.

 

You don't HAVE to suffer necessarily I guess. But not suffering is also a form of suffering. You know, living a kind of complacent comfortable passionless existence. This state is the plot for several movies and books about American suburbia.

 

I did not konw that....

OK, thank you.

 

I also struggle to really have my characters suffer. Having said this, my MC did also nearly die. I make myself feel better by giving them a happy ending. I can't stand sad ones at most I can manage bittersweet, but I always give them a happy ending. I feel like they deserve it.

 

I think that's a good perspective to take. And the win-win is this: if you hate making your character suffer, the READER will hate the suffering as well. They'll be agonizing along with you—which is probably the effect you're after. If you take a dispassionate view of your characters and their suffering, the writing is unlikely to move the reader very much either.

 

I havn't read all the comments here, but I did want to say: When a character overcomes a hard situation, that can be some of the best feelings in the world. So while you may not be excited about causing pain, think of the end result of that pain and make that the ultimate emotional goal.

Just my opinion. Either way, this is your writing and you don't have to try and appease an imaginary reader if you don't want to. Do it your way, and then when you are done, go back over it and tweek it till it works for your intended purpose. You got this!

 

I'm also hesitant to do that. Makes me little squeamish, as I don't want bad things to happen to them. But, there is no growth without conflict, and conflict if often damaging. It doesn't mean that they are dead, but it is changing them in ways that either make them grow, or wither...
A story without the hero going through trials will get pretty boring pretty quick.
Best example is Game of Thrones, especially watching the Burlington Bar Reactions on Youtube. Now, I didn't watch the show, but I've seen enough (at least before Season 8) of fans cheering the heroes on, not because they are there and they are the heroes, but because of all the crap they've endured!
Those characters were put through hell, and to see them winning in the end, after all the trials and hardship, is deeply fulfilling. There is a massive sense of gratification that can be achieved, if it's done right.
Now, I'm not saying you have to go so far as the Red Wedding or Sansa's wedding night. You can start small, such as Parent Death. It's a staple in dramas. Everyone does it. But as you go along, putting your character through harsh trials becomes easier, especially if you keep in mind how they overcome it all in the end.
Have the courage to put them through hell, and even you will be standing up and cheering after you type, The End.

 

His character development might not gain from it after the death, but that doesn't mean a main character's death doesn't serve a role in their character development or as a satisfying conclusion to the plot.

I'm writing a book where the main character dies. Why, and what does it add? His death comes as the result of three choices he makes.
-He chooses not to make a deal with "the Devil" of my novel, leaving him weak.
-He chooses to confront powerful people in his search for the truth, leaving him and those around him in jeopardy.
-He chooses to fight a desperate battle to save the people of an island he fell in love with, and to redeem himself after failing to protect his own home island.

Anybody surviving after making choices like those would be a case of "have your cake and eat it too" and I think without consequences for those choices, those choices would feel hollow. After all, why sell your soul, why fear cults, why sail to a losing battle, if at the end of the day you don't need to do any of those to win?

The main character's death is necessary to put those choices into perspective: maybe the MC could have lived if he had sold his soul, maybe he could have lived if he chose to live in the dark, maybe he could have lived if he chose to be selfish. Rejecting those outs despite the increasing danger each one puts him in speaks about the values of the MC.

Likewise that death is important to the plot, because it ties up a grim situation with the only logical conclusion. It ties in to the themes I want to set in the plot, among those that anything easy comes with a price and sometimes it's better to do the hard thing.

Finally, it subverts the happy ending trope. My story starts out somber and the question I want my readers asking isn't "how is this character going to get a happy ending" but "just how tragically will this character's story end?" My intention isn't to shoot the reader in the heart though, and the tragedy of the MC's death is belied by what it accomplishes, and that those hard choices he made, which led to his death, were in the long run better than the easy ones. The epilogue explores the positive effects of those choices, and how the other characters are coping.

That's a lot of abstract thought without actually handing you a copy of the book, but I'm hoping it shows you there are good reasons to sacrifice the main character, even if you like them.

 

I'm definitely into the flawed characters school when it comes to writing. Given that my protagonists have characteristics I dislike or despise, it isn't that hard to make them suffer. Often, this is as a result of those very characteristics.

I'm not sure readers like a paladin protagonist to die. I've always disliked stories that went that way. It's a dangerous choice IMO.

In contrast, if the protagonist is a bit of a bastard, it's easy for me as the writer and also for my readers to see them ripped to shreds.

 

I think suffering doesn't mean every character has to go through the
Saw gauntlet in every story.
It can be an awkward or uncomfortable situation for them to go through
and how they change throughout the arc.