1. LexStorm

    LexStorm Member

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    I’m stumbling to write my main character. Halp...

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by LexStorm, Sep 10, 2019.

    My story takes place in a fantasy world in which there are six different legendary weapons wielded by warriors they choose. The story is about a war that’s breaking out between the wielders and the armies they’re either aiding or leading. My main character is a fifteen year old boy and happens to be the one who obtains the seventh legendary weapon, one that has disappeared for almost a millennium. The situation is more bad than good because all seven weapons are needed to create the sword of light that gives its wielder the powers of all creation, and it’s the main antagonist’s goal to obtain that power.

    So far all the characters I have developed I’ve been able to successfully give them a backstory, personal goal, and made them distinct enough to stand on their own except for my main character. I don’t know what it is but I can’t get him right. Every idea I’ve written for him so far falls apart and ends up having to be scrapped. I’m at a lost here, but I’ll give details that I have so far about him.

    His name is Auron, and he’s basically lived most of his life fending for himself. He’s not a skilled fighter but isn’t afraid of getting into a fight either. On the outside he comes off as not needing anyone’s help and as someone who would rather work alone, but on the inside is happy to have friends around (kind of like a tsundere). Also tends to joke a lot and not take things seriously.

    What I’m struggling with is giving him a goal or want. I can’t seem to visualize him having a direction other than being a traveler who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and end up having to save the world. There’s nothing personal with him that pushes him to do the things he does in the story. What are your thoughts? What type of goal do you think would work best for this character?
     
  2. exweedfarmer

    exweedfarmer Banned Contributor

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    He's 15. What do all 15 year old boys want....
     
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  3. EFMingo

    EFMingo A Modern Dinosaur Supporter Contributor

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    Does he have to be fifteen? Are you writing young adult fiction? I find kids in that age group to be extremely dis-likable mainly because every story is the same old coming-of-age business You may have trouble with your MC simply because you don't really care for him at all. Maybe the character your trying to create just doesn't have enough character to him, and fifteen years isn't really enough time for a defined character. At that age their more like to be mimicking people they like and emanating strong personalities they want to be. I think I would take a break and think of who you want your character to be in the end, and build a logical route for why and how they would get there. When I have the problem you're having, I usually scrap the character and build up a new one, or I swap them with a secondary or tertiary.
     
  4. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

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    If you can't think of a good reason why he does what he does, given the personality and background you envisage for him, give him a reason. Make it part of the story. Maybe he starts off as a ne'er do well and has a Significant Life Event(tm) that gives him the motivation, such as the totally clichéd trope of the closest thing to his father figure being killed by one of the bad guys (don't use that, it's been done to death).
     
  5. M.A.

    M.A. Member

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    I have a few immediate thoughts about this line. You say he's not a skilled fighter, but isn't afraid of getting into a fight. Why isn't he afraid of a fight? And maybe it would make more sense that he was afraid of it, and a part of his character development could be gaining courage. I'm also thinking that if he's not a skilled fighter, but has lived a life fending for himself, then he should have developed some other skills to help him survive what sounds like a tough life. This could be magical abilities of some kind. Or perhaps he's good at sneaking and stealing, making him a rogue-like character.
    I think it's important to ask such questions, because the answers to them could help you uncover more about his past and what sort of goals he might have.
     
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  6. AnimalAsLeader

    AnimalAsLeader Active Member

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    Most 15 year olds don't have goals for life. The teens are a phase of wandering around aimlessly, trying to find a goal worthy of devotion. I don't think that not having a goal at the start of your novel is bad. If you think about Eragon or the Hunger games, the goals of the protagonists are non-existent or not-relevant. They just want to live in peace. They are basically still children. It is the story that pushes them to become protagonists, and as they get pulled into the action, they mature and develop their goals. Katniss didn't wake up at the start thinking she's gonna overthrow the government, and Eragon wasn't aiming to become whatever he becomes at the end from page 1.
     
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  7. aModernHeathen

    aModernHeathen Banned

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    This actually isn't a bad idea.

    To the OP: It sounds maybe like your character doesn't have a whole lot of direction or sense of conviction for anything... which is normal for a fifteen year old.

    Having a beautiful young girl, or boy, that your character can chase after would give him some purpose. Driven by his desire for this potential partner, he can get himself into a lot of tough situations, making it easy for you to come up with different conflicts and issues the character has to resolve.
     
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  8. ciinddyyy

    ciinddyyy New Member

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    I don't know your stance on romance, but if there was maybe another warrior that your main character falls in love with, she/he could be the motivation that your main character needs. Especially if they are in trouble. This could also be achieved with a sibling. Another way you could go about this is making your protagonist older. A fifteen-year-old does not have very much life experience and it is quite young, however, fending for yourself at such a young age would make your maturity higher. Lastly, you could consider just going with the wrong place, wrong time motivation. The character knows that this should have happened to someone else, a better-trained warrior, but it fell to him. And the world is not going to end on his watch. I am very intrigued by your storyline, good luck.
     
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  9. Katibel

    Katibel Member

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    When I was fifteen my goal was to become a famous author so I could take my hoards of cash and move far away from my family, who were giving me a lot of grief at the time. The goal was shortsighted and far-fetched. Most importantly, though, my goal was a symptom of my immediate situation. In fact, I didn't stop acting on in-the-moment feelings until I developed deeper principles. Deep principles come from having a lot of experiences, so it's completely feasible to have a character, especially one so young, start out aimless then take the experiences they have to form a direction.

    I like the idea others have proposed, of having a romantic interest, as that is one of our earliest and strongest drives to come naturally. The trope wouldn't have to make the story a romance or change its outcome, either. It would just be the beginning force that gets the ball rolling.
     
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  10. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Maybe he's an opportunist and at first he only wants to sell the weapon to the highest bidder, but something motives him to do something good with it - ala a young Hans Solo. A girl perhaps, a new reputation, wanting to bring his family name some honor - something. Just brainstorm some ideas. What do you like to see in a hero?
     
  11. LexStorm

    LexStorm Member

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    A lot of good advice here. Funny enough my main character gets a love interest and a sibling, just not at the beginning of the story. His first companion he grows close enough with to see her as family, and the love interest down the line is pretty powerful so I wouldn't imagine he'd be having to save her constantly (but her and his other friends he's gained overtime would all serve as pretty good motivation, once he gets there at least). As for the idea of not giving him a motivation or an objective until the inciting incident, I find it funny because I already had something like that for him but I just didn't get to the incident part. So when I compared his character to the other ones I wrote I felt that he lacked something and was bent on fixing that first. Then again, the other characters I wrote technically already had their inciting incident that made them the way they are now, so I think the problem was I was just being impatient?

    But yeah, gonna focus on giving him a goal after shit goes down in my story. Should make him at lot more clear to write then.
     

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