Hi. I'm new here and have recently decided to take my writing hobby more seriously, and seeing if I can't improve on my writing and go somewhere with it. So I have come up with what I am seeing as a problem for my story. I like my secondary character more than the protagonist. I'm wondering if I should just create a new story based off of this character instead, or if maybe this is a little more normal than I am perceiving. I'm just feeling like I am having more fun with him, even though I do like the plot of this story. Any suggestions or ideas?
Hmm, I can't say about the rest of the world, but I find this can happen with me. It did happen with me in a few different ways. I say, if you like him better and can write a better story with him in the lead, go for it. Or give him his own plot in this story. All depends, is he a character that can carry a whole story? Or is his being less important what makes you like him better, because there might be less pressure when writing his character?
Perhaps you can determine what it is about his/her character that you don't like and then make some changes. You haven't been specific, so I'm not sure if this is something that rises to the level of being a problem. I can think of a number of books where I didn't like the MC, I liked other, secondary characters more, and it worked just fine for me. OTOH, if there is a failing in your MC that you feel detracts from the quality of the writing, then you need to rework your story. Good luck.
Hi! Would the story work with him as your MC? I know in my rewrites I tend to recast my characters into different roles than I initially wrote them in. I don't think it's too much of a problem, though, in all honesty. The best stories are ones where all the characters are well developed. The last thing you want is for your minor characters to be flat. All your characters should be as interesting as you can make them, so they can fill their role in the story as best they can.
I'm actually having the same problem in a book I'm writing, except I came up with a great attention grabbing opening that, to me at least, makes it seem like a different character is my protagonist.
Hi, I have a similar problem with one of my characters, but I wouldn't say I like him MORE. I wrote a thread about it just recently, if you want to see it, it's here https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=41021 I think you could definitely consider making a new story for this character if you feel like he/she could have a story. Even though it's a fascinating character he still needs a story interesting enough to tell.
I think it's normal for everyone, because even when I read I often find the secondary characters more interesting. Naruto being the first example I can think of. From the start, Kakashi was my fav character in the manga, and Naruto was just an annoying brat I had to put up with to see him. And from books, in Howl's moving castle, while I liked the MC Sophie, I thought the fire Calicifer was much more fun to read about, but I don't think he could have pulled the story along, seeing as he was stuck in the fireplace. But in stories like "American Psycho", there is very little focus on other characters, so there is no one else to like but Patrick. It's not really a problem in my own stories though, as I rarely have ONE main character. All my characters get some time in the spotlight, and who the true main is is hard to tell.
Hi, I had a similar problem. In Maverick, I had a captain Wainwright who was really only a short bit player in a fantasy role. But I liked him for some reason. And so strangely enough I'm recycling him in my new novel Dragon, which is a sci fi piece. So he's now the captain of a battleship, leading an armada against the nasty aliens, and has quite a large role, several biggish POV sections and two chapters so far. He's not the MC yet, but I may recycle him again into another book at some stage. Cheers.
I think it'd be fine. What I'd suggest is just trying to work with your MC more. You still might like your SC better, but as long as you like your MC then it's good. Agatha Christie, for example, really didn't like Poirot all that much, and only wrote as many as she did because her publisher wanted her to. Yet she is, along with Shakespeare, the number one best selling author, and Poirot is one of the most famous detectives [along with Sherlock Holmes, etc.]. And at times I found myself liking Hastings [the secondary character] better. The only reason I'd keep reading is because Poirot wasn't -that- annoying, and the plots were really good. So if you have a good plot, and well-thought out and good characters, then I don't think it matters which you like better [but you should still have your characters thought-out very well, so the reader can "know" the character, not just read about him/her]. You could also try writing from the secondary character's perspective. Like with Sherlock Holmes and Poirot; some cases were by Watson's and Hastings's perspectives. And then this also sets you up to write another book if you want, focused on this secondary character.
There's nothing wrong with liking other characters in the story. The reader often is supposed to identify the protagonist, but they may not necessarily like him. If the main character is a serial killer, for example, the reader may understand and follow, but that doesn't mean they "like" them. Sometimes secondary characters are 'more fun' to write, but that doesn't mean the story will fail or won't work. I'd say, complete the story/novel, having fun where it comes in.
hey thanks alot you guys. I now feel better about "liking" my secondary character more than the first, and I also see that the MC probably just needs some better development. Reading one of the posts reminded me of the show "the office". One of my favorite characters is Creed, but he doesn't get very many lines. However, there is no way his character could keep the show at the level that it is at. Thanks again!! those suggestions will definately be implemented ;P cheers
I almost always like a secondary character better -- both in my own work and in other people's work -- than the MC. With two of the novels I've written (one being my WIP) a sequel has been spawned with a focus on a secondary character. However, the only problem with this is that I start to like the secondary characters in those stories too.
It's happened to me quite a lot, too, and as everybody's been saying, I don't think there's much of an issue with it... so long as you aren't making the secondary character so interesting that he/she/it makes the protagonist look bland by comparison. Sometimes, a very interesting secondary character is necessary to contrast with the protagonist anyways. In one of my projects, I have two main protagonists (one male, one female) but also a number of major - but ultimately secondary - characters. For better or worse, I started to really develop the female major characters, and I found them to be rather interesting and engaging characters. Unfortunately, that left my male main protagonist somewhat bland in comparison, since I wasn't working on him as much, so now I'm going back and trying to make him a deeper character. Still, I wouldn't say it's all a bad thing; the fact that he has more interesting people to interact with will, I hope, by extension, make him also an interesting character as well.
Many stories have bland, neutral main characters, for example, so any reader can identify with them (Twilight), or because the plot is driven by other, more strong-willed characters, and the main character is just there to provide a focal point for the story (Harry Potter). Not to mention all the stories where the villain antagonist is much more interesting than the hero protagonist.
I remember writing a story where I liked the protagonist's best friend a lot better than the protagonist herself. I'd say switch them around, make the secondary a primary. Failing that, you could change up the secondary character a bit to make them the protagonist of a different story.
