You can have the greatest plot in the world, discuss a deep, universal theme, and write crisp, taut sentences, but if the reader can’t connect to your protagonist, the story will fall flat. Simply put, you always must create a protagonist the reader will root for.
Too often aspiring authors trip up on that challenge. Many seem content to simply provide meaningless details – like the protagonist’s height, hairstyle, school grades – believing that makes the character “real.” And real means likable, right? And likeable means a connection, correct?
Not quite.
Uninspiring details aren’t the only way writers can stumble with their protagonist. To avoid creating a poorly written main character – that is, one who isn’t real – watch for these seven pitfalls…
Never solves a problem
A main character who never attempts to solve the story’s central problem usually comes off as dull. Worse, if the character spends the whole book merely ruminating about how the problem is hopeless, he’ll come off as whiny.
Read the full article: https://inventingrealityediting.com/2017/08/19/how-not-to-create-a-protagonist/
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