Hello everyone! 

I wanted to start a new series for writers on the blog, and as I was thinking about what that might entail, I got to think about main characters. Main characters should be the heartbeat of the story, but they end up being the main divisive point much of the time. I've read books and watched movies where I love the side characters and even the story, but cannot stand the protagonist, and it ruins the entire book for me. Alternately, if I connect to the protagonist, I fall in love with the whole thing, even if it's subpar. 

What are the factors that drive this? What allows your main character to be likeable, loveable, and compelling? How do they drive the story and raise the stakes by who they are?

I'm writing this series as a reader, writer, and viewer (of shows/movies). These are things I've observed, which quite a few of my favorite Protagonists have in common. Today is part 1, but I suspect I'll do quite a few of these little deep dives this year. Part 1 is something that you'll probably debate me about no end, but it's just so helpful and enjoyable. 

The first trait, in my humble opinion, of a compelling protagonist, is

~Demonstrated Competency~

Aragorn (Strider) from Lord of the Rings

Especially in the films, I don't think you could argue that Aragorn doesn't have a character arc. He might be 87 years old and an excellent Ranger,  but he still has a ton of doubt to overcome, positive changes to make, and lies to stop believing. He's incredibly well-written--but he's competent.

Aragorn's role is that of protector. He steps into that role and immediately demonstrates to us that he is capable of protecting those in his charge. If Merry had become the protector of the Fellowship, we would raise an eyebrow and chuckle, and it would feel wildly unrealistic. But Aragorn has a backstory to justify his knowledge--he was raised by Elves, and his knowledge stems from experience, battle, training, mentorship, and learning.

This is the first part of competency: Your character needs to already fit the role that they are in at the beginning of the story. This does not mean Aragorn has to be ready to be KING right now. He isn't ready. It takes time for him to get there, which the story gives him and allows him to develop. However, what he does already need to be is a protector and friend. If he were a protector who had never had any training, we would question why he was there. I'm sure this is obvious to many people, but I've read far too many YA books where someone is in a role that SIMPLY does not make sense. 

The second point...

Paul from Dune (2021)

Most main characters still have things to learn. We saw this with Aragorn, but we can see it with most main characters, if we're being honest. That's an arc. That's internal conflict. It's a crucial part of every story.

However, the character needs to have a realistic REASON for being involved. Unless you're writing some sort of fairy tale retelling where your main character is plucked off the street to follow some prophecy, your main character's background needs to inform where they're going to go next. This means that both backstory and mindset are important. Paul checks all of these boxes. He has internal conflict in that he does not WANT to be part of the conflict, but he has no CHOICE. That was decided for him. What he can choose is what to do with the conflict.

So, being a  smart boy, what he does is learn. He studies the cultures he's getting involved in. He learns the customs. He studies up on magic and becomes incredibly talented through STUDY. It does not come naturally to him--he's good because he's worked really hard. But that doesn't make him invincible at the start of the film, or even at its end. He's got more to learn. However, we trust that he's going to learn it--because he's demonstrated that he WILL.

Finally... 

Lazlo from Strange the Dreamer

Your protagonist needs to be likable.

If your protagonist is just plain good, it's going to drive people in the story crazy. That's just how life works. Strange is a great example of that. Lazlo is just good--a nice, normal, but ridiculously kind person. He gets beat up for being kind. It makes the people around him lose their minds slowly. Not everyone likes him. But that makes readers like your character--especially if they're self-aware.

Competency and likeability don't always go together, but in Lazlo's case, they do. He's a diplomat! He needs to be likeable. But the reason I bring this aspect up is because your character has somehow be likeable if they are competent. That doesn't just mean making them a hot jerk who's never messed up. They need redeeming qualities. Quality. I don't care, at least one. Something that will make your readers love them, even if their perceived perfection makes other characters hate them. Because that's life, baby! That is JUST life. 

This post was a lot of ramble, so let me know if you want more of these! I have some ideas, but I will not be writing more of these if y'all don't like them, haha. Comment if you liked this deep dive into the specific things about protagonists!