This is mostly with my own fiction, but sometimes the fiction of others.
Like if a MC is some average joe with an average job, I CAN NOT AND WILL NOT add that in my story.
It’s the weirdest pet peeve of mine. Main character who have dull, boring, average, plain, and overall ordinary backgrounds from personal life to job life, bother me.
This is definitely a me thing because if I am wanting to read or write about a MC who lives an average life and has an average job, that will have no place in Alagossia, even as a short story.
That’s too boring! I CREATED ALAGOSSIA FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE TO NEVER BORE ME!!!
Even if that character goes on the most epic adventure, I won’t have that character go back to a mundane life…period.
I can tolerate it then, but for a character to live an boring life with a boring ass job then go on some epic adventure then go back to boring ass life and job, I will end up punching myself into oblivion.
I want to change that, because even though I LOVE writing royalty and rich people in my stories or just people with interesting jobs/lifestyles that aren’t really rich, sometimes I just want to write a main character who has to be average joes with mundane lifestyles and jobs before they become something great and awesome and either stay that way or die that way…if the story calls for it.
I personally think finding tension in the mundane is an incredible writing skill. I enjoy it. I technically write about ordinary lives as a profession. And I love reading fiction set in the mundane. It’s never boring to me
I am starting to think I am trying too hard with my own characters.
For instance Jorildyn is a rich heiress with a decent paying job in the Knighthood Federation. She is lacking (to me personally) in depth and character a bit.
Like yeah, she is emotional and wanted to distance herself from her family’s wealth and fame, but she is still written wonky as a character.
I keep changing her character a bit, but it STILL the same, a rich girl dealing with problems.
I thought about having Jorildyn as a regular girl, but that infuriates me. It makes sense, given who she REALLY is.
I don’t want Jorildyn or any character to come off a flawless and perfect, but giving characters extraordinary background/lifestyles/careers just makes me happier than some mundane average joe.
I find average joes boring, but I find rich people boring too. I like people who do interesting things with the mundane. I don’t like this extraordinary stuff.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting your characters to have unusual jobs, but in my opinion a good writer can make the most mundane lives interesting, and a terrible writer will make the most extraordinary life dull. It’s all about how the writer can make us care about the character’s inner struggle. A boring, dead end job is an excellent contributing factor to inner struggle. Personally, I prefer characters and situations I can relate to, and I just can’t relate to someone employed as the king’s grand imperial wizard or the head groom in charge of the magical dragon stables. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
Rethink your life choices? Why? Even if everyone in this community opposed you, the people here are only a tiny portion of the total readers in the world. Your books won’t be any good if you yourself don’t like them, so you need to write what you like. Doesn’t matter what the rest of us like. Your books will somehow find an audience. Do you have a TikTok account? Working social media the right way is supposed to bring you fame and fortune these days, so just tailor your socials to your audience. You’ll find your readers! (*＾-‘) 乃
The characters I like and create and the stories I like and create are just a sheer byproduct of me fleeing from my horrid mundane lifestyle. I can’t change reality whether as an individual or in group, because how I want to change the world and society is impossible.
So, I created Alagossia as a way to escape and leave earth behind.
If I am being honest humans bore me in certain ways. I just want something that doesn’t even exist.
I am not taking writing as seriously as I would want to.
I refuse to write other fiction genres that aren’t fantasy or science-fiction.
You’re not making sense. Is it your view that fantasy and science fiction aren’t serious genres? Because, of course, ALL genres are “serious” depending on how you write them. __〆(．．)
It’s more that when I write I am not getting serious and trying to adapt and grow. I just don’t want to write other genres since it doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.
I just want to write fantasy and science-fiction that isn’t me compensating for something.
I get it! I have a “sucky and boring life”! Anyway, I just want to know how to make characters and stories and worlds that are written better.
I apologize if I don’t make sense.
I just want to know why the hell I am so awful at this thing.
There’s nothing wrong with sticking to one genre if you like, in fact, it’ll be easier to brand your work that way. Stephen King writes nothing but horror afaik, and Brandon Sanderson writes nothing but fantasy. Lots of authors write nothing but romance. That way the readers always know what they’re getting, and your past books sell your future books. You can still grow as an author while writing only one genre. Every book you write should teach you things, so the next book will be even better, and the one after that will be better still. Technically you’re still writing your first book, though, right? You just keep changing the name and the plot of it. So I wouldn’t worry about that! Once you have a few completed books under your belt, you’ll see the improvement in your work. You’ll grow! ( ˆ◡ˆ)۶ ٩(˘◡˘ )
it depends on the genre and a fair bit on the writing quality for me. like am i reading a psychological thriller with a believable, gut-wrenching portrayal of a normal person descending into madness because they fail to cope with their trauma, or a coming-of-age story with a relatable main character overcoming the awkward parts of growing up we all had to go through in a unique and fun way? or is it a generic romance with a bland wish fulfillment heroine who is “just your everyday ordinary high school girl” that has no depth or development even though every billionaire, bad boy, and alpha werewolf in a ten-mile radius falls hopelessly in love with her? boring everyday main characters can serve a purpose and definitely have their place in writing, but i agree that oftentimes blank slates with no notable characteristics are a product of lazy writing.
most of my main characters aren’t super out there or exceptional within their own worlds, but i try to give them unique and entertaining perspectives to view the world through.
