Every author has that certain type of main character that they gravitate towards when it comes to writing.
What type of main character do you enjoy writing the most?
My Turn:
I tend to focus on female main characters who hail from wealthy families with power and status. Though their personalities are quite different. Besides Aeris, I also tend to like writing female main characters who are quite villainous with a sorta split personality way. From Jorildyn to Phyrra to Gretchen, I love the idea of villainous women who pretend to be sane and sweet, but the reality is that they are badshit insane and vile.
Actually yeah, normal’s not the correct word. I guess I mean ‘normal’ from the standpoint they have regular jobs. Not like a normie person. Everyday people, just people you don’t usually see written about.
As for me, I have thought a LOT about this topic XD As you’ll see:
For main young adult characters, I tend to focus on the underdogs or the misunderstood, or those who are in some way ostracized by others, usually with some physical difference or some unique societal position that makes them stand out. They often have something unique about themselves (usually some magical power or identity). They also tend to be insecure about that uniqueness (if they know about it). Outliers are unlikable characters with narcissistic personalities, but who have something deep within them that made them feel like they had to be this way.
For main adult characters, there’s something in their life that is hindering them from developing further into themselves. They come from well-known families or are in some way known to many people. They might also have some level of charisma and be liked by many people. These adult characters often have either an identity crisis, or there’s some truth in their life related to their society or family history which they find hard to swallow.
For main villain characters, I rarely go pure villain. Usually villains are gray and they show moments of kindness here and there, sometimes even toward the main characters. They’re often some type of leader figure, or high up in some organization, so they have power and they have people below them to manipulate. There’s usually something in their life that, in truth, they don’t like doing even though they are expected to.
I tend to gravitate towards female protagonists, with the occasional male protag or deuteragonist
The adult protagonists usually have established careers and are either normal or magic-users of some kind (witches, sorceresses, etc.). Teen and kid protags are often curious, adventurous, or shy but brave. Personalities are all over the place, but none have ever been fully evil. I think I have only 1 protagonist who is royalty
Let’s see, looking at my books right now it works out this way:
• alcoholic woman
• drug addicted woman
• drug addicted man
• traumatized man (his parents are murdered by the Klan)
• traumatized man (his friend murders a government official and frames him for it)
• traumatized woman (her whole family dies in a theater fire while she escapes)
• traumatized woman (she marries a misogynistic Christian fundamentalist who forces her to submit and become a tradwife)
• traumatized man (he’s gay and Hispanic, accidentally teleported into a future American dictatorship where gays and Hispanics are sent to death camps, kind of like now)
• a rom-com where nobody really suffers, except by living during the medieval period
• and then there’s the current work, where it’s all traumatized men impacted by the assassination of a royal family
So I guess I write male and female characters pretty evenly…? Usually wounded by a tragic event that drives them to drink, smoke, or shoot something. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯
I like variety far too much to gravitate towards one type of main character. Even in one story, I have three main characters that are all distinctly different from each other, both in personality and background.
