So we all have the kinds of characters we prefer to read about. I’d like to hear about what kind of Main Character draws and keeps your attention:
For example, I like the anti-hero type… one who doesn’t necessarily play by all the rules but is a good person at the core. I think it speaks to my desire to see well-rounded, relatable, and fallible people who have room to grow (or redeem) their character.
This extends to the kinds of movies I like to watch (Robocop, The Crow, Darkman) and the kinds of comics I like to read (For instance, in X-Factor, I liked Warren Worthington a lot more once he became Archangel.)
That dark, not a goody two-shoes character really speaks to me. And I think it’s all rooted to my love of classic monster movies, where I always rooted for the monster.
The main character is badass, skilled, flawed, and just complex in personality that it’s hard to fully understand the character, but you understand their actions.
I like one that seems to have a brain up in there. I’m not talking about “ShE’sSoSmArT” vibes without proving it, but having something that seemse to pulse with life beneath their actions. I don’t care much beyond that. They could be evil, they could be heroes, they could be relatively stupid but thoughtful.
So sometimes too much of this Show don’t Tell kills me. Interiority people, innards.
I also tend to like morally grey characters that are more like antiheros than the “can do no wrong” heroes that have no flaws and everyone loves them and it’s easy to tell they are the good guy. I like the complexity of personality and the internal conflict that drives external conflict. I don’t necessarily need them to redeem themselves either. Sometimes a good corruption arc is just as good as a redemption arc.
I’ve been thinking of a very specific character — Pete from The Bear. He isn’t a main character but I find him quite interesting. Minor spoilers ahead:
At first, he seems like he doesn’t have much going on. He’s very friendly, there’s always smile on his face, he’s eager to please and tries to act as a peacemaker. The others find him annoying and are dismissive because who is that nice anyway? But he doesn’t seem to care or be aware of it. By the end of the second season we realise he’s not exactly who we thought he is. He’s a sponge that’s been soaking up all the trauma the Berzattos are putting each other through. But instead of becoming a mess like them, he’s trying to take it and put out something positive. Even when he finally cracks, he spares his wife from his misery by turning it around by telling her he’s crying happy tears. I find it admirable.
If he were a main character I suppose he would be a classic hero archetype. I don’t have a preference for a certain type of character, but classic heroes tend to tell good stories.
Ahahah… that’s good to hear…
I guess that’s why I have antagonists and not villains… they all have their own motivations that seem right to them, but they conflict with other characters in the story.
I had villains in early stories, but they are… um, overdone and rather boring…
Never wrote them out, but they didn’t last terribly long.
I’ve written a character or two like that… 
