How To Liven Up Your Main Character

   Main characters. The star of the show, the heart of the story, and the most important character there is. Also, the very hardest character to write. Welcome to the fifth post in my How To Liven Up Your Character series.

(there is a spoiler for the Out Of Time series in point two, so do be aware of that - I don't want to be ruining books for anybody!)

post one: How To Liven Up Your Leader Character
post two: How To Liven Up Your Mentor Character 
post three: How To Liven Up Your Villain Character
post four: How To Liven Up Your Secondary Character 

1. Keep Them Realistic

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Your main character needs to be realistic. We need to be able to connect and relate with them and their journey - that's the most important part of a main character.And yet it's oftentimes the hardest part.
   Let's take Katniss Everdeen as an example. Katniss was born and raised in the rough life of District 12, and so she grew up as a survivor. She's a little suspicious and a lot tough, and she's used to looking out for herself. And with the way she lives, this is very realistic. If Katniss was raised in a different District, this might have changed - her life would have been easier, so her outlook would be different. But District 12 is a hard place to live, so Katniss grew up as a tough girl - but she's not above having feelings. This keeps her very realistic. I would have given her a few more flaws if I was her author, but that's neither here nor there ;). 
   Try to keep your character realistic according to the people around you - there's no real human who doesn't have feelings,and there's no real human who doesn't have flaws. Maybe your character grew up in a place where thievery was common, so they're unusually protective and paranoid. Or maybe your character has seen too many people that they love die, so they are overly protective of the people they allow themselves to get attached to. 

2. Give Them Opportunities To Turn Back

   You main character isn't going to just happily go along on whatever quest he's being sent on. He'll probably want to go back multiple times. He'll probably want to give up. He should want to give up sometimes - we want to cheer harder for a character that chooses to do hard things because it's the right thing to do.
   Parvin Blackwater is one of my very favorite main characters, and in A Time To Speak, she has so many opportunities to turn back. When she's being taken to Antarctica with the Radicals, the Council tells her so many times that if she'll just turn back, they'll give her what she wants. Instead of suffering with people she barely knows, she'll be with her family, and she'll be safe. But Parvin always says no, because she knows the difference between what is easy and what is right. And this makes her a deeper, stronger main character.
   Maybe your character gets taken away from their home, and they have to chose whether they'll turn back and give up what they believe in ... or go on. Maybe your character has to choose whether to unravel everything they've done, everything they've worked to do, because it's easier and safer ... or go on. Your main character needs to make some tough decisions.     

3. They Aren't The Villain - So Show Us How They're Different

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   Why is the main character's side the right side to be on? Sometimes it's a very fine line - sometimes it seems like the villain could almost be right. You need to show us what separates the good guys from the bad guys - and, more importantly, what separates the main character from the villain.
   Let's look at Harry Potter, for instance. Harry, with all the powers he had, could have easily become the next Voldemort. So why didn't he? What set him apart from the villain of the story? It was the fact that he knew how (and was willing) to fight for someone other than himself. It was the fact that he was ready to make sacrifices for his friends and the people he loved  - and Voldemort wasn't, and never would be. The fact that Harry was able to be kind set him far apart from Voldemort.   
   How is your main character set apart from the villain? What makes us know that the main character will never become the villain? Your main character has to have lines that he or she will never cross, no matter what it comes to. Maybe they refuse to kill, and the villain will do it in the blink of an eye. Maybe they won't betray their friends, and the villain is betraying people left and right. Show us what sets the good guys and the bad guys apart.   

4. Make Sure That We Can Relate To Them

  Your readers need to be able to relate to the main character. Even if we can't relate so much to the minor or secondary characters, it's important that we can connect with the main one. They're the one who's head we're going to be stuck in the entire time - and trust me, if people don't like your main character, there's a good chance they'll end up putting the book down.
  Azalea from the book Entwined is a good example of a character we can relate to. Entwined is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princess, so Azalea has a whole gaggle of sisters - but when her mother dies, she has to step up into a role she wasn't quite ready for and become the eldest woman at the Palace. We can relate to her trying to carry a heavy load. And then Azalea finds out that the Palace they live in might carry a dark secret, and we can relate to her as she tries to save her family.
   What aspects of your main character are your readers really going to be able to relate to? Maybe your main character, like Azalea, has to try to protect their family from danger. Or maybe they have an obstacle that they need to overcome, and (if it's the right kind of obstacle) we'll be able to relate to them as they fight to overcome it.

5. Show Us Why They Choose To Keep Fighting

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   Why would someone do something hard for no apparent reason? I don't think your main character would, either. Your main character needs to have a reason for doing what they're doing. Show us why they choose to keep fighting - and if it's a good choice, we'll connect with him/her more.
   Take Frodo Baggins, for example. He had plenty of opportunity to throw up his hands and say 'I'm done! Someone else can go and save Middle Earth!', but he never did. Frodo kept fighting because when he looked in Galadriel's Mirror, he saw what would happen if he didn't. He saw his home burnt to the ground and his friends with no place to go. And he wasn't going to let that happen - and so he kept fighting. Your main character can't keep going without any good reason - you need to show us why he/she is continuing on!
   Maybe your main character just wants to see their sibling again. Maybe your main character knows that, unless they fulfill their quest, something or someone they love with lose their life. Maybe your main character has the chance to change the world, and they're not going to let that go to waste. Pick something that readers can relate to, and then show us why they fight. 

   While all these points are important, you need to write a main character that your readers are going to love. Your main character is the one who will make or break your story - and you need to make sure to write them right ;).

~ Savannah Grace

   What do you think is one of the best main character in literature? What's one of the hardest parts of writing a main character for you? (and are there any other character types you'd like me to post about? The series is almost done!)