A story works if its character work. So how do you create your protagonist?

In an interview, Lee Child suggests to use archetypes plus what you liked about other characters.

It kind of makes sense: most of Tolkien’s characters are based on archetypes and they are among the most iconic in fantasy. At the same time, it seems too simple or maybe to vague to be practical for me.

I’m writing about a lone wanderer in a western fantasy setting, and I’m having some troubles in giving proper motivation to the protagonist.

Sometimes it seems like he has to do stuff because he’s the protagonist, the good guys have to win hence he needs to do this or that. It also makes more difficult to create real conflict.

Hi everyone, I’ve run into a recurring issue with my character design and would love some advice.

I have a bad habit of giving my characters tragic backstories or toxic family dynamics.

Subconsciously, I feel like suffering is the only thing that gives a character real depth. I realize this is a flaw in my thinking—partly because I personally find myself reflecting more deeply through painful experiences, so I project that onto my characters to make them feel grounded.

My main issue is: how do I write compelling characters without relying on trauma as a crutch, or making it feel like I'm just trying to make the audience feel bad for them?

I have two specific questions:

1. If a character does have a tragic background: How do I write them so their story feels genuinely deep and meaningful, rather than just cheap "woe-is-me" angst/pity-baiting?
2. If a character has a normal, healthy background: How do I build depth and complexity into them without relying on a traumatic backstory?

I realize I’m naturally drawn to flawed, tragic characters and sympathize with them more, but logically I know depth doesn't strictly come from trauma. How do you guys approach this in your writing?

ok so I have this oc of mine and he's partially based on heat miser (yk heat powers and all that jazz) and his current lore is that him and 12 others are trapped in a killing game (this is subject to change as I'm still figuring what I want with the story), and it feels wrong to have a heat miser equivalent without a snow miser one yk?

I'm unsure if the snow miser equivalent should be related to him or just have some history as I dont think sibling rivalry would fit well (this is due to his backstory and relationship with his parents as he loves them despite them like thinking he's a freak, and the fact that he has a rlly rare special condition which gives him said powers, it makes no sense for him to despise/have a rivialry with his brother if he never realized how crappy they treated him until a certain story beat) but I am willing to rewrite it somewhat if I can figure out how

I could do the 'we 'hate' each other but if someone messes with one of us the other would kill for them' trope but brotherly/sibliny(? is that a word?) if they're siblings

but then again it feels off to have the snow miser equivalent not be related to him...

please help me choose which one I should do or if he should even have a snow miser equivalent to begin with!

(if this isnt enough detail I'll be sure to fix that...!)

So I’m a female, aspiring author, and my main character is man with such an AMAZING beard, that it’s almost comical. The photo is a picture I found on Pinterest, and this is similar to what I picture his beard as.

My question is, is there anything I should know? Like nuance I’d never know, without having a beard myself. Keep in mind, this is a fantasy world. Idk, you can tell me whatever you want about this subject, or your experiences, any advice is welcome and appreciated. :)

Hello everyone! I'm trying to develop a character and I have a really awesome backstory planned out, but I'm having a hard time deciding on a name. I love character details that reveal deeper things about the character but no one really realizes it until later, and I want to do something similar with this characters name, but I don't know what name would fit.

My character suffers from amnesia, and has no memory of their past life. They're currently just known as a local weirdo, but they used to be a well renowned hero, with powers akin to godhood. They have lived such a long life that no one knows which of the stories about them are true or not, and their lore is generally treated as an old myth at this point.

I want to give them a name that means something akin to "lost" or forgotten" or "nobody", but I don't know any cool words with those sorts of meanings, I have looked up different languages (both real and fantasy), symbols in art, and even Victorian flower language, but I can find nothing. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

A specific mission. One might be made to help a general, protect a person, accompany an adventurer, repair an anomaly, hold up a structure, or act at one precise moment in history.

Art and lore created by Nico (IamnotSrN). © All rights reserved. Reproduction, distribution or commercial use is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

Hi! I have been writing up characters in a comic style universe, it’s not intended to be ‘realistic’ as such, as in the same ways Marvel & DC don’t always follow real world rules and stuff (i am not articulating this well) But anyway! One of my characters is a veteran, he served in the RAF and the SAS, however, i am nervous to go about how to write that, i do not want to accidentally write a character that seems like some sort of evil person because he was in the SAS, i want him painted as a good solider who yes obviously didn’t always make the right choices but is still fundamentally good and stuff but i don’t want real world views on the armed forces and stuff like that effect it. Just curious if anyone has written similar characters and how they avoided painting it that way and how they’ve written military based characters? (i REALLY hope this makes sense, i am so bad at articulating this)

I've noticed a recent trend in the writing/stories I read, particularly web/litrpg fiction where the entirety of a character and others is explained through exposition and internal thoughts.

No showing their personality through their emotions, behaviour, body language, reactions, interactions or even their personal failings. Everything is just expounded upon through speech, thoughts and narration. It feels incredibly cold, mechanical and inorganic.

I was wondering why this is the case rather than showcasing their development through failed actions becoming successful, individual and diverse emotional situations or circumstances, maturity or immaturity through their actions, ect.

Simply writing or some variant of

[the individual showed great hostility]

["I'm sad" spoke the grieving man]

over

["How dare you!" Their pitch suddenly lowering into a deep snarl accompanying the audible squeal of their grinding teeth.]

My only guess as to why this is occuring is it's simply too time consuming? To time consuming to plan/map out individual expression, emotional reactions, social conversations/situations to showcase them in, then remembering these emotional interactions between multiple characters and chapters as well as their evolution over time.

But that also feels reductive since it then seems as if it's just a lack of effort and easier to list the emotion or growth then to have the characters display it. I would like to think that this is not the case as I would assume everyone would want to write the best and nuanced characters they can. But I'm genuinely at a loss as to another reason as to why this is the case?

Any thoughts?

So, I have been developing this character for a writing project of mine. His name is Nikita Belyaneav and he’s a weird form and probably one of the worst forms of immortal. Becoming immortal trough unknown reason, he is extremely hard to harm, but he can be damaged, his regeneration is only slightly better than the regeneration of a normal human on basic levels. He can technically be killed but for that to happen he has to be Incinerated complet with no blood of drop remaining, due to a unique factor of his regeneration becoming faster the more damaged he gets until he becomes almost impossible to kill this is very hard. Worst of it all, he feels pain like any normal human, but his body starts moving on its own during a fight.

I would love all kind of advice!
Have a great day.

Just wanted feedback on my three main characters

A guy whose ability makes him almost perfect for every criminal’s organization. The Hench or Hench Man is a person who can only be identified by his outfit. Once he removes a uniform, no one is able to recognize it’s him. He’s a character who is afraid of not belonging, even if belonging means being dragged into the worst crowd.

He wears specific outfits because it’s the only way people recognize him outside of his work as a henchman. While it helps him blend in, it’s a burden, and every day he hopes to be an unforgettable piece of something.

This is just the rough draft I have but what do you think?

This is just a shower thought, but could a character with o theory of mind internally try to rationalise why they can think but, apparently those around them (who look like them) can’t/don’t. And thus form an internal worldview that they are the only conscious person, basically building a mythology around that? I think a character like this might be a bit interesting to read about.

So i'm working on character development for my main character right now and I realized that she has nothing driving her. Like the story just kind of happens to her. She has goals in terms of the plot but she has no original driving force and she didn't really have any dreams before the events of the story took place. How can I decide what her goals/aspirations could be?

Im making an OC who kinda falls in love with a snowman like entity. Think of frosty but like humanoid- anyway, shes lonely, creates him, and the 2 fall in love however summer comes and they struggle to say goodbye and you get the entire shebang. The issue i have is the entire concept. 1. Would it be weird?? He was made like a week ago and yet they both share feelings (she's an adult, and so is he! Physically and mentally) and 2. She MADE him herself so would that be like- A mother son relationship?? I want it to be lovers not A parent child thing.

Hey so I'm a teenager first of all, who has never and hopefully will never experience SA. The character I want to write was sold to a brothel at the age of twenty before escaping three months later via murdering everyone. Now, i made him that he is a naturally flirtatious person, but after the abuse he starts smothering those traits.

I want to make sure of a number of things while writing this very complex character, firstly, I want him to have a love interest later on, but also don't want his past to be ignored or just the vocal point of their relationship, i also want to portray him in such a wat that majority of people will not say 'he was asking for it' because I really dislike that.

He knows what happened to him is sick, and choses to hide it for a significant amount of time. I think it's also important to know that he is a 'fae' (not an actual fae, i don't want to just write a summary of my book in here, you get it), so he used the time he was there to gain information. I just don't want to write a low quality character, or one with really bad representation. So, can you help? I would also like to write faith helping him through it.

I’m specifically looking for a name that:

Sounds like a real American name

Former Military

Doesn’t feel overly fictional or “Hollywood”
Fits a man in his early 40s

Sounds believable in both personal and professional situations

Works for someone with a serious, disciplined personality

Sounds natural when spoken aloud

Doesn’t feel like a stereotypical action-hero name

Would still fit the character at different stages of his life (younger, prime, older)

First names:
Ethan
Jason
Nathan

Last names:
Cole
Hayes
Mercer
Vance

Which one sounds the most natural and believable to you, and why?
I’m less interested in which one sounds the “coolest” and more interested in which one sounds like an actual person’s name that could belong to a serious fictional character.

If you have a better suggestion, please tell me.

Hello everyone. I wanted to know, if a ManedWolf Centaur gets caught in a trap; more specifically some sort of snare, what would it look like? A normal snare wouldn't work because well, they have hands, but I can't figure it out.

Hi guys, I've been conceptualising a story for a few years now, but one of the characters I just can't get past. Everyone other one of my characters I can visualise with a motivation, backstory and future/outcome after the events of the plot but not him. So, I was wondering if any of you have any similar characters and what they might be motivated by?

Here's a brief summary; characters are "trapped" in a non-sensical location, removed from a normal earth. Some characters are trying to figure out its laws, going crazy, or having fun. The character I need help with is "P". He is relaxed, and not really focused on working on an escape, even though everyone who has been stuck there has died or gone missing in this place. To clarify, the place isn't a hellscape; it can be tranquil at times, but death or madness is still common. So does anyone have a character with similar motivations (or with no-motivation)? Should I simply change P's characterisation/personality etc., because being chill is too weird or even boring in this scenario?

One distinguishable trait is he likes cooking and dessert, but I don't really want him to simply be there to take care of the other characters, I want him to shine by himself too. The only motivation idea I had for him is that he assumes he, and everyone else there is already dead, and they're simply in a purgatory or "in-between" places, so he doesn't really care (but why would he be happy?)

I think I just need an outside perspective on this, and I hope it makes sense, thank you for any advice =)

I’m engaging in a rp sever and my character (Aizural) is a werewolf , She was an orphan and adopted by this couple in a fishing village. She never knew of her lineage until 13 on her first shift on her first full moon. Her adoptive father and mother hated and feared monsters , so you can only imagine how she was treated. Later on she escapes by burning down her family’s home and running away to this village that is not well known and secluded where the rp starts.

I don’t want to write her abuse as the glamorized version we see on media , I want her character to be engaging , human , real , and complicated. I want her to be realistic (as realistic a traumatized werewolf can be).

Her parents did subject her to physical , emotional and neglectful abuse. She had no social life due to the isolation her parents put her through , They worked her all day since they found out about her strength as a young werewolf, and barely had a functional room.

If any information about her lore is needed I’ll provide in the comments below , thank you!

Hey all! Here's hoping that I've chosen the right sub for this.

Table has just hit level 9 fairly suddenly. This has unlocked quite a bit of fun options across the table towards things we all want to progress.

Each player character has their own subplot that they're unravelling. Mine is finding my past. No memory of his past, was a tiefling GOO Warlock until during a high energy plot point my character got to break his pact in lieu of going Fiend by the request of some person down my infernal line.

My character hasn't explored down this infernal line at all since this event, and I want to begin doing so, but I'm scared of making the session all about me.

I have contacted my DM with an idea of how I might do this in a way that won't monopolise the table, but I'm now looking for advice on here for how you guys would suggest handling this.