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*holds up Monopoly card* It says, ‘collect two cents from each of the players.’
So, I’ve had this little problem for maybe a year now. It worked okay for first person, but now that its third person, its gets trickier. The little problem in question, perhaps not as little as that, is favoritism.
Generally speaking, I have two main characters. The reserved, main character and the snarky, adventurous character. I used to write in first person, and yet, I found it way easier (and a lot more fun) to write from the snarky, adventurous character (SACK) 😛 The Brave, main character, on the other hand, tends to be a lot harder and more slow-going than the SACK. However, I did eventually finish that story, and it worked out in the end.
The problem came in where I had originally planned for the SACK to be the main character, but there was no plotline for that, so the reserved, main character was ‘it’.
Now, I’m writing a story in the third person, with a SACK and a reserved, main character (too much to write. Call him the MC), and I’m having the same problem in that the SACK is not supposed to be the main character, the MC is. Yet, the SACK I find to be more fun to write, he has more screen time, and is way more in depth. Do any of you know how to deal with this…favoritism, before the MC throws the SACK in the pit from his jealousy? 😛 What should I do about it? Any way I can make writing from the MC, mayhaps, easier?
@daeus @kina-lamb @kate-flournoy @hope @writefury @I am completely blanking on all the tags I know @ethryndal @jess @winter-rose @theliterarycrusader @jane-maree @perfectfifths @graciegirl @mark-kamibaya☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@Dragon-Snapper welllll… generally I’d say if you’re connecting with one character better than the other and giving them more screen time etc., switch MCs because you’ve probably got them mixed up, but it looks like you already tried that.
So… the problem may not be your attachment to SACK, but your lack of attachment to the quiet one. (Really, tell me something I don’t know, right? 😛 )
If this is the case, I would say figure out what it is that’s holding you back with the current MC. Why is he/she not fascinating to you? Because you prefer snark? Well… okay, but quiet people are just as fascinating as snarky people, only in different ways. Don’t think of them as ‘Snarky and Not-Snarky,’ but maybe ‘Snarky and Intense,’ or ‘Outgoing and Wise’. Don’t think less of the quiet character because he/she lacks the outer sparkle of the snarky one, but dive down deep into their backstory and figure out what makes them tick and why they are the way they are, and you’ll find that they’re fascinating in a whole different way.I have a bit of the same problem… there was one character I had no trouble writing at all. He was fun and effortless and I still don’t know how I ever managed to get him so easily on the first try.
The MC… not so much. Writing him has been a constant struggle. But as I’ve worked through the story and through beta-reader feedback (thanks @Daeus @Hope 😉 ) I’ve come to see that though he isn’t as amusing or sweet or downright lovable as the other character, he’s amazing in a whole different direction. It’s been a bumpy journey at times. I’m pretty sure I’ve completely re-made him about three times and am only just now beginning to see all his potential, but now that I do I’m so glad I took the trouble and didn’t just give up on him.Anyway. That may have been considerably more than two cents, but you’re welcome to ’em. 😉
@kate-flournoy *takes to cents* Before, I get back to you on the two cents, are you able to see the post that I made to create this topic? I can’t see it anywhere…
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@kate-flournoy Never mind. It just decided to show up. 😛
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper Funny, I’m just facing this for the first time. I’ve got these two main characters, a brother and sister, and the brother (who is the protagonist) is of a moderate disposition whereas the sister is snarky, adventurous, and insanely awesome #ilovehertodeath.
I think one thing that’s helped me is separating them a lot. That way the sister doesn’t steal the stage from her brother. They have separate stages and separate scenes for a lot of the story.
The brother’s definitely the protagonist though. He’s the one with the real inner journey, so that’s why he works. He’s deeper than he appears.
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@dragon-snapper It had gotten marked as spam. That’s the reason if a post doesn’t show up. I think it was the constant repetition of SACK and maybe some of the phraseology. It’s hard to know for sure.
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@kate-flournoy Back to the two cents.
Thanks for all the advice! I see that I’m going to have to learn more about the main character…that sounds strange, seeing as I invented the MC. 😛
Una pregunta: for beta-readers, do people have beta-readers while they’re writing, after they’ve finished writing, or does it vary? (I assume there isn’t a rule book…”Sorry, but you’re under arrest for violating Section 3 of the Beta-Readin-Rulebook Vol. 1″) 😛
I’d love to see the potential in my character too. Must dig more…moooorre.☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper I haven’t read what everyone else has said, so feel free to disregard if I’m repeating other people or you already have all the advice you need, but… *hands you five cents* (we don’t have pennies here 😛 ) Keep the change 😉
Perhaps you could keep the POV in the SACK’s and we’re seeing the story about the MC from the SACK’s POV. That way, we get to know who the MC is through the eyes of another character. So the story will still be about the MC, but you are seeing it from the SACK’s POV, so you can have your cake and eat it too! (I totally get what you mean about character favouritism. I “suffer” from it myself 😉 ) And since it’s mostly from the SACK’s view, you don’t have to develop the MC as much, because you don’t get into his mind as much (if at all!)
Hope that was somewhat helpful 😉
Currently reading Les Miserables
I’ve got these two main characters, a brother and sister, and the brother (who is the protagonist) is of a moderate disposition whereas the sister is snarky, adventurous, and insanely awesome #ilovehertodeath.
Yeah, this is me so much. For the first book I wrote where the problem wasn’t too hard to deal with, the characters were traveling together, but I alternated POVs. As for the next story, my characters won’t usually be in the same scene either, but the SACK is definitely getting more of the ‘screen time’ as Josiah put it.
However…what you said —
The brother’s definitely the protagonist though. He’s the one with the real inner journey, so that’s why he works. He’s deeper than he appears.
—got me thinking. I may have to change who the said protagonist is, because the SACK goes through more of a change than the MC ever does. He has the better character, and the theme practically revolves around his character…*licks thoughtfully at ice cream* 🍦
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@perfectfifths *takes five cents* I’m going to be rich. (if people keep giving me this much money along with great advice, I’m going to have more gold than even Smaug) Thanks! I like the idea…🍦🍦
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@Dragon-Snapper it doesn’t really matter when you have beta-readers actually. I think it is pretty standard procedure to wait until you’re ‘done’, but in my case the story was so ridiculously long I’ve been sending it out in sections to the first round, hammering the second draft into shape as I go. Once I finish up with that I’ll run through it again, then send it out for ‘official’ beta reading. 😉 It’s really very much whatever works for you. 😉
I know; it’s amazing sometimes how little we can really know about these people we create, and how much there really is there when we look. 😀 It does sound weird, doesn’t it? XD
Oh, and on the note of favoritism— just wanna say it’s not bad to have favorites. Of course not. Just so long as you give each character a fair chance and recognize that they are all amazing in different ways. You may end up preferring one kind of amazing to another (*raises hand* guilty! ;P) but having a favorite character is not ‘unfair’ to the others. 😉
@dragonsnapper
I am contributing to the budding dragon hoard, here is two cents. 🙂
I often have one character that I really like in a story, and another character who is either harder to write or I just don’t like quite as much. I agree with what everyone else said, get to know your character!
Also, don’t let your totally snarky and awesome character steal the show. Give your other characters, who are equally awesome, time to shine. Even if it means that the other character has to be forcibly gagged. 😛 🙂The Scattered Writer
@jenali Oh boy, the SACK would love to be gagged.
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper I kind of had this problem with my current WIP. It wasn’t that I’d another character taking over the story, I just couldn’t connect with the MC. It’s only in the last draft that I’ve really started connecting with the MC. Delving into a character’s backstory helps. And figuring out how they view life (as a war, as an adventure, as a quest). Just getting to know them… They all have hidden depths and, once one figures those out, they become much more interesting even if it only comes through in subtext.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
@Dragon-Snapper I suffer from serious character favoritism myself! XD Oh, zikers. When I first came up with my story about three years ago, I had one character, Evaleen, and her sister, Dawn. Ev’s best friend was a boy by the name of Ariszi, and he in turn had his friend Nora, who was created solely for the purpose of being Ariszi’s confidant. Well, I’m not exactly sure what happened, but Nora is now my protagonist, and Ev is a shockingly minor character. XD And now I love Ariszi so much I hold weekly debates about whether or not to make HIM the protagonist. He’s charming, has a quiet sense of humor, and is a ton of fun. Nora is haughty, moody, and, to be honest, sarcastic to the point of insensitive. All this = Not as much fun to write. But I realized a while back that the protagonist has to be the one with the most to learn . Also, I’ve noticed that sometimes the funny character you might love, is only lovable because you don’t know him/her that well. Sometimes a jokester is only enjoyable because he’s a jokester, and wouldn’t be much fun if he was the protagonist. I’m to the point now where I purposely leave my favorite characters flat because then I only have enough time to show their good side. Basically, I give myself an excuse to keep them the all-around good/funny/enjoyable characters I want them to be, by denying them the ‘screen time’ necessary to acquaint readers with their ‘bad’ side And that is the testimony of my struggle with character favoritism. ;p
*is probably geeking out about something*
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