How To Write An Unforgettable Protagonist

By Kayleigh Idea

What is the most important element of a story?

Many would argue, myself included, that the answer is an unforgettable protagonist. Why? Because if a protagonist is one readers will forget, then they have no reason to care. And if readers don’t care, they don’t continue reading. No one likes reading a book with a boring main character.

A story might have the most intriguing plot on the face of the earth, fun side characters, and epic worldbuilding… but without a well-written protagonist? None of that matters.

Well then, how do you write an unforgettable protagonist? That’s what I’m here to explain. I’ll be outlining the five elements of an unforgettable protagonist. Ready? Let’s go.

Unforgettable Protagonists Are Proactive

Readers won’t connect with or relate to your protagonist if they’re just a punching-bag for the plot—or worse, they just sit on their butt all day and do nothing. 

Unforgettable protagonists make decisions for themselves in an active way. They aren’t constantly in reaction mode, waiting for something to happen to them.

Now, that’s not to say your protagonist can’t react to plot events—of course they can! But they better have some drive, or they won’t be compelling.

An easy way to make your protagonist is to give them a goal they’re working towards. Doing so will inherently make them proactive.

A brilliant example of this element is in Disney’s Mulan (1998), and even though it’s a film, it’s still applicable to us writers. 

At the beginning of the movie, when the protagonist, Mulan, learns that China has just required every household to produce one man to fight in the Imperial Army, what does she do? She doesn’t sit around and wait for her crippled father to go off to war where he’ll most likely die, that’s for sure. Instead, she cuts her hair, steals her father’s armor and sword, and takes his place in the army—a perfect example of a proactive protagonist. 

And Mulan remains in action throughout the film. In battle, when Mulan and her comrades are ambushed by the Huns, she doesn’t wait to be slaughtered—she takes matters into her own hands. Thinking fast, Mulan fires a cannon to set off an avalanche, effectively burying all the Huns in the snow before they can even finish their charge.

And at the end of the movie when Mulan learns that some of the Huns have survived and are on their way to kill the emperor, she tries to warn her former battle mates. But they don't believe her, and when the Huns take over the Imperial Palace like she said they would, she and three of her friends form a plan to make their way into the palace to stop the Huns and save the emperor. 

Now, try to imagine this film if Mulan didn’t do anything in these situations. That would make for an awfully boring movie and protagonist. 

And this is exactly why an unforgettable protagonist is proactive.

Unforgettable Protagonists Are Balanced

This second element might sound a little confusing. What do I mean by balanced? I mean this: unforgettable protagonists must have both flaws and redeeming qualities in a balanced way. 

Many writers lean towards one side or the other. They either make their protagonist a living angel who can do no wrong—or on the flip side, their protagonist is a heathen who’s totally unlikeable. These two extremes are why it’s so important to find the balance. 

Both elements are crucial for an unforgettable protagonist because flaws and redeeming qualities make them realistic, likeable, and relatable. But how do you find this balance? And how do you know when you’ve reached it? 

I don’t have an exact answer for this, but I can offer some guidance. First, make sure you have both flaws and redeeming qualities. This might seem obvious, but it’s the most important. 

The next step I can recommend is getting feedback from other writers or readers. Ask them, “Does my character have both imperfections and likeable traits?” Once you have that feedback, you can take their comments to improve your protagonist. 

Let’s take a look at this in action. In another film, Disney’s Finding Nemo, the protagonist, Marlin, is a terrific example of this element. 

Marlin definitely has his flaws. He’s cynical, overprotective, and paranoid to a fault. However, these are perfectly balanced with his redeeming qualities. 

He’s brave, courageous, and determined as he journeys to find his missing son, revealing how he loves Nemo more than anything else in the world. 

These are also the reasons for his flaws—why he’s so cynical, overprotective, and paranoid—it’s all simply out of love for Nemo. He doesn’t want anything to happen to his son and he’s been this way ever since his wife and 399 other eggs died in a barracuda attack.

Balanced protagonists like Marlin are unforgettable protagonists.

Unforgettable Protagonists Are Growing

This next element means that an unforgettable protagonist must have a character arc. A character arc is a way to describe how a character changes over the course of a story. I’ll be describing the fundamentals of the positive character arc, which is the most common arc, but keep in mind, there are also negative and flat character arcs.

In a positive character arc, the protagonist will start off in the beginning of a story believing a lie about themselves or the world that’s been ingrained into them. But by the end of the story, they’ll have learned the truth that they’ve always needed to hear. This truth is often the opposite of their lie, and is sometimes referred to as the theme. 

Character arcs are important because whether your reader knows it or not, this is what they’re expecting of stories—and therefore, what they’re expecting of you. But more than that, character arcs and themes are what make your story matter. 

Without your protagonist growing and/or changing as a result of the story, your book will seem pointless and boring.

There’s more that goes into writing character arcs, but those are the basics. I recommend researching further to learn more.

Let’s look at an example. Take Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

The lie Elizabeth believes at the beginning of the story is that being rich makes a person arrogant and rude, which is why she’s so disdainful of Mr. Darcy (even though he might prove her right sometimes). 

But as the story moves along, Elizabeth learns to shed her prejudice once she realizes that Mr. Darcy is an actual kind and caring person when he saves her and her family from disgrace. And getting over her former belief helps her realize the truth she’s needed to learn all along—not to judge people so quickly or form opinions without knowing the full story. And she manages to fall in love in the process.

Imagine if Elizabeth didn’t go through that change. Would the story still be half as compelling? I certainly don’t think so.

This is why unforgettable protagonists are growing protagonists.

Unforgettable Protagonists Are

Unique

Unforgettable protagonists are unique protagonists. This means they’re fresh and new—not the same cliché characters readers have seen a hundred times before. This means they must be written like real people with real personalities. 

How do you write a character like this? The biggest way you can accomplish this is by giving them a unique voice, which is something that every single person in the real world has. 

And contrary to what that sounds like, a character’s voice isn’t only the way they speak out loud—although that is a part of it—but it’s also the way they process thoughts and feelings in their mind, the things that aren’t written in quotation marks. 

A character’s voice is influenced by a variety of things—such as their worldview, upbringing, religion, culture, lifestyle, situation, personality, gender, and much more. Regarding their speaking voice, everyone is also different in this area. Some people use different sentence lengths or structure, some people stutter, some say, “Um,” all the time, and some people talk formally and never use contractions. 

Think about these things and how they apply to your protagonist. Doing so will help you develop your protagonist’s unique voice.

The characters in Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles series serve as a perfect example of this.

In this series, there are many recurring point-of-view characters, but Meyer still manages to make each voice distinct.

One of the protagonists, Linh Cinder, is a mechanic, which influences her thought processes and the way she perceives the world. She’s analytical, clever, and strong-willed, but she’s also reserved and slightly socially awkward. She’s a cyborg, which means she’s looked down upon in her society and this affects her self-esteem. These are just a few of the things that affect Cinder’s character voice.

Another protagonist in this series, Scarlet Benoit, has an impulsive personality. She’s occasionally reckless, emotional, and sometimes short-tempered. But she’s also very caring and protective of the people she loves, especially her Grandmère who was kidnapped. She’s independent and stubborn, but she’s also very capable and helps run her Grandemère's farm.

Unforgettable Protagonists Are Integral

This final element means that unforgettable protagonists are the only character worthy of telling their story. 

Unforgettable protagonists must add to the story—they shouldn’t just be a lens to see the plot through. 

If you replace your protagonist with another character in your story, your entire story should shift and this change should force you to do a ton of reworking. If not, your protagonist probably isn’t integral enough to your story. 

An integral protagonist also means that your protagonist has a character arc (remember the third element?). They should be a character who changes and grows as a result of the journey they go on throughout the story. This is a perfect way to make your character tied in with your plot.

Consider Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Now, imagine if Katniss wasn’t the main character, and instead, her hunting partner Gale was. 

You might be wondering, “Well, how would that work?” And that’s exactly my point. Katniss is the only one worthy of telling this story, and it makes sense to us readers. 

It should be extremely clear to your readers why your protagonist is your protagonist. And they shouldn’t have to wonder if you’ve made the right choice.

To summarize, there are five elements to an unforgettable protagonist:

Trying to create an unforgettable protagonist can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. By using these five elements, you’ll create a relatable protagonist that readers will remember.

Who’s your favorite protagonist?

Do they possess any of these elements?