I think overpowered characters can be great, if they make moral mistakes / struggle morally and emotionally, or if the core of their character discusses resonsibility and so on. Also characters should contradict themselves in some ways imo, every person contradicts themselves and act "illogically" sometimes.
Cid from Eminence in Shadow is also an overpowered MC done interestingly because he is so funny and the author knows the limitations of the character and leans into the OPness as the punchline of jokes
I can actually see that, especially in dark fantasy setting. Without knowing the details of your character, I could see a knight who wanted to be heroic, but just sees death all around them and is often forced to take lives in pursuit of even noble goals. Gardening, the act of bringing new green life into the world, would be a great way for them to do something they feel is positive, both as a coping mechanism as well as the opportunity to help the world without killing.
You're reading a book where the protagonist is a calm, collected strategist, always thinking 3 steps ahead. Suddenly, without warning, they turn into a reckless daredevil, throwing caution into the wind." It is called The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious.
It's cliché but it's true. Advice being cliché doesn't diminish it's value at all However, better advice would be to utilize clichés in a unique way, which a lot of people don't do when it comes to clichés
Thank you for the kind feedback 🙂 I started the channel a year ago as a hobby while working 80h weeks in tech and then took a break for a few months early last year due to personal/health reasons. Despite that limited time available, I was incredibly grateful to see the support and interest in the channel though. I went all-in on my creative pursuits three months ago now, including a more heavy focus on this channel here, and there has been some decent uptick in growth since then too. Just trying to build a sustainable business for myself around storytelling, worldbuilding and fantasy writing while providing as much value as possible 🙂
@@CorporateCornholio Frieren - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Ainz - Overlord (unless there is a different Ainz I'm not aware off) Mob - (Mob Psycho) Not sure about Cid though.
Great video! But some of the advice you gave are easier said than done. For instance, mistake number 8 is my nemesis. I tend to delve into my main character's inner thoughts more often than I should, and in expense of pausing an action scene. I realize I'm doing it as I'm writing but I can't stop myself. It's like I have to put those words on the page. It's going to be a pain for me to fix those scenes filled with unnecessary introspection when I start revising 😂
Thank you, glad that it was useful for you. And in regards to your "nemesis", having the awareness of an issue is always the first step to improvement. So you're already on the right track 🙂
Had that problem too! What I prefer to do is postpone the thoughts. We can't always analyze or think fast at any given situation, and we focus on completing the action, and THEN think back on it when calm and having time to process. It's tough, but it's helped me to move along fast-paced scenes.
I am a new listener to your channel and I need to say a huge thank you!! I am not a writer, nor thinking of becoming a writer. I rarely get to read due to a busy life as a mom so I cannot say I am an avid reader. I will let you know, however, that these videos are so fun to listen to and to consider. They are their own short stories. What makes me "most thankful" is the fact that I recently dread buying books any more. I have purchased a handful of books and found them to be "terrible". Besides the underwhelming over-played romances that I dont expect in them, I find the stories are all over the place! Your videos have really began to help me understand what it is that bothers me in the books. For that, I am thankful. I can now explain to my friend why I did not like the book she recommended.😅 I really do appreciate these wonderful insights and videos!!
I've always wanted a story or D&D adventure where everyone knows about the Prophesy and the Hero Who Will Save Us All.... but our story takes place several hundred years before that's going to happen, so NO, your fighter isn't the Chosen One. The Prophesy isn't going to happen during this adventure.
Great video. Can you please make a video of advice for writing multiple POV/protagonists? (Eg. Frodo and Sam/ Aragon and Gandalf) How do you make both interesting storylines, and how do you deal with potentially changing tones or timelines
Glad to hear the video was useful for you :) I do have a few videos in the pipeline already, but I'll think about an angle how a "multiple POV" video could be approached in the future.
Let the protagonist do it - and then comes Gollum and steals all glory from Frodo. Same for Hobb an his royal assassin story. And, well, so much other good stuff.
Subvert expectations: Make my main character an anxious teenage bard with great musical skill, but poor confidence and people skills (and no horny bard stereotype). And he's from a dragon riding culture, always thinking about hatching his dragon egg, how useful having his own dragon would be in the situations he finds himself in, but his dragon only hatches after he's already defeated the BBEG.
Tip 1 Don't write Griffith your not that good Tip 2 write people not objects that complete scenes that you imagined in your shower (this one was one i took far too long to learn)
For the book I'm writing I have a protagonist who steps in and out of the spotlight for good reasons. Namely a sense of responsibility and another character becomes the protagonist. At least that's the rough draft of the plan, for now he's an overpowered character that suddenly has his memories blocked by magic and he thinks he's mortal again causing him to be more cautious than he's been in forever. Though he's still somewhat reckless as he saves a crying baby girl from a house fire, parents dead, and he barely retrieves a sword that he's sure is a family heirloom before completing his rescue of the child. Uncertain what skills he has besides wielding a sword he joins the city guard. And befriending a woman in the guard to help raise the girl
........is this why shows like Dragon ball Z always hinge solely on Goku/the protagonist? I actually thought it would be fun to see what a protagonist would do if they weren't the only person who could do anything
Frodo is a bad example, he is not the protagonist. Sam and Aragorn are the protagonists. Frodo is the damsel in distress, the plot device used to give the actual protagonist something to do. Sam evolves from the friend/gardener into the real hero who is courageous, selfless and incorruptible all while having to repeatedly save/protect Frodo.
It’s been decades but he stabbed the ring wraith in the foot, with the charming battle cry of ‘for the shire’ he carried the ring to Mordor until he was bitten by Shelob and even then he still took the ring back and carried it to mount doom. He did his duty almost unwaveringly until the end when the ring finally corrupted him. Frodo was not weak, he didn’t need pep talks to make him move forward, he knew what he was fighting for and the cost of failure. Yes, Sam was a faithful friend and carried forward when Frodo couldn’t, he was one hundred percent necessary for the story. But Frodo was not weak or sniveling like in the movies, tired and weighed down by the ring trying its hardest to either escape him or break him but not weak.
@@zaphael7238 Yeah much as I love the films I'm annoyed Jackson removed a number of Frodo's cool moments. That and STILL not over Gimli being reduced to comic relief in the second and third movies while Legolas went hax.
Heyo! I just found your channel coincidentally and I'm a newbie writer. This video actually helped me a lot because I doubt myself A LOT when writing the story im making! Sometimes I feel like im doing something wrong, or I hate how i did a certain thing.. or if my story is introducing itself too slowly (or too boring) and my protagonist is just too cliche.. and then I just scrap the story and go off on a new idea I came up with that I like more. But yeah, this video helped a lot! Thanks!
A villain should never be evil for the f*ck of it. They need a reason to justify their actions. A puzzle piece they're missing, maybe they are unaware of what they're doing is wrong, maybe it's just a point of view thing. Or if you really want to go full evil without reason, you can also make a serial killer story, which mostly focuses on the character blending with the crowd, avoiding being found and how and why he chooses the victims he does. Tension is key to that kind of story. Conversations, where the protagonist is pretending to be a sane normal person, charming their way through conversations, while the context the reader has gives it a darker undertone.
I have four main characters. They are children at first, but will grow up. They're students at a school that's sort of like the Jedi Order meets the Aes Sedai from The Wheel of Time meets the Conclave of Shadows from the Riftwar series. Elkar: The only non-human of the group, he's small, sweet and timid. He's extremely intelligent, but not very brave. He has a flute that he likes to play. He's also gay, and is in love with Rikter.🏳🌈 Rikter: The nephew of the local king, Rikter was brought to the school at 8 because he's so far down the line of succession that he's unlikely to inherit anything. He's tall and extremely skilled with the sword. He's popular with the girls. Unfortunately for them he's as straight as Elkar. Emisia: She's Elkar's childhood friend. Like him she's an orphan who grew up at the school. She's tomboyish and very protective of Elkar. Seriously, you do not want to mess with Elkar when she's around. She also hates the patriarchy and views dresses as a symbol of the oppression of women (keep in mind she's been raised in an environment where boys and girls dresses the same). Her feminism has rubbed off on Elkar. While they are the same age her relationship with Elkar has a major big sister little brother vibe. Zak: He came to the school at the same time as Rikter, and the two became immediate friends. He's not that much of a friend to Elkar, whom he sees as a craven. I wanted their relationship to be less than friendly because when the group eventually splits up my plan is that Zak and Elkar will be travelling together for a while. Of the four Elkar is the Aragorn/Jon Snow/Rand Al'Thor archetype. I thought I should point that out because he's the least like that archetype of my main four.
To be honest, I'm more a "Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli" type of person as well. Having watched the LotR trilogy countless times by now, there have been many times where I skipped the Hobbit/Gollum parts. I still think though that there are valuable lessons to learn from these parts, good ones as well 🙂
Check out this playlist for more mistakes to avoid: th-cam.com/play/PLDpOcpMPZP3BSduJ1M1Felinepkh0KEu3.html
I think overpowered characters can be great, if they make moral mistakes / struggle morally and emotionally, or if the core of their character discusses resonsibility and so on.
Also characters should contradict themselves in some ways imo, every person contradicts themselves and act "illogically" sometimes.
Or are super unserious like Cid and have interesting character flaws like Frieren
One-Punch Man is a good example of an overpowered character done right.
@@Tokkidance
I loved Frieren too. 😁
Her journey was about her appreciating human short lives and her personal connections, not about her powers.
Cid from Eminence in Shadow is also an overpowered MC done interestingly because he is so funny and the author knows the limitations of the character and leans into the OPness as the punchline of jokes
Just challenge your overpowered character on an axis that isn’t solvable by strength. Superman is a good example of this
A knight with a passion for gardening is literally one of the characters I created for my dark fantasy story 😅 great video
Thank you for the kind words - and have fun with your character, funny to see someone actually using that combination 🙂
I can actually see that, especially in dark fantasy setting. Without knowing the details of your character, I could see a knight who wanted to be heroic, but just sees death all around them and is often forced to take lives in pursuit of even noble goals. Gardening, the act of bringing new green life into the world, would be a great way for them to do something they feel is positive, both as a coping mechanism as well as the opportunity to help the world without killing.
You're reading a book where the protagonist is a calm, collected strategist, always thinking 3 steps ahead. Suddenly, without warning, they turn into a reckless daredevil, throwing caution into the wind."
It is called The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious.
avoid clichés is such cliched writing advice
It's cliché but it's true. Advice being cliché doesn't diminish it's value at all
However, better advice would be to utilize clichés in a unique way, which a lot of people don't do when it comes to clichés
It depends on the kind of cliche really.
There is a difference between tropes and cliches. A cliche is just a played-out trope.
What a cliche comment
The failure mode of clever is asshole
How is this channel not bigger? Loving your videos!
Thank you for the kind feedback 🙂 I started the channel a year ago as a hobby while working 80h weeks in tech and then took a break for a few months early last year due to personal/health reasons.
Despite that limited time available, I was incredibly grateful to see the support and interest in the channel though.
I went all-in on my creative pursuits three months ago now, including a more heavy focus on this channel here, and there has been some decent uptick in growth since then too.
Just trying to build a sustainable business for myself around storytelling, worldbuilding and fantasy writing while providing as much value as possible 🙂
I love overpowered main characters when done right, i.e. Frieren, Ains, Mob, Cid and so on
I am not familiar with these characters. Where are they from?
@@CorporateCornholio
Frieren - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Ainz - Overlord (unless there is a different Ainz I'm not aware off)
Mob - (Mob Psycho)
Not sure about Cid though.
@@lordofthecookie8555 Alright. Thanks I will check it out.
And sung Jin woo
@@lordofthecookie8555 Cid - Eminence in Shadow
There was a bug crawling on you 0:44 seconds into the video on your chest
I noticed that too during the edit and was already waiting for someone to pick up on it and leave a comment :-)
Great video! But some of the advice you gave are easier said than done. For instance, mistake number 8 is my nemesis. I tend to delve into my main character's inner thoughts more often than I should, and in expense of pausing an action scene. I realize I'm doing it as I'm writing but I can't stop myself. It's like I have to put those words on the page. It's going to be a pain for me to fix those scenes filled with unnecessary introspection when I start revising 😂
Thank you, glad that it was useful for you. And in regards to your "nemesis", having the awareness of an issue is always the first step to improvement. So you're already on the right track 🙂
Had that problem too! What I prefer to do is postpone the thoughts.
We can't always analyze or think fast at any given situation, and we focus on completing the action, and THEN think back on it when calm and having time to process.
It's tough, but it's helped me to move along fast-paced scenes.
Relevant and Supportive Comment to feed the Algorangim
I am a new listener to your channel and I need to say a huge thank you!! I am not a writer, nor thinking of becoming a writer. I rarely get to read due to a busy life as a mom so I cannot say I am an avid reader. I will let you know, however, that these videos are so fun to listen to and to consider. They are their own short stories. What makes me "most thankful" is the fact that I recently dread buying books any more. I have purchased a handful of books and found them to be "terrible". Besides the underwhelming over-played romances that I dont expect in them, I find the stories are all over the place! Your videos have really began to help me understand what it is that bothers me in the books. For that, I am thankful. I can now explain to my friend why I did not like the book she recommended.😅 I really do appreciate these wonderful insights and videos!!
Thank you for the kind words - really made my day 🙂
I've always wanted a story or D&D adventure where everyone knows about the Prophesy and the Hero Who Will Save Us All.... but our story takes place several hundred years before that's going to happen, so NO, your fighter isn't the Chosen One. The Prophesy isn't going to happen during this adventure.
Good info.
Great video. Can you please make a video of advice for writing multiple POV/protagonists? (Eg. Frodo and Sam/ Aragon and Gandalf) How do you make both interesting storylines, and how do you deal with potentially changing tones or timelines
Glad to hear the video was useful for you :) I do have a few videos in the pipeline already, but I'll think about an angle how a "multiple POV" video could be approached in the future.
Let the protagonist do it - and then comes Gollum and steals all glory from Frodo. Same for Hobb an his royal assassin story. And, well, so much other good stuff.
Subvert expectations: Make my main character an anxious teenage bard with great musical skill, but poor confidence and people skills (and no horny bard stereotype). And he's from a dragon riding culture, always thinking about hatching his dragon egg, how useful having his own dragon would be in the situations he finds himself in, but his dragon only hatches after he's already defeated the BBEG.
Good video
Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to leave that feedback :)
Tip 1 Don't write Griffith your not that good
Tip 2 write people not objects that complete scenes that you imagined in your shower (this one was one i took far too long to learn)
For the book I'm writing I have a protagonist who steps in and out of the spotlight for good reasons. Namely a sense of responsibility and another character becomes the protagonist. At least that's the rough draft of the plan, for now he's an overpowered character that suddenly has his memories blocked by magic and he thinks he's mortal again causing him to be more cautious than he's been in forever. Though he's still somewhat reckless as he saves a crying baby girl from a house fire, parents dead, and he barely retrieves a sword that he's sure is a family heirloom before completing his rescue of the child. Uncertain what skills he has besides wielding a sword he joins the city guard. And befriending a woman in the guard to help raise the girl
Avoid cliches like the plague! 😂
Many cliches are just challenges to overcome in interesting ways! 😁
Are you currently writing a book?
Yes, planning to actually publish - not just write - a novel of mine next year for the first time after committing to my creative pursuits fully 🙂
........is this why shows like Dragon ball Z always hinge solely on Goku/the protagonist?
I actually thought it would be fun to see what a protagonist would do if they weren't the only person who could do anything
Frodo is a bad example, he is not the protagonist. Sam and Aragorn are the protagonists. Frodo is the damsel in distress, the plot device used to give the actual protagonist something to do. Sam evolves from the friend/gardener into the real hero who is courageous, selfless and incorruptible all while having to repeatedly save/protect Frodo.
Maybe in the movies. Frodo is more active in the books
@@brodympat What do you remember him doing that I seem to have forgotten?
It’s been decades but he stabbed the ring wraith in the foot, with the charming battle cry of ‘for the shire’ he carried the ring to Mordor until he was bitten by Shelob and even then he still took the ring back and carried it to mount doom. He did his duty almost unwaveringly until the end when the ring finally corrupted him.
Frodo was not weak, he didn’t need pep talks to make him move forward, he knew what he was fighting for and the cost of failure.
Yes, Sam was a faithful friend and carried forward when Frodo couldn’t, he was one hundred percent necessary for the story. But Frodo was not weak or sniveling like in the movies, tired and weighed down by the ring trying its hardest to either escape him or break him but not weak.
No, Frodo is definitely the Protagonist. Sam is Frodo’s Gardner/Bodyguard/Faithful Servant. Aragorn is the Deuteragonist.
@@zaphael7238 Yeah much as I love the films I'm annoyed Jackson removed a number of Frodo's cool moments. That and STILL not over Gimli being reduced to comic relief in the second and third movies while Legolas went hax.
Heyo! I just found your channel coincidentally and I'm a newbie writer. This video actually helped me a lot because I doubt myself A LOT when writing the story im making! Sometimes I feel like im doing something wrong, or I hate how i did a certain thing.. or if my story is introducing itself too slowly (or too boring) and my protagonist is just too cliche.. and then I just scrap the story and go off on a new idea I came up with that I like more.
But yeah, this video helped a lot! Thanks!
Thank you for taking the time for that comment. Glad to hear the video was useful for you and happy writing :-)
Deutscher mann
I would prefer the protagonist to be the evil one instead of a hero because it's more interesting and fun to watch
Try Overlord
@@hulmhochberg8129 already watched that anime just waiting for the movie
A villain should never be evil for the f*ck of it. They need a reason to justify their actions. A puzzle piece they're missing, maybe they are unaware of what they're doing is wrong, maybe it's just a point of view thing. Or if you really want to go full evil without reason, you can also make a serial killer story, which mostly focuses on the character blending with the crowd, avoiding being found and how and why he chooses the victims he does. Tension is key to that kind of story. Conversations, where the protagonist is pretending to be a sane normal person, charming their way through conversations, while the context the reader has gives it a darker undertone.
I have four main characters. They are children at first, but will grow up. They're students at a school that's sort of like the Jedi Order meets the Aes Sedai from The Wheel of Time meets the Conclave of Shadows from the Riftwar series.
Elkar: The only non-human of the group, he's small, sweet and timid. He's extremely intelligent, but not very brave. He has a flute that he likes to play. He's also gay, and is in love with Rikter.🏳🌈
Rikter: The nephew of the local king, Rikter was brought to the school at 8 because he's so far down the line of succession that he's unlikely to inherit anything. He's tall and extremely skilled with the sword. He's popular with the girls. Unfortunately for them he's as straight as Elkar.
Emisia: She's Elkar's childhood friend. Like him she's an orphan who grew up at the school. She's tomboyish and very protective of Elkar. Seriously, you do not want to mess with Elkar when she's around. She also hates the patriarchy and views dresses as a symbol of the oppression of women (keep in mind she's been raised in an environment where boys and girls dresses the same). Her feminism has rubbed off on Elkar. While they are the same age her relationship with Elkar has a major big sister little brother vibe.
Zak: He came to the school at the same time as Rikter, and the two became immediate friends. He's not that much of a friend to Elkar, whom he sees as a craven. I wanted their relationship to be less than friendly because when the group eventually splits up my plan is that Zak and Elkar will be travelling together for a while.
Of the four Elkar is the Aragorn/Jon Snow/Rand Al'Thor archetype. I thought I should point that out because he's the least like that archetype of my main four.
I like these ideas but I think you should make each character a tad bit more unique. I thought it was pretty fun and good though.
honestly, Frodo is the worst character in the entire LoTR series. I don't engage with him at all.
To be honest, I'm more a "Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli" type of person as well. Having watched the LotR trilogy countless times by now, there have been many times where I skipped the Hobbit/Gollum parts. I still think though that there are valuable lessons to learn from these parts, good ones as well 🙂
did you only watch the movies?