I get so angry at the writer when I read a book and the female protagonist is extremely beautiful and EVERY.SINGLE.MALE is in love with her. Arrrrrgh, so irritatingly fake.
It can work, but if you're gonna' do it, you may as well overdo it and make a joke out of it. One of the funniest things about the Scott Pilgrim comics is the central conceit that every hot woman he comes in contact with wants to be his girlfriend, and the characters themselves reference and question what are the odds that that many women would have it out for such a pathetic loser. At first I thought it was wish-fulfillment, but by the end seeing the love-interest characters pile up I realized it was the story's greatest joke.
Absolutely. There's a big difference between everyone _recognising_ that a character is attractive and actually being romantically/sexually interested in that character. If a woman is truly beautiful, sure most men would be conscious of that but for most of them they're happy with their current partners or she isn't their type or they don't like her personality or they're just not that interested at the moment or they're the wrong age or some other factor. The fact is, the vast majority of men don't throw themselves at every attractive woman they see.
Somehow people think is so cool to have a jerk as a protagonist, and it certainly could be. But in most cases the character ends up being really unlikeable. So I if you could talk about the traits of that kind of protagonist. How can we pull that off?
This is really interesting, I want to write an idealistic lifestyle protagonist because it is relevant to the plot however it comes out very unlikeable. How can you work around that?
On the topic of jerks, my thought is that a jerk character can be likeable if the story properly acknowledges that they are a jerk and that that is a problem, especially if the consequences of such behavior bites them in the butt later on; plus giving them a reasonable cause to their behavior and giving a reasonable extent to what they're a jerk about and what they are not a jerk about. RDJ as Tony Stark does this quite well; he's a jerk, and everyone knows he's a jerk, but he IS making some attempt to better himself ... to mixed results, but he does try.
Rick Alvarado they're all scattered in Wattpad. I just can't connect to their characters and the most writers try hard to explain the reason behind which is getting old already and most of the reasons are alike - bad parenting.
Is it okay for an important *side* character to seem flawless at first and then over a long time their flaws are uncovered? The character I am talking about is basically a god who threw away his responsibilities and fell into the society of man, hiding his true nature. When he meets the main character quite early in the story he fights along side the main character flawlessly executing everything he does. The problem is that the reader is meant to be clueless about this character's power as he is known by all in the empire. Would having him fake his failures and flaws to blend in work? He still needs to have a sense of power.
I think that could work well, if you show the disbelief of other characters about that characters flawlessness. If others are confused by how good he is, readers will probably not see that as bad character design but get curious what's going on with this character and what's the secret of his power, while you could still leave them clueless about the answer to that question.
Ok I know I’m like 5 years late to this, but yes! My favorite series of all time, super Powereds by drew Hayes, has the most perfect best at everything super attractive character, but as the story goes on, this character is shown to have huge gaps in social norms and emotional development
Hi there Ellen, just wanted to send a thank-you your way for all these videos! They are very helpful. Putting words to the conceptual issues in writing/storytelling for characters helps ground the problem so it can be addressed. I suspect I'll be contacting you later this year for editing once my book is further along. Thanks again, and cheers!
I really love your videos, your explanations and your examples, I watch them almost every morning. Sorry my first comment is about your appearance, but you look SO gorgeous here! Your shirt perfectly matches your eyes and your hair color complements them. Beautiful! And you always sound smart, that makes you even more beautiful, I'm a fan :)
ugh thank you! i cannot stress this enough. i recently read a popular book with positive feedback and had to check it out, only to be presented with an overly flawed protagonist. basically, she's overemotional and tends to make stupid decisions, unnecessary actions. she was described as a normal and average looking girl with wealth that we desire that she takes for granted. the person she falls for is actually very attractive to us readers because of his understandable and relative negative traits that show he isn't necessarily anywhere bad. the major and biggest flaw that made me stop reading is that it wasn't clear how he ended up falling for her when all she did was give negative responses, ask dumb questions, and she was overly awkward and unrelatable. she wasn't very smart either for her grade level. she was much like an arrogant ten year old girl when all she cared about was just this guy and she had no other interests.
Could you do one on How/HowNot to and Why/WhyNot to incorporate backstory and/or flashbacks. It seems to take you out of the story, if if it's done wrong and I think i've never seen it done "right"(or not in a cheesy dream sequence). I'm having a hard time finding a way to put in this one key moment that is important for story- and characterarc but the probem is that this moment is almost ten years prior to when the actual story starts (and I'm kinda married to it so cutting it out would be really painful) There's no way to put it in, other than in a flashback, so HOW, please help. (and thanks for the great videos by the way, you rock)
This is an interesting idea for a video. I will add it to my to-do list. Your novel might possibly be in the small minority of stories for which a prologue would be beneficial. But that depends on if the reader can know the information right away. I'll try to get a more complicated explanation in video form in the coming months. Thanks for the great idea!
I ended up completely changing the structure of my story to show how a character's excessive helpfulness and cheerfulness was unhealthy and unsustainable and I think it works much better this way, showing how hard he's trying rather than just being that annoying presence untouched by the darkness of the plot. Thanks for helping me figure out why he was so unlikeable!
I've recently gone back to editing the novel I wrote as my final year submission for the Creative Writing degree course I completed last year. Because we weren't given a word count, I ended up handing in over 70'000 words, and have subsequently spent a year and a half feeling utterly burnt out and unable to even look at my work, let alone edit it. I recently had a surge of motivation and decided to get back to it, but felt completely lost about where to begin. My story is pretty wild and has a lot of quite unique, non-literary aspects (I wrote music, poetry, micro-essays on influences and research, maps, all sorts...) so the whole thing has been really daunting. I stumbled across you channel a few days ago and this is the fifth of your videos I've watched, and I have to say a huge thank you for sharing such useful tips and insights into the editing process. I've already made a ton of progress and learnt so much about the whys and wherefores of what my story is, who the characters are, and how to proceed. Most importantly, all of these new insights have made writing fun again, which is surely one of the most important aspects of writing fiction (or engaging in any creative pursuit), so I owe you a huge thank you for sharing your knowledge, and for doing so in such a clear, simple way. Awesome channel, great work! Big love for doing what you're doing!
How do you write a 'jack of all trades but master of none' type character? Also, I have watched a WHOLE bunch of your videos recently, and they're all awesome and VERY useful. Thank you!!!
I know this really late, but if yours character is like that, make he/she struggles in situations that require in depth knowledge or high skilled to solve.
I read a lot of manga et some light novels too and many of the most viewed and best rated are those that have everything you just said shouldn't be in a novel. An overpowered character, as handsome as a god (or sometimes not but somehow still manages to get a harem with every single cute girl in the story), kind to everyone without a single flaw, never held a sword before nor used magic but already is the best. I don't understand how it gets so much success (millions of views) when they are all the same. And it's not just in Japan, a lot of westerner (and I mean, a LOT) do read those things.
I would say that the audience would also play a role in determining what you can get a way with. Most manga and light novels are made for teens and up, so that definitely effects it.
I agree..I mean super hot godlike overly clever billionaires aren't really husband materials because they're too perfect and unrealistic. The sense of perfection just flips the pan.
Thank you for your videos, super useful whatever the subject matter. Every single one of them spurs some kind of thought that I am constantly pausing the video to make a new note about something. Not even necessarily about the subject matter, it just always seems to spur an idea to elevate a scene or character.
@@charmedprince tbh I've only seen the movies but I genuinely think Bond is a shit character and a shit cultural phenomenon (with the sole exception of Casino Royale).
@@Robert399 tbh I didn't read Ian Fleming's books too. But i did enjoy the movies. Bond films started decades ago way way back. We cannot blame the environment they were in at that time for why he became a phenomenon. But it makes for fun entertainment
My character is smart, pretty, rich, and popular. She's 11, she has some toxic friends, and her dad is away to make some money. My girl does not know how to even stand up for herself. Somehow, she always makes bad choices. She's also a know-it-all. However, she's the most caring person you'll meet, but she's really distant.
I definitely agree that if you're going to give someone an idealistic lifestyle, there has to be a story there. But there absolutely is a story there, rest assured, because when a lifestyle seems too good to be true, it usually is.
How do you write characters that are very doubtful of themselves and full of self-deprication? I'm writing novel in which the protag dislikes herself and wants to be somebody else, but I don't want it to sound mopey. The character eventually grows to realize her strengths and stops tearing herself down when her best friend has the same problem. She grows to becomw his rock but I don't want any of their actions/emotions to be over the top. Cheers!
I'm on the same boat myself. After so many rewrites I realized that the best way to expose this without being tol much of a narrative type is to engage that character in events where he would find out about a hidden talent that would make up for his/her own flaw. Or in a scene where he or she is forced to give up something some old notion in order to learn about newer ways and newer abilities.. good luck writing to everyone of us. #FutureBestseller
While I find your video to be incredibly insightful and well-articulated, I can’t help but add that this one in particular has made me laugh quite a bit! 😂 A singular character being positioned as ‘desired by all’ is an unfortunately trite move for sure but I love how you address it. It's like you're kindly saying, "Back away from the cliff... JUST BACK AWAY!!" Anyway, thanks for posting!
Because you have the heart of the story. They may copy your story but if it is an unfinished one, they won't make a good ending that conforms to how you wanted it to be. Or how the story is supposed to be. There's a quote out there about originality/uniqueness that I forgot.. do search it. Lol
Thanks for these super clear examples and explanations, Ellen! Love how you've clarify the difference between possible-in-our-world vs. believable characters -- give me a flying witch any day of the week, but spare me the flying witch who's a math whiz, a skilled painter, a writer, a nuclear physicist, a Miss Universe contender, and the president. :)
In Terry Goodkind's series "The Sword of Truth" a lot of women are attracted in the main character and I didn't feel like his character is unrealistic. Maybe because it had it reasons.
Ellen Brock, I wonder if you might give me your opinion about a character I'm working with for my story. The character is modeled after me (meaning they have both my personality traits and flaws) and one aspect of who I am and who my character is is that they/I strive to learn as much as possible to the highest skillset they/I can reach. Now, keeping in line with that same thing, I have a major focus on more intellectual pursuits and improving the mind. I even play with this aspect by connecting it to his power (the book's a fantasy with 12 different types of magic) and having him play the role of the leader. He cares about people and has a high system of ideals and principles but is mainly trying to find the best solution to any problem. His motivation to learn more combat skills is also connected to this as he desires to be able to protect the people he cares about. This then connects to his prime flaws 1) his short temper 2) his impatience 3) his tendency to get frustrated when he can't figure something out or he doesn't know something he thinks he should and 4) his tendency to act out of emotional impulse in many situations. All of these things came from my personality as a whole, but I'm concerned about whether he will seem too skilled or like he has too much going for him; after all, when you base a character off of yourself you often face the problem of not accurately analyzing your faults. I just want to make sure that what I have for him isn't too Mary Sue-ish if you get what I mean.
Good to see you posting again, loving this series. Thanks for the advice and info! :) * Edit: Side question: Have you ever discussed how many characters are too many characters? I am working on a historical dramatization (probably has another genre "name," but I don't know it), where there were many characters involved. Is there an ideal number of characters to keep it to when considering "main" characters? Thanks. :)
There's no specific rule. Different writing styles can balance different numbers of characters. It also depends on how you're defining a "main" character. Do you mean characters with their own story lines or simply characters who are integral to the plot? Most writers will struggle to balance more than three story lines. Almost any number of side characters is okay so long as they are all serving independent functions that couldn't be combined.
It sounds like you're describing a Mary Sue. This is a perfect character that everyone loves and never has a growth arc. They're just instantly skilled for no reason, like Rey from the newest Star Wars. The only time I've seen this work successfully is when they are Mary Sues for comedic purposes. Examples of this would be Dr. Richard Stone from Dream on, and Tahani's sister Kamilah from The Good place. Our protagonists are constantly being compared unfavorably to these people who can do no wrong ever. There's no way for them to ever measure up, and it becomes a type of Shadenfruede to see the protagonists punked out so easily and so often. Whether these Mary Sues are actually perfect is another thing entirely. To the person being compared, they are perfect. The previous two examples of characters were written to be perfect and good at literally everything. In Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, we see Nebula being constantly compared unfavorably (by Thanos) to her "sister" Gamorah. She hates the fact that Gamorah can do no wrong. But in reality, Gamorah isn't all that great or accomplished. Thanos says she's the fiercest woman in the galaxy, but what does that really mean? In the same movie (Infinity War) we see Proxima Midnight fighting Avengers and Wakandan soldiers all day like it's nothing. She could never be held in a prison like Gamorah was in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Clearly she is the much more powerful warrior. So does that mean Gamorah is more "fierce" but would lose in a battle against Proxima Midnight in a matter of seconds? In Gamorah's case it's not even that funny how she always seems to upstage Nebula. It's kind of annoying. It's certainly a motivation for Nebula to try harder each time and never give up (Vegeta vs. Goku) but you never laugh at Nebula for being second fiddle. She's much more of a tragic character. For me, Gamorah being on some kind of pedestal is annoying. She hasn't earned it like so many others. Insult to injury, even after being super duper irrevocably killed off permanently with literally and universally no chance of a do-over ever, they still brought her back. This is just bad writing/character development. They then killed off Black Widow the exact same way, and the heroes were unable to bring her back using all the power in the universe, in the form of the Infinity Gauntlet. For Black Widow it was really and for true permanent, but Gamorah gets brought back. Such sloppy writing. Infinity War was a much much better movie than Endgame.
You can have purple-ish eyes irl, but I would discribe them as blue with a hint of Purple, or Violet. I had a friend wich eyes shift in Purple in the Sun and even My daughter used to have a purple shade over hers when she was a baby/small toddler. But I could see the problem if it's out of place.
@@somethingbambi875 actually my character paid to have her eyes genetically modified to be purple :P it's in the futurez sci-fi. i didn't know that purple-ish eyes could be an actual thing irl... since like 99% of people i know have browm or black eyes... jahaaj
Wait lol the Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden actually did this. Vasya, the protagonist, was said to be ugly. But then the handsome priest and the handsome winter king both fell in love with her because even though she was ugly, she was so unusual and different lol.
There’s nothing I despise more than getting a ways into a book and coming to the conclusion that no one would EVER do what these people are doing. Completely breaks the immersion.
I have a character who fits a couple of these problems... His name is Shade. He's a mysterious escape artist, with jet black hair, grey eyes, and many abilities. Although he may sound fake, I think he adds to the mystery and excitement of the story. I hope he's an exception, because I don't want to change him! At least my star character managed to kill him in the end, which proves he was still human like everyone else.
PetsCrafts&WonderfulThings You should *not* give him 'endless' abilities. That takes away any real threat of his abilities or power. Of course, if he had the polar opposite of your character's power, then he could feel realistic in some sense. If he's able to do anything, he doesn't become amiable or lovable. Much less defeatable.
_Sympathy, perhaps I put that wrong. His abilities aren't "endless". Even in the end he was overpowered by a regular human. And he does lose his temper occasionally, and run into other shortcomings. So lets just say he's very skilled in certain areas. Although he could be great in a Free-running tournament, he would be a total flop at the Grand-ball, LOL.
What if a character has a lot of skills because they're extremely old? If a character is really old then surely they'd be more likely to learn a lot of skills, so long as they are interested in those skills (there would be some skills that they just wouldn't care about learning in the first place unless they're extremely bored). (No, the character is not a vampire, but a person with regenerative healing so they're almost immortal but not quite - they just age really really slowly and are hard to kill but it's still very possible to kill them.)
I would say that a very old character is a good enough excuse for the character to be very skilled, but weaknesses will still be beneficial to the characterization.
My mc are living fashion dolls so them being unnaturally, effortlesly beautiful and litterally airbrushed is a given. But what they lack in physical flaws they more than make up for in personality flaws. Lol.
Great points!! Swiss army knife characters (most batmans, rey from star wars) are pretty unrelatable and annoying cuz who's that perfect? If anything they make for better villains, but even then thats makes for a childish conflict of high school jealousy. While useless slime characters like Eargon/typical prophized hero trope are cringeworthy as they also diminish the realism of the supporting cast.
I realize that this series is about the protagonist, but my question is about the antagonist. I keep hearing that the antagonist shouldn't be pure evil. But, what if your story is something like the Exorcist or Jaws? If you have an antagonist series, point me to it and I'll ask there.
Here's my biggest *biggest* problem. It's *HUGE.* It keeps me awake at night :( I'm writing a story about an ethnically diverse city. The story is as much about the city as it is about the characters. The place has a rich history, with nuanced speech patterns and numerous cultures and subcultures. A majority of my characters will have to be poc. Some will use proper American book English. Some will speak pidgin, some will codeswitch, while others will be immigrants who speak with thick accents. Is there a way to do this without crucifying myself? :& Because there is no getting around it. Only 3 or 4 of my characters could believably speak like I do.
The character should never be so competent as to spoil the excitement. Characters can be crazy skilled if it leads to death defying action sequences, or clever plan that's shown, not told. When it shuts down the potential for thrills and enjoyment, when characters anticipate and spoil events before the audience gets a chance to see it - that's when it sucks. I recently wrote my protagonist, who is 150 miles away, strategically anticipating an opponent who can control minds BEFORE I had the arch villain summon her. That's bad storytelling, because then there's no tension when he summons the mind controller. The value is much greater to have the protagonist anticipate it after, now that the audience has context on what's being anticipated. It's no less impressive to have it happen after. To see how prior events that didn't quite add up, get brought together to form this conclusion.
Chaereas and Callirhoe seems to have gotten away with having perfect protagonists, if anyone's interested in a counter-example. It's an ancient Greek novel that still gets studied in universities.
whenever i make a character i think of myself i.e im not outstandingly beautiful, people dont fall for me left and right, i look like just about everyone else when it comes to hair and eye color. i mean if you think of yourself or other normal people then thats what a character should be, not someone like megan fox where theyve had obvious work done and everyone thinks theyre sooo amazing
thank you very much :) i have a question regarding a bunch of my introdutory characters. they are pretty despicable. can i use the same rule as "not too many despicable" so that the reader can get a grip on them?
Keep strong. Dont forget that despite the struggles and madness in this world today, God is full of justice, mercy and love. Justice said we broke His perfect law - causing the world's previous perfection to be destroyed - and therefore we deserve Hell (like a punishment in any legal system but this is eternal as His perfect law is eternal too). Don't think you fit in that category? Ever done one of these?: lying, stealing - regardless of how small the object EVER, hating others - which is murder in God's perfect law, lusting (plus God sees our entire thought life). Justice says "the soul that sins shall die" - if we break one in thought/word/deed it's as if we're guilty of all of them. Quite simply, living by the law (which is doing everything perfectly) is impossible for sinful humans . The law shows us that 1. We will die in Hell if we fail to follow it and 2. We cannot save ourselves BUT, 3. God's perfect, immovable law points us to Christ, who followed and fulfilled the law in thought, word and deed perfectly in our place. He did what we couldn't and did it on our behalf. He was then sentenced to death on a cross, and took our personal punishment for our sin, paying our penalty (like paying our fine) completely FOR us, and has given us freedom. If we turn from the sins we have committed and repent (pursue the opposite direction of love through Christ) He will, overtime, recreate us back into that previously perfect image through The Holy Spirit which Jesus sends to all who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior of their life. He will help us through the struggle, the stress, and anything we experience in the world. It's about letting Christ in to guide and teach you and obeying Him through His power (not ourselves, we need Him to help us as it's impossible without depending on His power and instruction). He is our substitute in His life, death and resurrection. He essentially rewrote history in our place so that, if you believe in Him, it will be as if you had never sinned if you accept Christ's death as our own in our place. He is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us so that He can take His faithful, believing children home with Him when He returns. He will ressurrect us from death when He returns, giving mercy to those who accept His love, instruction and teachings in their life, and give justice to those who refuse it. He doesn't want ANY of us to go to Hell and die for continuing in evil and rejecting His way to life, thats why He died FOR us. Hes giving EVERYONE a chance, He wants everyone to take the free gift of salvation from Hell. He wants us to be His and begin to follow His life of love and service through His power and abiding (staying) with Him. So long as we keep our hearts near to Christ through His strength, strive to follow His will of perfect love revealed in the Bible, and let Him lead in the midst of (very certain) pitfalls and struggles, we will, in time, win the ultimate victory over sin, pain and DEATH through Christ. Even if you are willing to be made willing, pray for Jesus to come in and He will do what we can't. Give us The Holy Spirit who will guide us in the right way. Christ says in John 16:33: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.] - (AMPLIFIED version) NOTE: You are NEVER too sinful or messed up that God cannot turn your life around through Jesus. EVER. Regardless of what you've done or what you're going through you CAN make it through Jesus. Xx
Great videos! Just a small note: I think you meant to say "Don't have characters that are idealized." not "Don't have characters that are idealistic." I normally wouldn't point that kind of thing out but since you're an editor, I thought you might care.
Mansions lots of money and dating supermodels is not that unusual. Leonardo DiCaprio and a lot of guys who make alot of money in real estate and wallstreet investors bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs big business owners and managers and CEOs There are alot of guys living this lifestyle. Its not the majority but there are alot guys living this way and so its not that unusual at all. Ruling a country like a dictator or living on a yacht fulltime or sleeping with dangerous animals or living in solitary confinement for government political reasons or in a bubble or with an obscure disease or personal social problems is unusual. Someone who has alot of money and lives in the street. Thats unusual.
I get reminded of the elves in Lord of the Rings. They are portrayed as these perfect, beautiful creatures who are the greatest at everything... but they are so nasty and downgrading to everyone but other elves. Highly racist and narcissistic as a race. And that's fine... the thing that really annoys me though is that all humans and dwarfs and halflings that meet them are all in awe and LOVE the elves. I mean, why? They aren't exactly nice to you. Sure, they help a bit, but they look down on you and laugh at you. Would the majority of people like that? No. It would make sense that at least some of the characters are annoyed, angry or even secretly hateful towards the elves. That's how it is in the Dragonlance Saga. The elves behave pretty much the same and they are beautiful. But, they are not as great as they think they are, and other people hate the way they behave. That makes the other people more relatable, and it also makes the elves that aren't like that more likable. And it allows for elven character growth (if you have one in your story).
Talks about having very uncommon features in a character while herself having red hair and blue eyes, one of the rarest combinations there is. You are unrealistic. Also the joker wants to know how you got those scars?
"--if the main character is dating supermodels, living in mansions, driving fast cars..."
Ahem, *looking at you Wattpad*
Haha I was just thinking that
lmao
Lives in a mansion, drives a fancy car, dates supermodels and is good at everything. You just described Batman.
He gets an excuse because he's batman
Ironman does it better though, and has way better tech available.
@@thatt-shirtguy9669 I agree, but he's an alcoholic, so he's more relatable.
@@thatbadmuthafucka2626 so is Bruce Wayne. o_O
Probably why people like Joker more? lol he's more relatable.
I get so angry at the writer when I read a book and the female protagonist is extremely beautiful and EVERY.SINGLE.MALE is in love with her. Arrrrrgh, so irritatingly fake.
Well if she's extremely beautiful she's going to have men falling over to woo her. I don't know about love though.
It can work, but if you're gonna' do it, you may as well overdo it and make a joke out of it. One of the funniest things about the Scott Pilgrim comics is the central conceit that every hot woman he comes in contact with wants to be his girlfriend, and the characters themselves reference and question what are the odds that that many women would have it out for such a pathetic loser. At first I thought it was wish-fulfillment, but by the end seeing the love-interest characters pile up I realized it was the story's greatest joke.
Maria I. I know! People have different tastes for crying out loud! I think these writers are just lazy to build their characters' profiles.
Absolutely. There's a big difference between everyone _recognising_ that a character is attractive and actually being romantically/sexually interested in that character. If a woman is truly beautiful, sure most men would be conscious of that but for most of them they're happy with their current partners or she isn't their type or they don't like her personality or they're just not that interested at the moment or they're the wrong age or some other factor. The fact is, the vast majority of men don't throw themselves at every attractive woman they see.
You know very little about men.
It's like you're talking about every Korean Drama ever
Lol
Lol yup
Burning was pretty good ...
Somehow people think is so cool to have a jerk as a protagonist, and it certainly could be. But in most cases the character ends up being really unlikeable. So I if you could talk about the traits of that kind of protagonist. How can we pull that off?
That's a cool idea for a video. I will add it to my to-do list. Thanks!
This is really interesting, I want to write an idealistic lifestyle protagonist because it is relevant to the plot however it comes out very unlikeable. How can you work around that?
On the topic of jerks, my thought is that a jerk character can be likeable if the story properly acknowledges that they are a jerk and that that is a problem, especially if the consequences of such behavior bites them in the butt later on; plus giving them a reasonable cause to their behavior and giving a reasonable extent to what they're a jerk about and what they are not a jerk about. RDJ as Tony Stark does this quite well; he's a jerk, and everyone knows he's a jerk, but he IS making some attempt to better himself ... to mixed results, but he does try.
Rick Alvarado they're all scattered in Wattpad. I just can't connect to their characters and the most writers try hard to explain the reason behind which is getting old already and most of the reasons are alike - bad parenting.
J Santos Agreed. Yes, bad parenting can be a cause of such behaviors; it's used to much it does become... old.
Could you discuss the traits of the anti-hero.
Thanks for the suggestion! I will add it to the list of video ideas for the coming months.
+Ellen Brock Thank you!
Is it okay for an important *side* character to seem flawless at first and then over a long time their flaws are uncovered? The character I am talking about is basically a god who threw away his responsibilities and fell into the society of man, hiding his true nature. When he meets the main character quite early in the story he fights along side the main character flawlessly executing everything he does. The problem is that the reader is meant to be clueless about this character's power as he is known by all in the empire. Would having him fake his failures and flaws to blend in work? He still needs to have a sense of power.
I think that could work well, if you show the disbelief of other characters about that characters flawlessness. If others are confused by how good he is, readers will probably not see that as bad character design but get curious what's going on with this character and what's the secret of his power, while you could still leave them clueless about the answer to that question.
Ok I know I’m like 5 years late to this, but yes! My favorite series of all time, super Powereds by drew Hayes, has the most perfect best at everything super attractive character, but as the story goes on, this character is shown to have huge gaps in social norms and emotional development
In short, don't write a "Mary Sue"/"Gary Stu".
Hi there Ellen, just wanted to send a thank-you your way for all these videos! They are very helpful. Putting words to the conceptual issues in writing/storytelling for characters helps ground the problem so it can be addressed.
I suspect I'll be contacting you later this year for editing once my book is further along.
Thanks again, and cheers!
I'm really glad you like the videos. Thanks for watching!
Ellen, thank you for all of your thoughts, tips, shared experiences, and posts. You are fantastic!!
Welcome back! Great to have you sharing your literary pearls of wisdom again. 😄
I really love your videos, your explanations and your examples, I watch them almost every morning. Sorry my first comment is about your appearance, but you look SO gorgeous here! Your shirt perfectly matches your eyes and your hair color complements them. Beautiful! And you always sound smart, that makes you even more beautiful, I'm a fan :)
You're so sweet. Thank you!
ugh thank you! i cannot stress this enough. i recently read a popular book with positive feedback and had to check it out, only to be presented with an overly flawed protagonist. basically, she's overemotional and tends to make stupid decisions, unnecessary actions. she was described as a normal and average looking girl with wealth that we desire that she takes for granted. the person she falls for is actually very attractive to us readers because of his understandable and relative negative traits that show he isn't necessarily anywhere bad. the major and biggest flaw that made me stop reading is that it wasn't clear how he ended up falling for her when all she did was give negative responses, ask dumb questions, and she was overly awkward and unrelatable. she wasn't very smart either for her grade level. she was much like an arrogant ten year old girl when all she cared about was just this guy and she had no other interests.
Oooooo what book
It’s funny when you were describing a character that is Not relatable, I immediately thought of Rey from the new Star Wars movies lol
Could you do one on How/HowNot to and Why/WhyNot to incorporate backstory and/or flashbacks. It seems to take you out of the story, if if it's done wrong and I think i've never seen it done "right"(or not in a cheesy dream sequence).
I'm having a hard time finding a way to put in this one key moment that is important for story- and characterarc but the probem is that this moment is almost ten years prior to when the actual story starts (and I'm kinda married to it so cutting it out would be really painful) There's no way to put it in, other than in a flashback, so HOW, please help.
(and thanks for the great videos by the way, you rock)
This is an interesting idea for a video. I will add it to my to-do list. Your novel might possibly be in the small minority of stories for which a prologue would be beneficial. But that depends on if the reader can know the information right away. I'll try to get a more complicated explanation in video form in the coming months. Thanks for the great idea!
I ended up completely changing the structure of my story to show how a character's excessive helpfulness and cheerfulness was unhealthy and unsustainable and I think it works much better this way, showing how hard he's trying rather than just being that annoying presence untouched by the darkness of the plot. Thanks for helping me figure out why he was so unlikeable!
I've recently gone back to editing the novel I wrote as my final year submission for the Creative Writing degree course I completed last year.
Because we weren't given a word count, I ended up handing in over 70'000 words, and have subsequently spent a year and a half feeling utterly burnt out and unable to even look at my work, let alone edit it.
I recently had a surge of motivation and decided to get back to it, but felt completely lost about where to begin. My story is pretty wild and has a lot of quite unique, non-literary aspects (I wrote music, poetry, micro-essays on influences and research, maps, all sorts...) so the whole thing has been really daunting.
I stumbled across you channel a few days ago and this is the fifth of your videos I've watched, and I have to say a huge thank you for sharing such useful tips and insights into the editing process. I've already made a ton of progress and learnt so much about the whys and wherefores of what my story is, who the characters are, and how to proceed.
Most importantly, all of these new insights have made writing fun again, which is surely one of the most important aspects of writing fiction (or engaging in any creative pursuit), so I owe you a huge thank you for sharing your knowledge, and for doing so in such a clear, simple way.
Awesome channel, great work! Big love for doing what you're doing!
Great talk, the specificity of this was good
How do you write a 'jack of all trades but master of none' type character?
Also, I have watched a WHOLE bunch of your videos recently, and they're all awesome and VERY useful.
Thank you!!!
I know this really late, but if yours character is like that, make he/she struggles in situations that require in depth knowledge or high skilled to solve.
I read a lot of manga et some light novels too and many of the most viewed and best rated are those that have everything you just said shouldn't be in a novel.
An overpowered character, as handsome as a god (or sometimes not but somehow still manages to get a harem with every single cute girl in the story), kind to everyone without a single flaw, never held a sword before nor used magic but already is the best.
I don't understand how it gets so much success (millions of views) when they are all the same. And it's not just in Japan, a lot of westerner (and I mean, a LOT) do read those things.
I would say that the audience would also play a role in determining what you can get a way with. Most manga and light novels are made for teens and up, so that definitely effects it.
It's because writing tropes is very effective when marketing to a younger demographic.
I agree..I mean super hot godlike overly clever billionaires aren't really husband materials because they're too perfect and unrealistic. The sense of perfection just flips the pan.
SAO in a nutshell
Thank you for your videos, super useful whatever the subject matter. Every single one of them spurs some kind of thought that I am constantly pausing the video to make a new note about something. Not even necessarily about the subject matter, it just always seems to spur an idea to elevate a scene or character.
This actually has helped alot with the main character of my recent story. Thanks!!
Ian Fleming needed to hear this...
7:19 is your answer. Also, he's Bond. As someone above said it, Batman gets an excuse for being Batman. Same with James Bond
@@charmedprince tbh I've only seen the movies but I genuinely think Bond is a shit character and a shit cultural phenomenon (with the sole exception of Casino Royale).
@@Robert399 tbh I didn't read Ian Fleming's books too. But i did enjoy the movies. Bond films started decades ago way way back. We cannot blame the environment they were in at that time for why he became a phenomenon. But it makes for fun entertainment
My character is smart, pretty, rich, and popular. She's 11, she has some toxic friends, and her dad is away to make some money. My girl does not know how to even stand up for herself. Somehow, she always makes bad choices. She's also a know-it-all. However, she's the most caring person you'll meet, but she's really distant.
You shirt makes a nice combination with your eyes :)
Quarantine made me revisit my old notebook and Ellen Brock 😃
I definitely agree that if you're going to give someone an idealistic lifestyle, there has to be a story there. But there absolutely is a story there, rest assured, because when a lifestyle seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Thank you for the amazing content! I am subscribing!
You are such a big help.
How do you write characters that are very doubtful of themselves and full of self-deprication? I'm writing novel in which the protag dislikes herself and wants to be somebody else, but I don't want it to sound mopey. The character eventually grows to realize her strengths and stops tearing herself down when her best friend has the same problem. She grows to becomw his rock but I don't want any of their actions/emotions to be over the top. Cheers!
I'm on the same boat myself. After so many rewrites I realized that the best way to expose this without being tol much of a narrative type is to engage that character in events where he would find out about a hidden talent that would make up for his/her own flaw. Or in a scene where he or she is forced to give up something some old notion in order to learn about newer ways and newer abilities.. good luck writing to everyone of us. #FutureBestseller
Hi Ellen! Do you have a video about how to separate yourself from the character you're writing? If you don't, please make one!
While I find your video to be incredibly insightful and well-articulated, I can’t help but add that this one in particular has made me laugh quite a bit! 😂
A singular character being positioned as ‘desired by all’ is an unfortunately trite move for sure but I love how you address it. It's like you're kindly saying, "Back away from the cliff... JUST BACK AWAY!!"
Anyway, thanks for posting!
Hey, how do people tend to share their story without fear of it getting stolen or anything like that?
Because you have the heart of the story. They may copy your story but if it is an unfinished one, they won't make a good ending that conforms to how you wanted it to be. Or how the story is supposed to be. There's a quote out there about originality/uniqueness that I forgot.. do search it. Lol
Thanks for these super clear examples and explanations, Ellen! Love how you've clarify the difference between possible-in-our-world vs. believable characters -- give me a flying witch any day of the week, but spare me the flying witch who's a math whiz, a skilled painter, a writer, a nuclear physicist, a Miss Universe contender, and the president. :)
Sounds like every Isekai character in anime (with some exceptions)
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Nothing....
In Terry Goodkind's series "The Sword of Truth" a lot of women are attracted in the main character and I didn't feel like his character is unrealistic. Maybe because it had it reasons.
Ellen Brock, I wonder if you might give me your opinion about a character I'm working with for my story.
The character is modeled after me (meaning they have both my personality traits and flaws) and one aspect of who I am and who my character is is that they/I strive to learn as much as possible to the highest skillset they/I can reach. Now, keeping in line with that same thing, I have a major focus on more intellectual pursuits and improving the mind. I even play with this aspect by connecting it to his power (the book's a fantasy with 12 different types of magic) and having him play the role of the leader. He cares about people and has a high system of ideals and principles but is mainly trying to find the best solution to any problem. His motivation to learn more combat skills is also connected to this as he desires to be able to protect the people he cares about. This then connects to his prime flaws 1) his short temper 2) his impatience 3) his tendency to get frustrated when he can't figure something out or he doesn't know something he thinks he should and 4) his tendency to act out of emotional impulse in many situations. All of these things came from my personality as a whole, but I'm concerned about whether he will seem too skilled or like he has too much going for him; after all, when you base a character off of yourself you often face the problem of not accurately analyzing your faults. I just want to make sure that what I have for him isn't too Mary Sue-ish if you get what I mean.
Sounds a bit like Anakin Skywalker
Good to see you posting again, loving this series. Thanks for the advice and info! :)
* Edit: Side question: Have you ever discussed how many characters are too many characters? I am working on a historical dramatization (probably has another genre "name," but I don't know it), where there were many characters involved. Is there an ideal number of characters to keep it to when considering "main" characters? Thanks. :)
There's no specific rule. Different writing styles can balance different numbers of characters. It also depends on how you're defining a "main" character. Do you mean characters with their own story lines or simply characters who are integral to the plot? Most writers will struggle to balance more than three story lines. Almost any number of side characters is okay so long as they are all serving independent functions that couldn't be combined.
You don't need to like the helpers either, whatever side they're on
In other words: How to NOT create a Mary Sue!
It sounds like you're describing a Mary Sue. This is a perfect character that everyone loves and never has a growth arc. They're just instantly skilled for no reason, like Rey from the newest Star Wars.
The only time I've seen this work successfully is when they are Mary Sues for comedic purposes. Examples of this would be Dr. Richard Stone from Dream on, and Tahani's sister Kamilah from The Good place. Our protagonists are constantly being compared unfavorably to these people who can do no wrong ever. There's no way for them to ever measure up, and it becomes a type of Shadenfruede to see the protagonists punked out so easily and so often.
Whether these Mary Sues are actually perfect is another thing entirely. To the person being compared, they are perfect.
The previous two examples of characters were written to be perfect and good at literally everything. In Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, we see Nebula being constantly compared unfavorably (by Thanos) to her "sister" Gamorah. She hates the fact that Gamorah can do no wrong.
But in reality, Gamorah isn't all that great or accomplished. Thanos says she's the fiercest woman in the galaxy, but what does that really mean? In the same movie (Infinity War) we see Proxima Midnight fighting Avengers and Wakandan soldiers all day like it's nothing. She could never be held in a prison like Gamorah was in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Clearly she is the much more powerful warrior.
So does that mean Gamorah is more "fierce" but would lose in a battle against Proxima Midnight in a matter of seconds?
In Gamorah's case it's not even that funny how she always seems to upstage Nebula. It's kind of annoying. It's certainly a motivation for Nebula to try harder each time and never give up (Vegeta vs. Goku) but you never laugh at Nebula for being second fiddle. She's much more of a tragic character.
For me, Gamorah being on some kind of pedestal is annoying. She hasn't earned it like so many others.
Insult to injury, even after being super duper irrevocably killed off permanently with literally and universally no chance of a do-over ever, they still brought her back.
This is just bad writing/character development.
They then killed off Black Widow the exact same way, and the heroes were unable to bring her back using all the power in the universe, in the form of the Infinity Gauntlet. For Black Widow it was really and for true permanent, but Gamorah gets brought back.
Such sloppy writing.
Infinity War was a much much better movie than Endgame.
one of my second characters has purple eyes hahaha
You can have purple-ish eyes irl, but I would discribe them as blue with a hint of Purple, or Violet. I had a friend wich eyes shift in Purple in the Sun and even My daughter used to have a purple shade over hers when she was a baby/small toddler. But I could see the problem if it's out of place.
@@somethingbambi875 actually my character paid to have her eyes genetically modified to be purple :P it's in the futurez sci-fi.
i didn't know that purple-ish eyes could be an actual thing irl... since like 99% of people i know have browm or black eyes... jahaaj
Art is subjective
Beauty is in the mind of the reader.
Wait lol the Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden actually did this. Vasya, the protagonist, was said to be ugly. But then the handsome priest and the handsome winter king both fell in love with her because even though she was ugly, she was so unusual and different lol.
There’s nothing I despise more than getting a ways into a book and coming to the conclusion that no one would EVER do what these people are doing. Completely breaks the immersion.
Love your videos gal😀
Thank you for doing this.
I have a character who fits a couple of these problems... His name is Shade. He's a mysterious escape artist, with jet black hair, grey eyes, and many abilities. Although he may sound fake, I think he adds to the mystery and excitement of the story. I hope he's an exception, because I don't want to change him! At least my star character managed to kill him in the end, which proves he was still human like everyone else.
PetsCrafts&WonderfulThings You should *not* give him 'endless' abilities. That takes away any real threat of his abilities or power. Of course, if he had the polar opposite of your character's power, then he could feel realistic in some sense. If he's able to do anything, he doesn't become amiable or lovable. Much less defeatable.
_Sympathy, perhaps I put that wrong. His abilities aren't "endless". Even in the end he was overpowered by a regular human. And he does lose his temper occasionally, and run into other shortcomings. So lets just say he's very skilled in certain areas. Although he could be great in a Free-running tournament, he would be a total flop at the Grand-ball, LOL.
"I AM NOT A ROBOT And need friendly friends for my attentions."
What if a character has a lot of skills because they're extremely old? If a character is really old then surely they'd be more likely to learn a lot of skills, so long as they are interested in those skills (there would be some skills that they just wouldn't care about learning in the first place unless they're extremely bored). (No, the character is not a vampire, but a person with regenerative healing so they're almost immortal but not quite - they just age really really slowly and are hard to kill but it's still very possible to kill them.)
I would say that a very old character is a good enough excuse for the character to be very skilled, but weaknesses will still be beneficial to the characterization.
Thanks for these videos! What do you think should come first when coming up with the story? Structure or character? What should you develop first?
My mc are living fashion dolls so them being unnaturally, effortlesly beautiful and litterally airbrushed is a given. But what they lack in physical flaws they more than make up for in personality flaws. Lol.
Great points!!
Swiss army knife characters (most batmans, rey from star wars) are pretty unrelatable and annoying cuz who's that perfect? If anything they make for better villains, but even then thats makes for a childish conflict of high school jealousy. While useless slime characters like Eargon/typical prophized hero trope are cringeworthy as they also diminish the realism of the supporting cast.
This entire video explains why I hated Ender in Ender's Game he is too perfect at everything
I hope who ever Developed the Rae character in the new star wars movies sees this... god that character was awe full.
So basically; you were describing daenerys (game of thrones) for like half the video? Thanks for all the useful tips
Corné Keetels or Rey from the new star wars trilogy unfortunately
This was not the video I originally searched for...but this was a great find! Thanks so much for the advice and pointers. : )
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Side character: How do you know how to fly a helicopter? Action hero: I don't know! I just do it!
"Wow! Emma Ellen, The two women in my life, I still feel I can trust."
I realize that this series is about the protagonist, but my question is about the antagonist. I keep hearing that the antagonist shouldn't be pure evil. But, what if your story is something like the Exorcist or Jaws? If you have an antagonist series, point me to it and I'll ask there.
What if the villain is good at too many things? That’s what makes them a threat.
Having no Mirror to look into. Skin going Dirty Grey. Golden Brown Toe Nails much longer. Whiskers??"
Here's my biggest *biggest* problem. It's *HUGE.* It keeps me awake at night :( I'm writing a story about an ethnically diverse city. The story is as much about the city as it is about the characters. The place has a rich history, with nuanced speech patterns and numerous cultures and subcultures. A majority of my characters will have to be poc. Some will use proper American book English. Some will speak pidgin, some will codeswitch, while others will be immigrants who speak with thick accents. Is there a way to do this without crucifying myself? :& Because there is no getting around it. Only 3 or 4 of my characters could believably speak like I do.
Informative!Thnks
Willing suspension of disbelief. Fiction needs to be internally consistent.
The character should never be so competent as to spoil the excitement. Characters can be crazy skilled if it leads to death defying action sequences, or clever plan that's shown, not told. When it shuts down the potential for thrills and enjoyment, when characters anticipate and spoil events before the audience gets a chance to see it - that's when it sucks. I recently wrote my protagonist, who is 150 miles away, strategically anticipating an opponent who can control minds BEFORE I had the arch villain summon her. That's bad storytelling, because then there's no tension when he summons the mind controller. The value is much greater to have the protagonist anticipate it after, now that the audience has context on what's being anticipated. It's no less impressive to have it happen after. To see how prior events that didn't quite add up, get brought together to form this conclusion.
Chaereas and Callirhoe seems to have gotten away with having perfect protagonists, if anyone's interested in a counter-example. It's an ancient Greek novel that still gets studied in universities.
whenever i make a character i think of myself
i.e im not outstandingly beautiful, people dont fall for me left and right, i look like just about everyone else when it comes to hair and eye color. i mean if you think of yourself or other normal people then thats what a character should be, not someone like megan fox where theyve had obvious work done and everyone thinks theyre sooo amazing
"Rocky was a Southpaw But won the Fight with a Twist?"
My fantasy character is fifteen and has graying hair and always looks tired because he has too much magical stress on him
thank you very much :) i have a question regarding a bunch of my introdutory characters. they are pretty despicable. can i use the same rule as "not too many despicable" so that the reader can get a grip on them?
thanks for sharing :)
Wow, I guess Disney could have used some of this advice before they started the new trilogy.
GREAT COMMENTS
the change in focusing is distracting. The content is great.
I had to borrow a couple of hands, but finally got Five Thumbs Up/."
The magic thing is what happened to Rey in Star Wars.
How do you describe town meetings in a novel?
I don't think someone with black hair and white skin is too mesmerizing
Keep strong. Dont forget that despite the struggles and madness in this world today, God is full of justice, mercy and love.
Justice said we broke His perfect law - causing the world's previous perfection to be
destroyed - and therefore we deserve Hell (like a punishment in any legal system but this is eternal as His perfect law is eternal too). Don't think you fit in that category? Ever done one of these?: lying, stealing - regardless of how small the object EVER, hating others - which is murder in God's perfect law, lusting (plus God sees our entire thought life). Justice says "the soul that sins shall die" - if we break one in thought/word/deed it's as if we're guilty of all of them. Quite simply, living by the law (which is doing everything perfectly) is impossible for sinful humans
. The law shows us that 1. We will die in Hell if we fail to follow it and 2. We cannot save ourselves BUT, 3. God's perfect, immovable law points us to Christ, who followed and fulfilled the law in thought, word and deed perfectly in our place. He did what we couldn't and did it on our behalf. He was then sentenced to death on a cross, and took our personal punishment for our sin, paying our penalty (like paying our fine) completely FOR us, and has given us freedom.
If we turn from the sins we have committed and repent (pursue the opposite direction of love through Christ) He will, overtime, recreate us back into that previously perfect image through The Holy Spirit which Jesus sends to all who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior of their life. He will help us through the struggle, the stress, and anything we experience in the world. It's about letting Christ in to guide and teach you and obeying Him through His power (not ourselves, we need Him to help us as it's impossible without depending on His power and instruction).
He is our substitute in His life, death and resurrection. He essentially rewrote history in our place so that, if you believe in Him, it will be as if you had never sinned if you accept Christ's death as our own in our place.
He is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us so that He can take His faithful, believing children home with Him when He returns. He will ressurrect us from death when He returns, giving mercy to those who accept His love, instruction and teachings in their life, and give justice to those who refuse it.
He doesn't want ANY of us to go to Hell and die for continuing in evil and rejecting His way to life, thats why He died FOR us. Hes giving EVERYONE a chance, He wants everyone to take the free gift of salvation from Hell. He wants us to be His and begin to follow His life of love and service through His power and abiding (staying) with Him. So long as we keep our hearts near to Christ through His strength, strive to follow His will of perfect love revealed in the Bible, and let Him lead in the midst of (very certain) pitfalls and struggles, we will, in time, win the ultimate victory over sin, pain and DEATH through Christ. Even if you are willing to be made willing, pray for Jesus to come in and He will do what we can't. Give us The Holy Spirit who will guide us in the right way.
Christ says in John 16:33: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
- (AMPLIFIED version)
NOTE: You are NEVER too sinful or messed up that God cannot turn your life around through Jesus. EVER. Regardless of what you've done or what you're going through you CAN make it through Jesus. Xx
What? Are you saying Tony Stark is unrealistic and trite?
Tony Stark is a womanizer and alcoholic, so that makes him more realistic.
"Outside interference only Rogers Cable creates, can destroy your Savings,"
Good video
4:35 Anime fans: look sideway meme
4:20 Jeff from community. Every woman in the show have the hots for him and it kind of killed the show for me.
So I cannot make my female character liked the protagonist for no reason other than he's funny, rude, and not attractive?
"IF He/She does not Fit, then You need One that Does. Green is not Blue, and Orange is not Red."
Great videos! Just a small note: I think you meant to say "Don't have characters that are idealized." not "Don't have characters that are idealistic." I normally wouldn't point that kind of thing out but since you're an editor, I thought you might care.
Mansions lots of money and dating supermodels is not that unusual. Leonardo DiCaprio and a lot of guys who make alot of money in real estate and wallstreet investors bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs big business owners and managers and CEOs There are alot of guys living this lifestyle. Its not the majority but there are alot guys living this way and so its not that unusual at all. Ruling a country like a dictator or living on a yacht fulltime or sleeping with dangerous animals or living in solitary confinement for government political reasons or in a bubble or with an obscure disease or personal social problems is unusual. Someone who has alot of money and lives in the street. Thats unusual.
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I get reminded of the elves in Lord of the Rings. They are portrayed as these perfect, beautiful creatures who are the greatest at everything... but they are so nasty and downgrading to everyone but other elves. Highly racist and narcissistic as a race. And that's fine... the thing that really annoys me though is that all humans and dwarfs and halflings that meet them are all in awe and LOVE the elves. I mean, why? They aren't exactly nice to you. Sure, they help a bit, but they look down on you and laugh at you. Would the majority of people like that? No. It would make sense that at least some of the characters are annoyed, angry or even secretly hateful towards the elves. That's how it is in the Dragonlance Saga. The elves behave pretty much the same and they are beautiful. But, they are not as great as they think they are, and other people hate the way they behave. That makes the other people more relatable, and it also makes the elves that aren't like that more likable. And it allows for elven character growth (if you have one in your story).
Punky
Shame Disney didn't see this when they planned Rey...
I have a feeling that if Ellen graded the majority of light novels being published on the internet, she'd give them a big bold F.
You are not necessary supposed to like the Antagonist,
Well it depends on the novel. But you are correct.
I know this, but the point was Hellen is talking about the Protagonist Character, The point was mentioned for newcomers!
Griffith Harland True makes sense
Every male is attracted to a female then either they r animals or teenagers
Three Women 'Emotion Emotion EDmotion Wow E E E came up Trumps."
Here's a bright idea, write an asexual character....that'll intrigue a reader!
Or a eunuch....
One of the people in my protags squad is ace and he’s autistic too
Good idea actually!
RoP Galadriel. Unrealistic and unlikeable. How did anyone think Super Karen Sue was going to awesome for people?
Would 2 red eyed maniac people make good characters
Talks about having very uncommon features in a character while herself having red hair and blue eyes, one of the rarest combinations there is. You are unrealistic. Also the joker wants to know how you got those scars?