Have You Chosen The Wrong Character As A Protagonist?

Have you chosen the wrong character as your protagonist? Are they too passive? In this post, we look at how to tell if you’re writing about the wrong character.

When I used to teach creative writing, it was often obvious that beginner writers had chosen the wrong character to star in their novels. It was difficult to get them to see this because they had become attached to their stories.

I encouraged them to understand the roles of the four main characters. (If you’d like to learn more, read The 4 Main Characters As Literary Devices.) Once they understood these roles, they often switched the protagonist with one of the other characters.

The protagonist’s role is to drive the story from beginning to end. Their story goal is usually the goal of the book and forms the foundation of your plot. They appear in most of the scenes and sequels, and their viewpoint is the primary viewpoint in the story. If the character you’ve chosen doesn’t do this, you may be writing about the wrong character.

How To Tell If You’re Writing About The Wrong Character

1. You Do Too Much Telling

If you’re writing about the wrong character, you’ll often find yourself doing too much telling. Your protagonist spends too much time describing more interesting characters instead of being the most interesting character in the story. It should be the other way around. The other characters should be thinking about or talking about your protagonist. Your main character should reveal the story through their actions, body language, internal thoughts, and dialogue.

2. Your Current Protagonist Is Passive

Readers want to experience the story through the protagonist. A passive main character makes this difficult. If your protagonist rarely reacts, makes decisions, or takes action, they may not be the true protagonist. Choose the character who makes choices and acts on them as the star of your story.

3. Another Character Changes The Most

Readers want to experience the protagonist’s emotions and watch them grow. If the love interest, sidekick, or best friend changes the most, learns the biggest lessons, and grows the most, they may be the real protagonist. This often means your sub-plot should actually be the main plot. Explore it and see whether its central character should become your protagonist.

4. The Story’s Conflict Has Little To Do With The Protagonist

Your main character should be involved in most of the conflict in the book. A protagonist has a story goal. They are prevented from achieving it by two types of conflict: external conflict, usually caused by the antagonist, and internal conflict, often driven by their feelings for a love interest. If these conflicts aren’t stopping your protagonist from reaching their goal, you may be writing about the wrong person.

5. Another Character Steals The Show

If a side character consistently steals the spotlight, consider making them the protagonist. It could even be the antagonist. You may want to tell the story from that character’s viewpoint as an anti-hero. Your hero should be every bit as strong as your villain, even if it takes time to get there. In the end, the protagonist must steal the show. Suggested reading: Help! I Fell In Love With My Antagonist

6. Your Protagonist Has No Real Connection To The Antagonist

A protagonist exists to confront an antagonist. The antagonist’s role is to stop the protagonist from achieving their story goal. The two need a believable reason for them to interact and oppose each other. If your current protagonist has little or nothing to do with the antagonist, you may need to change their role in the story. Suggested reading: How To Use Your Antagonist To Define Your Story Goal

Examples Of Potential Wrong Protagonists

Unless you mean to tell the story from a secondary character’s viewpoint, and have an excellent reason for doing so, these are good examples of weak protagonists.

1. The Royal Guard: A kingdom is on the brink of war. The captain of the royal guard protects the young queen, but she makes every important decision. The guard witnesses history, but the queen changes it. She should be the protagonist.
2. The Junior Detective: A priceless painting is stolen from a museum. Instead of making the senior detective the protagonist, you follow the junior detective. They take notes, run errands, and watch the senior detective solve the mystery. Readers will wonder why they aren’t following the senior detective instead.
3. The Passenger: Two explorers set out to find a lost city. One leads the expedition, overcomes the obstacles, and finds the city. The other tags along and watches events unfold. They may be an entertaining viewpoint character, but the explorer is the real protagonist.
4. The Love Interest: A romance is told from one partner’s viewpoint. But the other character takes all the risks, faces their fears, and changes the most. The narrator simply reacts to events. If that’s the case, you’ve probably chosen the wrong protagonist.
5. The Best Friend: Imagine telling the story of a hero destined to defeat an evil sorcerer through the hero’s best friend. The friend watches the battles, gives advice, and worries about the hero, but never makes the key decisions. However likeable they are, they aren’t the protagonist because they don’t drive the story.

The Last Word

If you’re struggling with your story, you may simply be writing about the wrong character. Use these tips to find out if you’ve chosen the right protagonist.

by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson

More posts from Amanda:

1. Does Your Character Fight, Freeze, Flee, Or Fawn?
2. 30 Character Motivations To Kickstart Your Story
3. 5 Instances When You Need To Tell (Not Show) In Your Writing
4. What Is A Sequel In Story Structure? A Writer’s Guide
5. What Is A Scene In Story Structure? A Writer’s Guide
6. How To Write A Gripping Novel: 5 Essential Tips
7. How Many Words Should A Novel Be? A Writer’s Guide To Word Counts
8. What Is A Novel Outline? 5 Strong Reasons To Outline Your Novel Before You Start Writing
9. What Is A Good Daily Word Count? Lessons From 39 Famous Authors
10. 10 Life-Changing Benefits Of Reading More Books

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