If you've ever written a hero, chances are that you imagined yourself in that role. After all, don't we all tend to think of ourselves as heroes of our own stories? There is a danger in this, however, and that's taking for granted what the audience knows about the character, as well as giving our character too perfect of an appearance.
First off, we know ourselves better than anyone around. We've peered inside our own thoughts, and we take for granted our outlook on the world. One of humanity's biggest flaws is that each of us has a hard time understanding why everyone doesn't see the world the way we do. That may or may not work fine for us as individuals, but readers don't always get into the main character's head unless we lay it out to them. We need to remember to "give away" a bit more than we're used to when it's just us. In order for readers to empathize with the main character, the reader needs to know more than we're used to letting on. It's vital to impart mindset, motivation, and understanding to our readers that we might normally think everyone should just know.
Second, we have to write those main characters with a great deal of self-awareness, and we need to be honest about ourselves. Far too many people can't see their own flaws, and if that translates into the main character, you'll end up giving everybody a character so perfect that no one will care. People want to know the flaws as well as the bright spots of a character, so perfection rarely sits well since it's not something anyone can actually relate to(which is, ultimately, what we want readers to do with the main character). But writing about our flaws is tough because it forces introspection, something most of us are bad at.
Can we overcome our own self-image and write characters that are relatable as well as heroic? That's the true test of any author.
First off, we know ourselves better than anyone around. We've peered inside our own thoughts, and we take for granted our outlook on the world. One of humanity's biggest flaws is that each of us has a hard time understanding why everyone doesn't see the world the way we do. That may or may not work fine for us as individuals, but readers don't always get into the main character's head unless we lay it out to them. We need to remember to "give away" a bit more than we're used to when it's just us. In order for readers to empathize with the main character, the reader needs to know more than we're used to letting on. It's vital to impart mindset, motivation, and understanding to our readers that we might normally think everyone should just know.
Second, we have to write those main characters with a great deal of self-awareness, and we need to be honest about ourselves. Far too many people can't see their own flaws, and if that translates into the main character, you'll end up giving everybody a character so perfect that no one will care. People want to know the flaws as well as the bright spots of a character, so perfection rarely sits well since it's not something anyone can actually relate to(which is, ultimately, what we want readers to do with the main character). But writing about our flaws is tough because it forces introspection, something most of us are bad at.
Can we overcome our own self-image and write characters that are relatable as well as heroic? That's the true test of any author.
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