Philster401
Maester
How quickly or/and how strong should main character get
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progression of main character
- Thread starter Philster401
- Start date
This is impossible to answer. It depends entirely on the type of story you want to tell.
The only advice I can give is to make certain you're consistent with what your character can and can't do. Well-defined limitations, that are consistent with your world, are a necessity if you're to avoid a Deus ex Machina.
The only advice I can give is to make certain you're consistent with what your character can and can't do. Well-defined limitations, that are consistent with your world, are a necessity if you're to avoid a Deus ex Machina.
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I wouldn't say it's impossible to answer, because you can always offer some progression advice or some such but as for the Deus Ex Machina, which I had to look up btw ya'll got big vocabularies (wonder why), I can't say they always work well. The first book of the Wheel of Time does this with the introduction of the Dragon Reborn's power's and the intervention of the great tree fella at the Eye of the World. It really upset me when I read it to see the story have this sudden end when so many plotlines had been laid (for series progression as we see).
Anyway some advice on character progression, well I'm not published so maybe I shouldn't offer this advice but these are my thoughts.
Make sure your character obeys a set of rules, and by that I mean for example that Aes Sedai can live for long periods of time given their exposure to the True Source or Iron Man has serious medical issues in the movies due to his power source, and so on. Don't create a character who is going to defy all odds otherwise you'll go from writing a high fantasy story or a dark fantasy story that needs some kind of tangible progression to writing about a completely alternate universe with different rules than earth or your world. It would be a different kind of story than one in which your character has human flaws.
So decide on your characters strengths and weaknesses, affiliations and motivations in order to assume how they will react and what they are capable of, or give plausible answers as to why they can outperform their own limitations in a given circumstance.
Now in terms of the maturity of your character that all depends on your story. If you're writing about say conspiracy, you character may be a very knowledgeable person who knows tradecraft and in the end has to dumb down their experience to get a simple answer or they may delve into some moral conflict that they would otherwise have avoided given the gravity of a situation.
If you're writing about a prophecy your character might (as in many stories) be an immature young person who either grows to accept their fate or grows in conflict with it.
If you're writing about a strictly evil person, you may see them under the pressures of their evil life, giving in to a more evil master, and turned good in a moment of clarity or a good character able to hold out from turning evil themselves.
In short, the most accurate advice I can give you is to make sure that your character reacts to major events or maybe even tiny ones that just spur on some train of thought, so that they begin to show their skills maturing or their shortfalls being exploited, but such that they are learning and maturing, or out thinking and side stepping, depending on who your character is.
Anyway some advice on character progression, well I'm not published so maybe I shouldn't offer this advice but these are my thoughts.
Make sure your character obeys a set of rules, and by that I mean for example that Aes Sedai can live for long periods of time given their exposure to the True Source or Iron Man has serious medical issues in the movies due to his power source, and so on. Don't create a character who is going to defy all odds otherwise you'll go from writing a high fantasy story or a dark fantasy story that needs some kind of tangible progression to writing about a completely alternate universe with different rules than earth or your world. It would be a different kind of story than one in which your character has human flaws.
So decide on your characters strengths and weaknesses, affiliations and motivations in order to assume how they will react and what they are capable of, or give plausible answers as to why they can outperform their own limitations in a given circumstance.
Now in terms of the maturity of your character that all depends on your story. If you're writing about say conspiracy, you character may be a very knowledgeable person who knows tradecraft and in the end has to dumb down their experience to get a simple answer or they may delve into some moral conflict that they would otherwise have avoided given the gravity of a situation.
If you're writing about a prophecy your character might (as in many stories) be an immature young person who either grows to accept their fate or grows in conflict with it.
If you're writing about a strictly evil person, you may see them under the pressures of their evil life, giving in to a more evil master, and turned good in a moment of clarity or a good character able to hold out from turning evil themselves.
In short, the most accurate advice I can give you is to make sure that your character reacts to major events or maybe even tiny ones that just spur on some train of thought, so that they begin to show their skills maturing or their shortfalls being exploited, but such that they are learning and maturing, or out thinking and side stepping, depending on who your character is.
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cupiscent
Sage
My only advice to add is to make sure there is a price for your character's advancement. Improvements that aren't earned feel cheap and cheaty, in my experience, and it's much more satisfying if the character suffers and exerts herself to get ahead. But you can go as far as you like, if you've earned it.
- Thread starter
- #5
Philster401
Maester
I think I've made a problem while i was making my story i made it so the main character has his father who was the leader of his kingdom actually all the leaders die with their children in the room as the rising action then half the kingdoms are over taken by remaining leader's kingdom.
BronzeOracle
Sage
The fact that famous and popular protagonists like Superman, Pug (Riftwar), Aang (Avatar) and Neo (Matrix) are incredibly powerful answers the second question. I think Cupiscent answers the first question - the power must be won convincingly and given how much it will shape the person it should probably be linked to their character development/arc. Superman, as portrayed in Man of Steel (ok it has some big plot flaws) went through years of struggle as a boy/youth and for me that made the film satisfying, much more than the over the top action at the end. Pug became a mighty magician over years of study and hardship including a period of slavery. Aang had to learn all four elements to become the Avatar and had to do a lot of soul searching and almost died. So by the end, yes they have incredible power that they bring to bear to solve a problem, but it is matched by their internal character.
Of course you could have your protagonist with great power that exceeds their character development, which could then lead to tragedy.
Another thing to bear in mind is that you have a classic protagonist/antagonist conflict then the antagonist needs similar or greater power in order for the conflict to be satisfying. So you need a General Zod for Superman, the Valheru for Pug, Fire Lord Ozai for Aang, or Agent Smith for Neo.
Of course you could have your protagonist with great power that exceeds their character development, which could then lead to tragedy.
Another thing to bear in mind is that you have a classic protagonist/antagonist conflict then the antagonist needs similar or greater power in order for the conflict to be satisfying. So you need a General Zod for Superman, the Valheru for Pug, Fire Lord Ozai for Aang, or Agent Smith for Neo.
- Thread starter
- #7
Philster401
Maester
Thanks that most definitely helps.
K.S. Crooks
Maester
I think it depends on what you want them to accomplish, then make their power less than what they need to make it easy to do. Always keep in mind the ways to defeat you characters, whether they are the hero or villain. One of the best progressions of power I know is from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each season the main villain is more difficult than the previous. Because of this Buffy and the other characters have to become stronger. If you took Buffy, Willow and the others out of season 7 and placed them in season 1, The Master (main villain of season 1) would be dead in one episode.
In my first novel the main characters learn their abilities at a special school. The characters are taught a certain amount of powers the first year. This limits what they are capable of doing against different obstacles and adversaries. In the sequel they will learn more and be stronger in the first powers, which gives them steady growth and means the obstacles they face must increase as well. It should rarely be apparent how the characters are going to win in the end otherwise why read the story.
In my first novel the main characters learn their abilities at a special school. The characters are taught a certain amount of powers the first year. This limits what they are capable of doing against different obstacles and adversaries. In the sequel they will learn more and be stronger in the first powers, which gives them steady growth and means the obstacles they face must increase as well. It should rarely be apparent how the characters are going to win in the end otherwise why read the story.
evanator66
Minstrel
If I were you I would make their character traits evident through their actions. A brave person will act differently in combat than a coward. People with different traits will comment on things differently. Dialogue and action are some of the best ways to show character traits.
Nimue
Auror
Keep in mind that character traits are both shaped by past actions and inform the actions that are taken in the story. You can't separate out personality from action, dialogue, the character in motion.
(Which is part of the reason character profiles can be unhelpful--a character's personality is shaped over time and through writing, and jotting down "Brave, loyal, mysterious!" tells us pretty much nothing, and is often followed by the character behaving in different ways entirely when they enter a story for the first time.)
Take what your characters have done and think about what that says about them. Hopefully it doesn't just say "They do what the plot requires of them"! Don't shy away from bad traits, either. If a character decides to kill someone for their ideals (even if the story proves them right in those ideals later) that shows that they're willing to sacrifice others. Think about why they act the way they do--what are their reasons, their motives. Maybe they shouldn't be in black and white. Presumably, your characters are making choices without knowing how they'll turn out, they're fighting without complete certainty, or maybe just in blind faith. Uncertainty can cast the sharpest light on someone's character.
(Which is part of the reason character profiles can be unhelpful--a character's personality is shaped over time and through writing, and jotting down "Brave, loyal, mysterious!" tells us pretty much nothing, and is often followed by the character behaving in different ways entirely when they enter a story for the first time.)
Take what your characters have done and think about what that says about them. Hopefully it doesn't just say "They do what the plot requires of them"! Don't shy away from bad traits, either. If a character decides to kill someone for their ideals (even if the story proves them right in those ideals later) that shows that they're willing to sacrifice others. Think about why they act the way they do--what are their reasons, their motives. Maybe they shouldn't be in black and white. Presumably, your characters are making choices without knowing how they'll turn out, they're fighting without complete certainty, or maybe just in blind faith. Uncertainty can cast the sharpest light on someone's character.
K.S. Crooks
Maester
Character traits can also be shown by having other characters talk about things a person has done in the past and how they have handled different situations. This will establish a history for the character and make present actions predictable and acceptable when they follow suit. You can also set up the reader for something unexpected when the character does something unexpected.
AndrewMelvin
Scribe
You are the sum of everything you have sensed and done, and so are your characters. You can reveal traits by mentioning something they have done, and whether they enjoyed it or not, whethey they have good or bad memories of it, etc.
