![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Reading and writing memorable protagonists
As mentioned previously, I'm wrapping up a short piece on my top ten lesbian protagonists for KBV and a web interview about my reading habits fro MN Reads. Not surprisingly, the accompanying trip though my out-of-control library got me thinking about what makes a memorable protagonist (lesbian or otherwise) as well as how I read about them. One of the things I found was, not surprisingly, that my sense of memorable characters has changed since I started writing. Used to be that I'd be able to get totally absorbed in another writer's characters, enough so that I could see the story through their eyes. The story still had to be pretty good to make this happen but if it was, I was guaranteed to immerse myself in it for a few hours.
Then I started writing my own characters and my whole experience of reading other people's stories completely shifted. Now I read critically, examining the work for technique and information, tips and tricks on things to avoid or emulate or admire. Occasionally, I find a story that's so compelling, I can sink into it for a while, but not usually the same way I could before I started writing. When it comes to protagonists, the ones that I'm writing come out of my own imagination and it's hard for anyone else to top that simply because I'm always going to have some distance with another writer's characters. I think it helps me with my writing, but I'm less clear that it makes as much fun to read a good book. Mind you, I'm not saying I'm planning on giving up writing just so I can be a different kind of reader, but I feel like I should acknowledge the difference.
Next up, I started to noodle on what makes for a memorable protagonist so that I could plan on how to write them better as well as appreciate them more in other people's work. It seems to me that it is sometimes easier to write a memorable secondary character, than a protagonist. I know that I can recall any number of secondary characters, mine and other writers, but may have trouble remembering the protag. One reason for this is that writers often opt to make the protagonist a blank slate that the events happen to. It's handy to make this character the POV as well; the reader learns along with them, experiences the adventure through them and develops the kind of connection that keeps them reading. Your standard quest fantasy uses this character as a protag, as a general rule. American Gods does it well. I find I don't remember these protags all that well, but have a clear memory of their adventures and the other characters who are catalysts.
It's also not uncommon to make your protag evil or amoral, but fixable. I think of this as the Xena trope, but it's certainly not original to the show. A good villain often has what is, from their perspective, a noble goal, an because they're not as predictable as a completely good character, are generally a lot more interesting. This would be one reason why Paradise Lost is far and away more popular than Found. Going along for that kind of character's self-discovery process can be fascinating. On the other hand, some villains just can't be redeemed and should be left that way.
Still another popular protagonist type is one who's pretty interesting, if not precisely good or evil, to start with - fallen leaders, someone with a particular skill, someone with some past event that scars and shapes them, etc. - the possibilities, they are endless. I must admit that I prefer this kind of protagonist. I find them more relatable (which may be a function of my advancing years and history) and more interesting to read about. Also, more interesting to write about, though there are pitfalls of predictability. Lois Bujold does this kind of protag quite well, just to name one amongst many.
Story length makes a difference on how memorable the protagonist is as well. It's harder to do with a short story. This isn't to say that it's impossible to create terrific characters in 4000 words or less but that really powerhouse characters tend to emerge when there's time and space to let them run. And if you're lucky, you create someone or a group of someones worth reading, and your readers keep buying more books once they're hooked. I'm not a huge series fan in general but the ones I like, I like a lot. I suspect this is something I'll be kicking around for a bit, all in all. How about you?
As mentioned previously, I'm wrapping up a short piece on my top ten lesbian protagonists for KBV and a web interview about my reading habits fro MN Reads. Not surprisingly, the accompanying trip though my out-of-control library got me thinking about what makes a memorable protagonist (lesbian or otherwise) as well as how I read about them. One of the things I found was, not surprisingly, that my sense of memorable characters has changed since I started writing. Used to be that I'd be able to get totally absorbed in another writer's characters, enough so that I could see the story through their eyes. The story still had to be pretty good to make this happen but if it was, I was guaranteed to immerse myself in it for a few hours.
Then I started writing my own characters and my whole experience of reading other people's stories completely shifted. Now I read critically, examining the work for technique and information, tips and tricks on things to avoid or emulate or admire. Occasionally, I find a story that's so compelling, I can sink into it for a while, but not usually the same way I could before I started writing. When it comes to protagonists, the ones that I'm writing come out of my own imagination and it's hard for anyone else to top that simply because I'm always going to have some distance with another writer's characters. I think it helps me with my writing, but I'm less clear that it makes as much fun to read a good book. Mind you, I'm not saying I'm planning on giving up writing just so I can be a different kind of reader, but I feel like I should acknowledge the difference.
Next up, I started to noodle on what makes for a memorable protagonist so that I could plan on how to write them better as well as appreciate them more in other people's work. It seems to me that it is sometimes easier to write a memorable secondary character, than a protagonist. I know that I can recall any number of secondary characters, mine and other writers, but may have trouble remembering the protag. One reason for this is that writers often opt to make the protagonist a blank slate that the events happen to. It's handy to make this character the POV as well; the reader learns along with them, experiences the adventure through them and develops the kind of connection that keeps them reading. Your standard quest fantasy uses this character as a protag, as a general rule. American Gods does it well. I find I don't remember these protags all that well, but have a clear memory of their adventures and the other characters who are catalysts.
It's also not uncommon to make your protag evil or amoral, but fixable. I think of this as the Xena trope, but it's certainly not original to the show. A good villain often has what is, from their perspective, a noble goal, an because they're not as predictable as a completely good character, are generally a lot more interesting. This would be one reason why Paradise Lost is far and away more popular than Found. Going along for that kind of character's self-discovery process can be fascinating. On the other hand, some villains just can't be redeemed and should be left that way.
Still another popular protagonist type is one who's pretty interesting, if not precisely good or evil, to start with - fallen leaders, someone with a particular skill, someone with some past event that scars and shapes them, etc. - the possibilities, they are endless. I must admit that I prefer this kind of protagonist. I find them more relatable (which may be a function of my advancing years and history) and more interesting to read about. Also, more interesting to write about, though there are pitfalls of predictability. Lois Bujold does this kind of protag quite well, just to name one amongst many.
Story length makes a difference on how memorable the protagonist is as well. It's harder to do with a short story. This isn't to say that it's impossible to create terrific characters in 4000 words or less but that really powerhouse characters tend to emerge when there's time and space to let them run. And if you're lucky, you create someone or a group of someones worth reading, and your readers keep buying more books once they're hooked. I'm not a huge series fan in general but the ones I like, I like a lot. I suspect this is something I'll be kicking around for a bit, all in all. How about you?