How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

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Rozume
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How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#1 Post by Rozume »

I had this story idea recently that I thought was really interesting. It's about a high school girl who wants to stop the impending apocalypse, so she seeks help from an indifferent cosmic being prevent it from happening. I pitched this idea to my boyfriend, who's a writer, and he commented that the idea makes the main character feel irrelevant to the story. And I can see where he's coming from - from my pitch, there seems to be a lot of focus on the apocalypse and the cosmic being. I haven't written the story yet, I'm still working on it, but I want some advice on how to make characters feel relevant to the story so I can avoid this problem.

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#2 Post by Mad Harlequin »

Could we have some more information on your protagonist? What is she like? What makes her believe in this coming apocalypse, and what happens when she's confronted by this cosmic being?

I think if you can answer some of these questions, she'll start being relevant.
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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#3 Post by OokamiKasumi »

Mad Harlequin wrote: . . . I think if you can answer some of these questions, she'll start being relevant.
I agree.
-- The more we know about the main character's personality, and more importantly; their Flaws, the easier it will be to make this character the center of the story.

For example:
-- The story of Joan of Arc is also about someone dealing with an apocalypse; a war between England & France that dragged on for years, who had guidance from a supernatural being to help stop that war. Joan's Flaw was that she was so honest and faithful to her religion it got her captured and killed.

The main difference between your story and this one is that the supernatural being approached Joan about stopping the war, she didn't seek the being out. In fact, Joan refused the being for quite a while before she tried to approach the King of France. After all, it was during a time where girls were not allowed in the army, and talking to supernatural beings could get you burned at the stake for being a witch.

In fact...
-- Having your supernatural being approach your main character about the impending apocalypse (instead of the other way around) would be the fastest way to put your character at the center of the story.
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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#4 Post by SundownKid »

I wouldn't make the meetings of the girl and supernatural being random. Like... what if the girl was able to contact it through her grandmother's ancient book of witchcraft. Then you have an instant grounding of your story in a more interesting setting, "When the apocalypse happens, a girl teams up with an indifferent demon to stop the destruction caused by others of his kind" and the girl has agency because she makes a deal of some kind that could be mutually beneficial to both of them. (And I would say mutually beneficial is better than the girl simply controlling it, because then it just makes her look unsympathetic).

Another possibility: the girl is a fortune teller who has always been teased for being a fraud, but she is actually able to contact a supernatural being. Then you have some agency in the main character because she has all that knowledge, even if their meeting really was totally random. She also has more of a reason to fight (to prove herself).

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#5 Post by RotGtIE »

When you mentioned that the protagonist was the one who wanted to stop the apocalypse and the supernatural being was indifferent, I thought you were going to ask how to have the indifferent being overcome their indifference in order to actually save the universe.

As it stands, it sounds like you have an ideal match of leading characters: one who is powerless to prevent a tragedy but is motivated to do so, and one who is capable of preventing that tragedy but is completely unmotivated to use their power to stop it. It creates an excellent premise for a struggle between these two characters. The protagonist has a goal, which is to stop the apocalypse, and she has two obstacles she must overcome - her own powerlessness and the indifference of the supernatural character - to achieve it.

These two sound like they would be great foils for each other. There's just one problem - if the protagonist is powerless to prevent the apocalypse and the supernatural character is not, then how does the protagonist reach out to this being, let alone convince it to do her bidding? This is as much your challenge as it is hers; after all, if you have an indifferent but powerful being stick around with an annoying powerless person only to be convinced to do what they don't want to do, you might tempt your audience into responding with an "oh yeah?"

I like the premise. It sounds like it just needs something to give the protagonist some kind of way to get a foot in the door with this supernatural being. Not a deus ex machina to accomplish her struggle for her, but something that gives her the chance to overcome her obstacles.

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#6 Post by Vogue »

One of my favorite types of stories to write about is someone that exists in a place where massive amounts of action is taking place but is not in a position to influence it. Seeing how an ordinary person adapts to an extraordinary situation has a the right combination of fantasy and human elements. Most of us don't wield magic swords or control the political levers of power, so we have an easier time relating to someone that has to adapt to their circumstances.

But, to answer your question, if you want to have your characters influence some kind of epic narrative, then they need power. Whether they're seducing a king, commanding an army, hacking computers or gathering friends, your characters need some kind of agency. That doesn't mean that your protagonist succeeds at every turn or is infallible, just that they can steer the ship in some way. That's not all you need to make your characters engaging or relatable, but it does make them relevant.

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#7 Post by agentyoda »

Vogue wrote:One of my favorite types of stories to write about is someone that exists in a place where massive amounts of action is taking place but is not in a position to influence it. Seeing how an ordinary person adapts to an extraordinary situation has a the right combination of fantasy and human elements. Most of us don't wield magic swords or control the political levers of power, so we have an easier time relating to someone that has to adapt to their circumstances.
I agree with this a hundredfold! I can't help but be reminded of poor little Frodo in The Lord of the Rings; he was among the smallest and weakest of beings in Middle Earth, and yet he was the one called to carry a deep, heavy burden. An ordinary man called to an extraordinary mission; if he cannot accomplish it by power, then usually, he ends up accomplishing it by suffering. In my opinion, a hero that suffers is a lot more beautiful than a hero that has power.

Suffering shows love; if your heroine can't convince the indifferent being by her power, perhaps her suffering will. (Though that will probably take some tricky writing to pull off well.)

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#8 Post by Mad Harlequin »

agentyoda wrote:I can't help but be reminded of poor little Frodo in The Lord of the Rings; he was among the smallest and weakest of beings in Middle Earth, and yet he was the one called to carry a deep, heavy burden. An ordinary man called to an extraordinary mission; if he cannot accomplish it by power, then usually, he ends up accomplishing it by suffering. In my opinion, a hero that suffers is a lot more beautiful than a hero that has power.
Don't forget about Sam! He also bore that burden, and he took care of his friend and master.
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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#9 Post by Katy133 »

Ask yourself, "What is the story's Aesop/theme?" Then ask yourself, "How can I apply that Aesop/theme into my main character on a personal level?"

For example, if the main message of the story is, "fortune favors the brave," you may have the character start out as cowardly, then through the events of the story, the character becomes a brave person. And then their bravery ends up saving everyone.

Maybe, once the girl finally meets the indifferent cosmic being, she (the girl) realises that she's has to take matters into her own hands. Or maybe the cosmic being helps to point her in the right direction (helping the girl realise her full potential), rather than do all the saving themself.
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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#10 Post by wendybirdx »

Well, one way I've seen be done (though I can't recall where) is giving the protagonist some skill or whatever it may be so they're the only ones who can access the source of salvation. Maybe only the protagonist can talk to the cosmic being, even if it's just because they stumbled upon their secret hideout or found something of theirs or whatever. Maybe they are from their same realm, but have been living on earth for so long they consider it home. Maybe a friend or family member had actually been the one to find the being, but the protagonist knows they're sheltering the being and has to break their friend/family member's trust to talk to them. This is just what comes to mind, but play with the possibilities! You'll have to add other elements, but just randomly brainstorming can get you some really fun outcomes (:

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#11 Post by Jate »

RotGtIE wrote:When you mentioned that the protagonist was the one who wanted to stop the apocalypse and the supernatural being was indifferent, I thought you were going to ask how to have the indifferent being overcome their indifference in order to actually save the universe.
This is what I thought reading your post. One having the power and the other having the drive makes them equally important, imo.

But to answer your question, if you haven't thought about how she contacts the cosmic being, making her a modern day shaman/witch/etc and thus one of the few people in modern day that can communicate with supernatural beings would both give them the link and make her a more important figure in that someone else couldn't just take her place. Sorry for that terribly structured sentence.

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#12 Post by Laiska »

Jate wrote:But to answer your question, if you haven't thought about how she contacts the cosmic being, making her a modern day shaman/witch/etc and thus one of the few people in modern day that can communicate with supernatural beings would both give them the link and make her a more important figure in that someone else couldn't just take her place.
In other words, don't make her "just someone," make her the only one who can be in her place. That way the story can't function without her.

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#13 Post by Kailoto »

I feel it's worth mentioning that if you're going to have the protagonist be fated for this encounter, you'll have to be very careful with the execution of it if you're looking for something above average. It's better than nothing, but savvy readers can easily tell when a character is given a skill or ability purely for the plot. You'll have to ensure that the reason for the protagonist being unique meshes well with the rest of the story, otherwise it'll seem contrived. The story will still be fine, but it won't have the potential to be great unless such a thing is handled with care.

In my own opinion, I vastly prefer characters who are exceptional not because of what they are, but because of who they are. It's a subtle distinction, but an important one. Instead of a heroine succeeding because she's from a long line of heroes, I'd rather see her succeed because her willpower and optimism enables her to never lose hope. In other words, I'd rather see a plot motivated by the protagonist's personality and desires, rather than attributes assigned to them by the writer. The writer still has control over the relevancy, but it's disguised better and is more satisfying to read, watch, or play.

In your case, a single possible way of dealing with this is by diluting the exceptions of the main character. Perhaps there's others who can speak with the cosmic entity and could ask for help besides her, but the protagonist is the only one that actually does so because she's the only one unafraid of the consequences. In that example, no one else can fill the heroine's role, but it's not simply because she has the right powers at the right time. Plus, it allows for more nuance in the setting; why is she the only one willing to go to such lengths? How do others feel about her actions? Do the people not calling on the cosmic being have a reason for doing so, and do any of them try to stop her? There's less black-and-white morality and more potential for intrigue. It's only an example, but hopefully it makes clear what I'm trying to get across here.
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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#14 Post by ladynamoru »

As of now I see it as a story is driven by the theme Apocalypse rather than the character.
A normal High School Girl would not even care about the end of the world nor she have the power to save it. (So ONLY THE AUTHOR could save the world from Apocalypse)
The theme Apocalypse doesnt match the MC unless you make some slight changes in terms of the character.

ex: Make her a Priestess, a Magical Being or God's favorite child.... in short make her the CHOSEN one
Focus on the character more (give her strength and weaknesses) rather than the doomsday

For laughs, I think the End of the World for a normal High school student are the following:
If her Boyfriend breaks up with her
If her Friends leave her
If her Facebook account has been hacked
....Fail an exam

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Re: How to Make Your Characters Relevant to Your Story?

#15 Post by Fox Lee »

ladynamoru wrote:As of now I see it as a story is driven by the theme Apocalypse rather than the character.
A normal High School Girl would not even care about the end of the world nor she have the power to save it. (So ONLY THE AUTHOR could save the world from Apocalypse)
The theme Apocalypse doesnt match the MC unless you make some slight changes in terms of the character.

ex: Make her a Priestess, a Magical Being or God's favorite child.... in short make her the CHOSEN one
I don't want to be rude, but I would really, really counsel AGAINST making her a "chosen one". There are way too many chosen ones in media these days (both explicitly and implicitly, through lazy writing), and audiences DO notice the contrivance, even if they accept it. Besides, it's usually an excuse to avoid giving characters actual motivations. What actually tells you more about the character - that they were willing to take on the responsibility of saving the world despite having no personal power, or that there's some magical rule that says they have to be the main character? At the very least, if you're going to have a chosen one, the importance should be placed on how the character reacts to having destiny imposed on them, not on the calling itself.

And anyway, why would a normal high school girl not care about the end of the world? Does she not live on earth? Is it not where she keeps all her stuff? Isn't it a bit insulting to suggest that NO believable highschooler would try to prevent the utter destruction of everyone and everything she loves? Personally I kind of think I would have cared, even when I was fifteen.

Now, a reason for her to KNOW about the impending apocalypse, and to take it seriously, that's something that may be harder to arrange. But it certainly doesn't require destiny to get involved.
Focus on the character more (give her strength and weaknesses) rather than the doomsday
Now THAT I would agree with.

In response to the original question, to me it already sounds like the MC is pretty dang important. Having power isn't the same thing as being important to the story, and while the MC in this scenario lacks power, she's still central to the outcome. Okay, if the superbeing doesn't act then the world will be destroyed - but if Superbeing doesn't give a damn without MC's influence, then it's equally true that if the MC doesn't act, the world gets destroyed. Ergo, while there is an imbalance of power, both of them are still essential to overcoming the threat. As long as the MC gets equal or better attention to character development/exploration, I don't think there's any reason she should seem unimportant to the plot.

TLDR: The world literally ends if she fails in her goal. Sounds pretty damn important to me.
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