Let’s look at how to create main characters.
Main Characters, the Lifeblood of any Story
Of course you have an MC, sometimes called a protagonist. Without one, then your book or short story is … what, exactly? A travelogue, perhaps. Or maybe it’s an instruction manual. Or maybe it’s just a mishmash. Because with no chief character, what are you doing, anyway?
Notice I Didn’t Say There Were No Characters
A bunch of characters can be lovely. But an utter lack of focus isn’t just odd. It’s also likely to be something that a reader would not like. The reader may be wondering—who is it I’m supposed to root for, anyway?
When that is not clear, it creates confusion. This kind of confusion gets readers to not finish. And it also gets publishers and agents to not want to pick it up. Therefore, you will need to create a focus and a point of view.
The Single Focus Character
In The Enigman Cave, Marnie Shapiro is such a singular focus that I felt I could not show anything ‘on screen’ unless she saw it. I even ended up tying myself in some knots to make certain that she “saw” something on the screen so I could include it.
But in The Real Hub of the Universe, while Ceilidh is the single focus character, I wasn’t as strict.
The Dual Mains
Or maybe I should refer to them as dueling mains? In the first Obolonk trilogy, Peri Martin is the main, but Tommy 2000 gives her something of a run for her money. We never really get inside Tommy’s head. But he’s there, in nearly every scene. He would have made for a fascinating POV character. But I preferred Peri, and I still do.
And unlike The Enigman Cave, there were a few moments where Peri is just not with it. Yet I still felt comfortable including it on screen.
Multiple Main Characters
Welcome to the Mettle Universe, where there are multiple points of view. The character who I showcase the most is Craig Firenze. He has the most chapters devoted to him—even though I had originally thought of Noah Braverman as the MC. But the characters, as they so often do, had other plans.
The easiest way to keep it all straight is what I did. That is, each chapter was for a different character’s point of view. For example, in more than one chapter, we’re inside Nell Murphy‘s head. And so, by definition, the italicized thoughts can only be hers. And, I don’t get into anyone else’s head. In order to be able to do that, the current chapter would have to end.
In some ways, a multitude of main characters meant that I needed to find a purpose for all of them. Therefore, for Mink’s only chapter, I get to tell what happened when she was separated from the rest of the group. It’s the only occasion that I had to convey that.
Getting into Olga Nicolaev’s point of view was also fun and key, because she goes through the story sounding like an illiterate most of the time. But the reality is, she’s rather sharp.
Perhaps the toughest POV to get into was Eleanor’s. I had to show not only her thoughts, but also how they jumbled and coalesced into, eventually, a form of coherence. This made her more of a main-ish character than she would have been. Otherwise, she’s just a burden on the group.
Main But Not Quite So Main After All
Within Mettle, the people with the most POV chapters are the true main characters. These are essentially Craig, Noah, Nell, Elise, and possibly Mei-Lin (she kind of straddles the line). But this group does not include Eleanor or Mink, as they each only have the one point of view chapter apiece. Dez and Olga kind of also straddle the line. And as for Kitty, she never gets a POV chapter.
Although I will most likely write one for her when I write the prequel for this one.
Hanging Back With Main Characters
How far into characters’ heads are you willing to go?
In Untrustworthy, I refer to Tathrelle and Ixalla’s thoughts, but I never actually show them on screen. Peri was originally like that, but I have decided I prefer being deeper in her head. Same with Josie. But with Marnie, I never get that far into her head. With Ceilidh, I do, but like with Peri it was because I changed my mind and opted for a more intimate relationship.
With the multiple POV characters of Mettle, I held back. But that’s also a choice for clarity’s sake. With so many people, getting into heads would mean that readers would not necessarily immediately realize whose head they were in.
Details and Whatnot
You do not have to go overboard with details. In fact, in the Twilight books, there’s a conscious effort not to overly describe Bella Swan. Why? Because that way, just about any girl can picture herself in Bella’s shoes. This was a big part of the success of that series.
Should you do that? Or should you describe every nuance of your main characters? There is more than one school of thought. What it all boils down to is—you do you.
But make sure that your descriptions and inner voices have a meaning and a purpose to the overall story line. Telling your readers that your MC has split ends is probably too much. Unless, of course, that turns into some sort of a plot point.
And for gosh sake’s, don’t just describe people of color. This gives forth an extremely strong impression that you feel your POC characters are different and, perhaps, do not quite belong. Keeping white as the default is not a good look, for either you or your characters, main or otherwise.
Anchor your prose with main characters who feel real to your readers.
And never forget to have fun with it!