Worst Ways to Write a Protagonist
- Jenna Moreci
- May 19
- 8 min read
HelloOoOo everybody!
We're talking about the worst ways to write the protagonist or main character of a book. If you plan to write a protagonist this way, you are doing yourself a disservice because these types of main characters are widely disliked by the reading community.
A few disclaimers:
This post, like all of my advice posts, is intended for writers who are trying to publish their work professionally. If you are a hobby writer, you can literally do whatever the hell you want. The entire point of hobby writing is just to have fun.
Second, this is general advice. There are always exceptions to the rule. So before you comment, "What about an a, b, c author or x, y, z book?" Trust me when I say I know! Fiction is subjective, which means storytelling rules aren't set in stone. They change and bend.
I'm just saying that generally speaking, these types of protagonists usually aren't a good idea.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more writing tips, sarcasm, and of course, more of Princess Butters!
Number 1: The Self-Insert
A self-insert is a protagonist who is based on the author writing the story. The writer writes themselves or an improved version of themselves into the book. A self-insert is not a protagonist who just happens to have a few similar traits to the author. If you have black hair and your protagonist has black hair, that doesn't mean they're a self-insert.
An Own Voice story is also not an example of a self-insert. Own Voices is when an author from a marginalized group writes a protagonist from the same marginalized group. Sure, you're both a person of color, or you have the same disability, but the idea is to create more stories featuring these types of characters, not to write about you specifically.
And lastly, writing from a “write what you know” space is not the same thing as a self-insert. If you're a soccer player and you decide to write about a soccer player because you happen to know a lot about soccer, and it would be super easy to write, that's fine.
It's only a self-insert if you base the character on yourself, and this is a bad idea for multiple reasons. For starters, readers can usually tell when the character's a self-insert. The writing becomes too favorable and flattering toward the character, and well, your author photo and bio are on the back of the book. They can see the similarities. It ends up reading as self-indulgent and kinda sours the reading experience.
But the biggest problem is that self-inserts make the writer heavily biased toward their own story. They can't analyze or revise the character through an honest lens, because any criticism will be seen as a personal jab. If your reader doesn't like the character, they basically don't like you.
And as I mentioned before, writers who write self-inserts tend to write them favorably. They create a version of themselves that is stronger, smarter, and more attractive than they actually are. And this can nosedive into Mary Sue or Gary Stu territory, which is when the character has no negative qualities whatsoever.
I personally try to avoid using the terms “Mary Sue” and “Gary Stu” because they are often used incorrectly. It's pretty common for incels and neck beard communities to call any female character in a male-centric genre a Mary Sue, so the term has kind of lost validity over the years, but the underlying issue is valid. It's not a good idea to create a protagonist with zero flaws. It's also a bad idea to base a protagonist on yourself because you're making it virtually impossible to critique your writing with an impartial eye.
Number 2: The Wish-Fulfillment Protagonist
A wish-fulfillment protagonist is a reflection of the author's fantasy. It's usually a character who's a reflection of everything the author wishes they could be, or everything the author wishes they could bone. Based on the last point, the issue here should be fairly obvious. A wish-fulfillment character could very well start off as a self-insert. The author was originally going to write about themselves, but now the character can fly and shoot lasers out of their eyes. They're a billionaire black belt with an eight-pack and a nine-inch dick. The character is now everything the author wishes they were, which is totally unrelatable to the reader. No one can relate to having superpowers or being super-rich, to having an eight-pack and a super-long dick. And if they can relate, call me.
But this character becomes a caricature of reality; it's not believable because they've crossed the line from perfect to ridiculous. And once again, this type of protagonist falls back into the trap of the Mary Sue or the Gary Stu. These characters are physically, emotionally, and mentally perfect. They have no flaws to speak of. And not only is this really unbelievable, but it's also super boring to read. Flaws give people depth and nuance, and you've eliminated that entirely.
It's fine to write a protagonist whom you would personally find attractive or to give them a superpower you totally would love to have. But they shouldn't be the full embodiment of your deepest desires. Readers will be able to tell, and you will sink your plot.
Number 3: Emulating Your Favorite Character Through Your Protagonist
It's fine to take inspiration from existing characters you love. In fact, it's incredibly common. But inspiration means mental stimulation. To be inspired means to feel the drive to be creative. Inspiration is not synonymous with copying. When a writer feels inspired by their favorite book, movie, or TV show, they say to themselves, “Now I want to write my own story.”
And if you feel inspired by a particular character, then you will feel the creative energy needed to create your own character. But that still requires making the character your own. That's not to say there can't be similarities. I know a writer who was heavily inspired by Indiana Jones, so they wrote a book about a treasure hunter. But he didn't create a character named “Alabama Cones,” a womanizing archeologist and professor who battles bad guys, puts artifacts into museums, and is deathly afraid of snakes.
Herein lie the issues. When you regurgitate a popular character, the similarities are hard to ignore. And why would readers read your story when they can simply indulge in the real deal? Copying popular characters first became a trend among action-adventure novels, and then kind of shifted to epic fantasy, especially epic fantasy that is heavily inspired by The Lord of the Rings. And we might be seeing a resurgence of this in the romantasy genre, which is why we're seeing a lot of readers refer to various romantasy characters as “Temu Rhysand.”
If you're feeling inspired by a character, instead of hitting copy and paste, ask yourself, "What about this character draws you in? What are the character traits you particularly enjoy?” Write about those. and leave the rest by the wayside. Maybe you enjoy the character’s wit and physical strength. There is nothing stopping you from writing a snarky badass. Maybe you just think they have super sexy red hair. You can totally write a ginger babe. But remember, inspiration means creativity, and it's not creative to rip off a character.
Number 4: The Unlikable Protagonist
Before you freak out, likable doesn't mean good, okay? It doesn't mean they have to have mostly positive qualities or any positive qualities. And it certainly doesn't mean the readers would like this character in real life. When I say likable characters, I mean the reader likes reading about them. They find their voice and their story entertaining. Villain protagonists can be likable, even the most heinous, ungodly characters can be likable.
I will always use Alex from A Clockwork Orange and Joe from YOU as examples of this. Both of these characters have very few redeeming qualities. We would never want to run into either of them in a dark alley, but they are supremely entertaining because they have charisma. Their voices are engaging to read despite the fact that they're despicable human beings, which brings us back to an unlikable protagonist. This is a protagonist that the reader finds difficult or even unbearable to read, and it usually comes down to personality. Even morally pure characters can be unlikable. In fact, they're often the worst offenders. Since they have so few flaws, they lack relatability, depth, and personality.
If you're unsure if you've written an unlikable protagonist, ask yourself the following questions. Is your character relatable? Are they sympathetic? Do they have an entertaining voice? You need at least one of these traits to have a likable character. And if you still aren't sure, ask your beta readers and critique partners.
Please keep in mind that statistically speaking, readers tend to be more critical of female characters as opposed to male characters. A female character can be labeled unlikable for having one flaw or making one mistake. This doesn't mean you should write a female character with zero flaws, because again, that's a Mary Sue, and we don't do that. I'm just letting you know to be cognizant of this bias when accepting feedback. My point is, ask reliable, unbiased people about your protagonist and they will let you know if you've written a dud.
Number 5: The One-Dimensional Protagonist
This is probably the easiest crappy protagonist to identify, because they're kind of hard to miss. The one-dimensional protagonist has one character trait; their personality is reduced to a single quality. The issue with this should be obvious. For starters, it's not realistic. Even the simplest person you know has more than one personality trait. And probably more alarmingly, it's boring. No one wants to read about a character who's only capable of one emotion.
Now, there are some genres where you might be able to get away with this. The most obvious example is the action-adventure genre. We see a lot of protagonists who fit into the dark and brooding character type. There isn't a whole lot of depth there, and it doesn't matter so much because that's usually exactly what the reader is looking for.
But outside of that, if you were to write a one-dimensional protagonist, you'd probably have a lot of unhappy readers. One-dimensional protagonists usually pop up when authors exclusively look at their characters through the lens of roles. They'll say, "This character is the strong one, this is the smart one, and this is the comic relief." It's okay to give your character a role, but they need to have a personality outside of that role. You could say my role in life is a writer, but I'm more than that. I'm also an entrepreneur, a dog mom, and a total bitch. Your protagonist typically needs to have a realistic level of depth, and one dimension isn't going to cut it.
So that's all I've got for you today!
Let me know in the comments below if you'd like to learn about even more protagonists that suck. I would be happy to indulge.
Follow Me!
Buy My Books!
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR’S CHAMPION:
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR'S SISTER:
The self-insert and wish-fulfillment points hit hard. Readers can always tell when the protagonist is the author's fantasy instead of an actual character. The 'Temu Rhysand' comment made me laugh – so accurate for the romantasy trend.
The note about female characters being judged more harshly is important too.
Reminds me of https://bitoque.ca/
Thanks for another great breakdown, Jenna