Give key characters suspense-building challenges.

Use secondary characters to add drama and contrast.

Whoever you choose as the primary character for your story, here are tips to write main characters who matter: How to write a main character: You may have multiple main characters, with no single clear protagonist.Įxample: A group of four friends who play equal parts in solving a crime, together. ‘Any character who has a major purpose or role in the plot and/or interacts regularly with main characters.’ Main character vs protagonist: What’s the difference?Īlthough ‘protagonist’ is sometimes used as a synonym for main character, a protagonist is specifically the ‘lead’ character. They may steal scenes, but ultimately it’s not their story.Įven so, good secondary characters (like ‘Trabb’s boy’ in the example from Great Expectations further in this article) can be just as interesting, funny or memorable.

Yet secondary characters are like the ‘best supporting’ category at the Oscars. Secondary characters may be important too. Read on for definitions, examples and tips to make primary characters unforgettable: What makes a main character?Ī main character is a person in a story whose desires, motivations, fears and conflicts are key to the story’s development.įor example, in an adventure/quest novel, a Robinson Crusoe who washes up on an unknown island. Knowing how to write an engaging main character is a vital skill for authors. The main character in a story is one of the most vital aspects.

Fugitive pieces book summary