Dreamy in 3-D
(Writing an Interesting Main Character)
by Denise Felt 2010
Writers love to write. By definition, it’s what we do – and love to do – most. But the process of writing evolves as our understanding of what we like and want to write about does. And sooner or later, all writers eventually create a character so intriguing and fascinating that they never want to stop writing about them. Or, in the case of fan fiction writers, they find one and mold it to their liking. The perfect backdrop to establish their tales around. So, what makes a main character strong enough to be able to carry the weight of your story?
Whether your main character is male or female, there are a multitude of characteristics that can make them unique, special, and all your own. A fan fiction writer friend of mine named Dragon enjoys writing about characters that are quirky, unusual, and mostly supernatural. It’s always a joy to read her stories because of this tendency. Another writer friend focuses on portraying the main females in their stories as strong and compassionate. Every writer has their own style, which is why reading good fiction is so exciting. You never know when you’ll find a new favorite author among the many wannabes out there! And for those who wish to write excellent stories, before adding the extras that will make your characters uniquely your own, there are only three basic things that are necessary to ensure that your main character can carry your story to a strong and happy conclusion.
The first personality trait your main character must have is to be a leader. Whether you’re working with an established character from a TV show or movie in fan fiction, or whether the characters in your tale are all from your own imagination, they must be capable of leading the rest of the characters through all the obstacles in your story to the powerful conclusion. And usually, though not necessarily in all cases, your main lead should be the one to save the day. (However, if they aren’t, you need to have an equally powerful and dynamic character do that for them.)
In Matthew White’s Silver Star, his main lead Virginia Lake saves Moonbase from an alien attack by staying in a heavily damaged Control Sphere to transfer the systems so that the missile launchers could take out the last of the incoming UFOs. She ends up having to be rescued herself by Col. Foster as she passes out due to lack of oxygen, but she had saved the base by that time. In the fourth story of my Shakespeare Saga, called Masters of Fate, my leading man does his job in spite of all risks and dies at the hands of the aliens, leaving his wife to have to find a way to change time so that he lives instead. In this scene onboard the alien spaceship, she has awakened and realized that her husband’s dead body is next to her on the floor of the craft.
Everything came back to her on a rush, and she had to forcibly swallow the moan that came from deep within her. She closed her eyes tightly and fought to contain the grief and anguish that wanted to overwhelm her. She had to keep a clear head. She had to fix this. She had no idea how, but that wasn’t important now. Now she just had to get a grip on the hell that she had awakened to. Or she’d never get the chance to change it.
Eventually she does come up with an idea to change the events that led to his death, and the reader gets the chance to share her worry when her husband in the past does not immediately go along with her plan.
She nodded absently. "Are you planning to go there?"
"Of course. This is far too important a development to do otherwise. You’re not worried, are you? I’ll be fine."
"Yes, Ed. I am worried," she said softly. "And you won’t be fine. If you go there tomorrow, you’ll die. Along with everyone else at that facility."
He leaned forward, lifting her chin to make her meet his eyes. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see there – worry, concern, even fear. But what he saw was an almost overwhelming grief. It shocked him to his core. So much so that his hand fell away from her face. "Chandra!"
She looked at him sadly. "Will you go, Ed? Knowing you’ll die?"
He ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to ask her if she was certain of her facts, but he only had to look at her face to know the answer to that one. But it made no sense.
"Why would they attack tomorrow? They’ve been on Earth over a week. They could have gone for the facility at any time."
"But you will be there tomorrow."
He shook his head. Not denying her conclusions. But denying that this could be about him.
However, she is an astute character and has many leadership qualities herself, so he does listen to her, and the story ends on a positive note. Which leads me to the next quality that is necessary for a truly interesting main character: intelligence. For me personally, most writers fail at this part of their stories by having their main characters act in a foolish way or one that contradicts their personality. I even know of one writer who delights in humiliating her main character. It makes me wonder why she even bothers to write about a character that she feels forced to belittle? Needless to say, I have not ever finished one of her stories and probably never will – until she learns to write stories that people would enjoy reading, that is.
Intelligent leading men and women – when written well – can make their readers swoon over them. My favorite part of any story written for my favorite TV show is when the main lead, Commander Straker, realizes (with only the barest amount of clues) what is truly happening in the story and thinks of a way to make it work in Earth’s favor. In Betrayal, written by Louise Oatridge, chapter one finds the commander realizing that something is wrong with the way the aliens seem to be able to know exactly when to attack. We don’t find out until much later what he has deduced, which makes for a very interesting story, but upon second reading it is clear that he knew from the first what had to be going on. It is this perspicacity that makes him a character that readers find so entertaining.
White enjoys writing about Col. Virginia Lake from UFO, who has strong leadership qualities herself and is also highly intelligent. In his story Best Friends, she is told that she is in the running to be promoted to Straker’s right hand, his executive officer. Later, in Silver Star, she gets the position. She is shown in the TV show to be exceptionally intelligent, since it’s her design that creates the Utronics equipment that allows SHADO to track the alien spacecrafts at faster than light speeds. I use that brilliance in several of my stories to show what an exceptional officer she is, especially in the second story from the Shakespeare Saga, called A Sparrow’s Providence. She realizes that the aliens must be up to something when they try to get to Antarctica, even though there is supposedly nothing they would want there.
Ginny finished her report and set it aside for the commander to read when he came back to work after the weekend. He’d probably ask her a lot of questions about the trajectory of the UFOs. It was the one thing that was still bothering her about the incident. What had the aliens wanted with Antarctica?
She just didn’t know.
Straker would probably tell her to find out, in that stern way he had of speaking when he was exasperated with someone. Well, she would just be one step ahead of him then. And maybe she’d even have some answers for him before he asked.
She picked up the phone and called Ford at his station. "Keith, can you get me the Cape Horn Tracking station?"
Although she wasn’t the main character in the story, her intelligence and foresight made it possible for the commander tofigure out what the aliens had done to destroy Earth in the future. If I ever write a UFO story with her as the lead, I know I would be in keeping with the basic elements of a dreamy leading character, since she has all three of them. One, leadership. Two, intelligence.
And three, compassion.
The third and most basic characteristic that is necessary for your leading character to possess is that they be human. And humane. Not all the time, of course. In fact, it’s better when it comes as a surprise to the reader when they see them acting compassionate. So anti-heroes or super-bitches do well here, since their normal personalities do not display this characteristic. This is another area where writers tend to fall down. I think they get so caught up in telling their tale that they forget that their people need to be just that – people. Three-dimensional people. Our humanity is what makes us special, is what makes us more than just animals in the wild. And writers who want to write really excellent stories will try hard to keep this characteristic in mind as they pen their tales.
My favorite character to write about isStraker from UFO.He’s no sweetie; in fact, the series portrays him as quite a difficult man. But occasionally, you get to see his humanity, his compassion in the face of every other hard decision he has to make to keep Earth safe. I use these rare glimpses throughout my stories. They set the seal on his character as a dreamy leading man, and one of the best I have ever seen.
Other writers do the same thing with their main leads. White’s Virginia Lake is quite hard-nosed and not a pushover by any means. But when the occasion calls for it, we get to see her tender heart under that strong surface. Oatridge portrays a very stern CommanderStraker in her fan fiction stories, but at least once in every story we get to witness his tender side, which makes her stories three-dimensional and exciting.
In my stories, I often show a commanding officer at the end of his rope, nearly to the point of being incapable of continuing his impossibly difficult work. But when he meets the right person (usually the perfect woman, although I’ve given him many different ones over the years), his hardness is tempered by the sweetness she draws out of him. To me, this is the epitome of a strong and glorious relationship, when two people bring out the best in each other. We see a lot of negative relationships on TV and in the movies; even toxic ones, where couples only destroy one another or bring out their worst characteristics. But I prefer to show what can happen when the right two people get together, and since I know about this phenomenon firsthand, it is easy for me to write about it. And I truly believe that it is why readers find my stories so uplifting to read.
For example, in The Catalyst I have the commander having to deal with the fact that the woman he loves is an android. More than his own concern about being emotionally attached to a robot is his worry about the fact that she had been programmed to be with him. Here we see his compassion coming through as he puts aside his own feelings to try to make things right for her, to release her from the programming that he feels is binding her and allow her to be free. In this scene, he tries to explain it to Dr. Jackson.
Straker leaned forward in his chair. "The question is this, Doctor. What about her?"
"Ah!" The doctor nodded his head. He had been expecting this question. "I realize it may be difficult for you to reconcile to yourself the fact that the woman you have come to know so intimately is an android. However . . ."
The commander interrupted him. "Robot, android. It hardly matters what you call it. The fact that you seem to be overlooking is that she is a sentient being, and as such, deserves to have a choice about her existence. They’ve taken that away from her by sending her here, programming her to do what they want without any regard for her wants, her desires. Shall we allow them to continue using her, Jackson? Or shall we use her ourselves to suit our own ends?"
The doctor stared at him in shock. Finally he said, "I’m sorry, Commander. It had not occurred to me to see the situation in that light."
"No, of course not," Straker said. "Your concern is for my safety and, by extension, Earth’s. Her people feel as you do. They are concerned with the redemption of planets and are willing to sacrifice the free will of their own creations to get what they want. Are their goals noble and good? Yes, of course. But their methods leave a great deal to be desired. None of them seem to be very worried about whether any of this is even what Pam wants. I can’t and won’t justify what they’re doing by being a part of it. Pam must be allowed to live according to her wishes, not theirs. And not even ours."
Of course, in the end he finds a way to have it all, but then, I’m the writer and I wanted it that way. But by showing his humanity by his willingness to sacrifice her companionship for her freedom, he establishes himself as a great leading man – and a perfectly dreamy one at that.
The three basic characteristics of a main lead that will make them strong and interesting enough to carry your story through to the finish are leadership, intelligence, and compassion. Attaining the skill of giving your main character these qualities will help your tales be more exciting and three-dimensional. And very enjoyable reading for those who come across your work.
Writing wonderful leading characters is something all writers should wish to do. If they don’t, they really shouldn’t be writing at all. Perhaps they should take up macrame instead.Once a writer understands the basic three elements necessary for strong and exciting main characters, they can add in all the fun quirks and personality traits that will make their leads uniquely theirs. Like Louise’s Straker who enjoys running. Or Matthew’s Ginny who loves to fly small planes. Or Dragon’s vampires or werewolves. There is no limit to the fun you can have. Just remember to get the basics down first.
by Denise Felt 2010
Writers love to write. By definition, it’s what we do – and love to do – most. But the process of writing evolves as our understanding of what we like and want to write about does. And sooner or later, all writers eventually create a character so intriguing and fascinating that they never want to stop writing about them. Or, in the case of fan fiction writers, they find one and mold it to their liking. The perfect backdrop to establish their tales around. So, what makes a main character strong enough to be able to carry the weight of your story?
Whether your main character is male or female, there are a multitude of characteristics that can make them unique, special, and all your own. A fan fiction writer friend of mine named Dragon enjoys writing about characters that are quirky, unusual, and mostly supernatural. It’s always a joy to read her stories because of this tendency. Another writer friend focuses on portraying the main females in their stories as strong and compassionate. Every writer has their own style, which is why reading good fiction is so exciting. You never know when you’ll find a new favorite author among the many wannabes out there! And for those who wish to write excellent stories, before adding the extras that will make your characters uniquely your own, there are only three basic things that are necessary to ensure that your main character can carry your story to a strong and happy conclusion.
The first personality trait your main character must have is to be a leader. Whether you’re working with an established character from a TV show or movie in fan fiction, or whether the characters in your tale are all from your own imagination, they must be capable of leading the rest of the characters through all the obstacles in your story to the powerful conclusion. And usually, though not necessarily in all cases, your main lead should be the one to save the day. (However, if they aren’t, you need to have an equally powerful and dynamic character do that for them.)
In Matthew White’s Silver Star, his main lead Virginia Lake saves Moonbase from an alien attack by staying in a heavily damaged Control Sphere to transfer the systems so that the missile launchers could take out the last of the incoming UFOs. She ends up having to be rescued herself by Col. Foster as she passes out due to lack of oxygen, but she had saved the base by that time. In the fourth story of my Shakespeare Saga, called Masters of Fate, my leading man does his job in spite of all risks and dies at the hands of the aliens, leaving his wife to have to find a way to change time so that he lives instead. In this scene onboard the alien spaceship, she has awakened and realized that her husband’s dead body is next to her on the floor of the craft.
Everything came back to her on a rush, and she had to forcibly swallow the moan that came from deep within her. She closed her eyes tightly and fought to contain the grief and anguish that wanted to overwhelm her. She had to keep a clear head. She had to fix this. She had no idea how, but that wasn’t important now. Now she just had to get a grip on the hell that she had awakened to. Or she’d never get the chance to change it.
Eventually she does come up with an idea to change the events that led to his death, and the reader gets the chance to share her worry when her husband in the past does not immediately go along with her plan.
She nodded absently. "Are you planning to go there?"
"Of course. This is far too important a development to do otherwise. You’re not worried, are you? I’ll be fine."
"Yes, Ed. I am worried," she said softly. "And you won’t be fine. If you go there tomorrow, you’ll die. Along with everyone else at that facility."
He leaned forward, lifting her chin to make her meet his eyes. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see there – worry, concern, even fear. But what he saw was an almost overwhelming grief. It shocked him to his core. So much so that his hand fell away from her face. "Chandra!"
She looked at him sadly. "Will you go, Ed? Knowing you’ll die?"
He ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to ask her if she was certain of her facts, but he only had to look at her face to know the answer to that one. But it made no sense.
"Why would they attack tomorrow? They’ve been on Earth over a week. They could have gone for the facility at any time."
"But you will be there tomorrow."
He shook his head. Not denying her conclusions. But denying that this could be about him.
However, she is an astute character and has many leadership qualities herself, so he does listen to her, and the story ends on a positive note. Which leads me to the next quality that is necessary for a truly interesting main character: intelligence. For me personally, most writers fail at this part of their stories by having their main characters act in a foolish way or one that contradicts their personality. I even know of one writer who delights in humiliating her main character. It makes me wonder why she even bothers to write about a character that she feels forced to belittle? Needless to say, I have not ever finished one of her stories and probably never will – until she learns to write stories that people would enjoy reading, that is.
Intelligent leading men and women – when written well – can make their readers swoon over them. My favorite part of any story written for my favorite TV show is when the main lead, Commander Straker, realizes (with only the barest amount of clues) what is truly happening in the story and thinks of a way to make it work in Earth’s favor. In Betrayal, written by Louise Oatridge, chapter one finds the commander realizing that something is wrong with the way the aliens seem to be able to know exactly when to attack. We don’t find out until much later what he has deduced, which makes for a very interesting story, but upon second reading it is clear that he knew from the first what had to be going on. It is this perspicacity that makes him a character that readers find so entertaining.
White enjoys writing about Col. Virginia Lake from UFO, who has strong leadership qualities herself and is also highly intelligent. In his story Best Friends, she is told that she is in the running to be promoted to Straker’s right hand, his executive officer. Later, in Silver Star, she gets the position. She is shown in the TV show to be exceptionally intelligent, since it’s her design that creates the Utronics equipment that allows SHADO to track the alien spacecrafts at faster than light speeds. I use that brilliance in several of my stories to show what an exceptional officer she is, especially in the second story from the Shakespeare Saga, called A Sparrow’s Providence. She realizes that the aliens must be up to something when they try to get to Antarctica, even though there is supposedly nothing they would want there.
Ginny finished her report and set it aside for the commander to read when he came back to work after the weekend. He’d probably ask her a lot of questions about the trajectory of the UFOs. It was the one thing that was still bothering her about the incident. What had the aliens wanted with Antarctica?
She just didn’t know.
Straker would probably tell her to find out, in that stern way he had of speaking when he was exasperated with someone. Well, she would just be one step ahead of him then. And maybe she’d even have some answers for him before he asked.
She picked up the phone and called Ford at his station. "Keith, can you get me the Cape Horn Tracking station?"
Although she wasn’t the main character in the story, her intelligence and foresight made it possible for the commander tofigure out what the aliens had done to destroy Earth in the future. If I ever write a UFO story with her as the lead, I know I would be in keeping with the basic elements of a dreamy leading character, since she has all three of them. One, leadership. Two, intelligence.
And three, compassion.
The third and most basic characteristic that is necessary for your leading character to possess is that they be human. And humane. Not all the time, of course. In fact, it’s better when it comes as a surprise to the reader when they see them acting compassionate. So anti-heroes or super-bitches do well here, since their normal personalities do not display this characteristic. This is another area where writers tend to fall down. I think they get so caught up in telling their tale that they forget that their people need to be just that – people. Three-dimensional people. Our humanity is what makes us special, is what makes us more than just animals in the wild. And writers who want to write really excellent stories will try hard to keep this characteristic in mind as they pen their tales.
My favorite character to write about isStraker from UFO.He’s no sweetie; in fact, the series portrays him as quite a difficult man. But occasionally, you get to see his humanity, his compassion in the face of every other hard decision he has to make to keep Earth safe. I use these rare glimpses throughout my stories. They set the seal on his character as a dreamy leading man, and one of the best I have ever seen.
Other writers do the same thing with their main leads. White’s Virginia Lake is quite hard-nosed and not a pushover by any means. But when the occasion calls for it, we get to see her tender heart under that strong surface. Oatridge portrays a very stern CommanderStraker in her fan fiction stories, but at least once in every story we get to witness his tender side, which makes her stories three-dimensional and exciting.
In my stories, I often show a commanding officer at the end of his rope, nearly to the point of being incapable of continuing his impossibly difficult work. But when he meets the right person (usually the perfect woman, although I’ve given him many different ones over the years), his hardness is tempered by the sweetness she draws out of him. To me, this is the epitome of a strong and glorious relationship, when two people bring out the best in each other. We see a lot of negative relationships on TV and in the movies; even toxic ones, where couples only destroy one another or bring out their worst characteristics. But I prefer to show what can happen when the right two people get together, and since I know about this phenomenon firsthand, it is easy for me to write about it. And I truly believe that it is why readers find my stories so uplifting to read.
For example, in The Catalyst I have the commander having to deal with the fact that the woman he loves is an android. More than his own concern about being emotionally attached to a robot is his worry about the fact that she had been programmed to be with him. Here we see his compassion coming through as he puts aside his own feelings to try to make things right for her, to release her from the programming that he feels is binding her and allow her to be free. In this scene, he tries to explain it to Dr. Jackson.
Straker leaned forward in his chair. "The question is this, Doctor. What about her?"
"Ah!" The doctor nodded his head. He had been expecting this question. "I realize it may be difficult for you to reconcile to yourself the fact that the woman you have come to know so intimately is an android. However . . ."
The commander interrupted him. "Robot, android. It hardly matters what you call it. The fact that you seem to be overlooking is that she is a sentient being, and as such, deserves to have a choice about her existence. They’ve taken that away from her by sending her here, programming her to do what they want without any regard for her wants, her desires. Shall we allow them to continue using her, Jackson? Or shall we use her ourselves to suit our own ends?"
The doctor stared at him in shock. Finally he said, "I’m sorry, Commander. It had not occurred to me to see the situation in that light."
"No, of course not," Straker said. "Your concern is for my safety and, by extension, Earth’s. Her people feel as you do. They are concerned with the redemption of planets and are willing to sacrifice the free will of their own creations to get what they want. Are their goals noble and good? Yes, of course. But their methods leave a great deal to be desired. None of them seem to be very worried about whether any of this is even what Pam wants. I can’t and won’t justify what they’re doing by being a part of it. Pam must be allowed to live according to her wishes, not theirs. And not even ours."
Of course, in the end he finds a way to have it all, but then, I’m the writer and I wanted it that way. But by showing his humanity by his willingness to sacrifice her companionship for her freedom, he establishes himself as a great leading man – and a perfectly dreamy one at that.
The three basic characteristics of a main lead that will make them strong and interesting enough to carry your story through to the finish are leadership, intelligence, and compassion. Attaining the skill of giving your main character these qualities will help your tales be more exciting and three-dimensional. And very enjoyable reading for those who come across your work.
Writing wonderful leading characters is something all writers should wish to do. If they don’t, they really shouldn’t be writing at all. Perhaps they should take up macrame instead.Once a writer understands the basic three elements necessary for strong and exciting main characters, they can add in all the fun quirks and personality traits that will make their leads uniquely theirs. Like Louise’s Straker who enjoys running. Or Matthew’s Ginny who loves to fly small planes. Or Dragon’s vampires or werewolves. There is no limit to the fun you can have. Just remember to get the basics down first.