The Writer’s vocabulary — Main Characters
What is the role of main characters in a story?
The hard job of carrying the story
Main characters are the movers of the story.
There are many different types of characters in a story. Each type helps with a different aspect of the narration.
Some characters are only there for colour. They help create the context and enliven the setting, and though they may be very remarkable, they don’t impact the story in any way.
Some other characters are there to help other characters make their journey. Their actions are important, but not impactful in a direct way. The story would exist anyway, even without them.
Then, there are characters whose existence is so essential that the story wouldn’t exist without them.
These characters have a strong stage presence because they actually cause events to happen. The plot moves from a stable situation to different crises because of these characters’ decisions and desires. These are the characters who will make the most consequential decisions and will eventually move the story to its end in consequence to those decisions.
They are the main characters, the characters on whose shoulders the story mainly rests.
On a structural level, the main character will carry an important arc, including the main plot of the story.
One main character or many main characters?
In simpler stories — like shorts stories — there will be only one arc: the main plot.
Therefore there will be only one main character, the characters whose action and decisions will move the plot along, and the one who will be most affected by the story.
Main characters are the movers of the story.
But in more complex stories — like novels or series of novels — many arcs occur at the same time. Not all these arcs will be essential. There will be smaller arcs focusing on secondary characters that will explore a theme, for example. Or smaller arcs related to an episode inside the story, maybe with its own specific characters.
But some other arcs will be essential to the unfolding and meaning of the story. Even if they are not the main plot, they are so closely connected to it to influence it in a meaningful way.
These are main arcs, and the characters who carry these arcs are the main characters.
These characters will make decision essential to the story. Their life will be impacted by the story’s events in a meaningful way. These are the characters that will change the most in the course of the story.
Take away one of more of these characters (there might be quite a few in a complex story), and the story won’t be the same.
Protagonist
Normally, among the main characters, one will be more prominent, generally because their decision will affect the main plot deeply, and because the main plot is mainly concerned with their destiny. We could say that the story is about them.
These are the protagonists.
While there may be many main characters in a story, there is generally only one protagonist, the character who best incarnates the theme and the flow of the narration.
Also, the protagonist directly opposes the antagonist. Their dynamics create the main conflict, therefore the very existence of the story.
How to write a character that impacts the story? By giving them not just history and character personality traits but also a strong narrative role. Create characters that leave a mark. Give them a strong desire, make them fight for it. That’s how to create memorable characters. Download The Protagonist Builder, a free worksheet and start creating your character right away.
Sarah Zama wrote her first story when she was nine. Fourteen years ago, when she started her job in a bookshop, she discovered books that address the structure of a story and she became addicted to them. Today, she’s a dieselpunk author who writes fantasy stories historically set in the 1920s. Her life-long interest in Tolkien has turned quite nerdy recently.
She writes about all her passions on her blog https://theoldshelter.com/
