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Blogs by Louise F Titchener
More on Protagonists 3/11/2014 6:12:57 AM
Everybody has a different method for creating a protagonist and there's no perfect formula. Here's some ideas I like to play with. Of course, there's physical appearance. Sometimes that comes first--a face in the crowd makes you (the writer) curious and gets you thinking. Sometimes appearance comes last and can only be arrived at once you've zeroed in on the personality. I think an interesting protagonist must have a frailty. Nobody's perfect and a hero or heroine shouldn't be, either. Often it's the frailty that makes the protagonist interesting and drives the story. For example, Toni Credella, the protagonist in my Baltimore mystery series (Buried in Baltimore, Burned in Baltimore, Bumped off in Baltimore) is severely dyslexic and can't read. Her problem affect her life in a variety of ways and adds an interesting element to the plot. Often she has to go to great lengths to overcome her problem. Also, the difficulties her dyslexia has made make her sympathetic to the problems of others. In the case of Oliver Redcastle, my historical mystery detective, it's guilt. Oliver has led a violent life. He's an ex-Union sharpshooter (Civil War) and ex Pinkerton operative. The violence in his past is part of his struggle to overcome the past.
