The Too-Perfect Protagonist
I am digging Instagram, guys!
So much so, that I joined yet another monthly challenge: the August Author WIP Challenge. Every day in August, we posted something about our Work In Progress, or something about us as Authors. And everything was going smoothly until Day 5.
Day’s 5’s prompt was figuring out witch of the Seven Deadly Sins the MCs identified with.
I have a trio of Main Characters. And I didn’t even have to think twice about which sin Art would identify with- his temper screamed WRATH immediately. But it wasn’t as easy to figure out which ones Ike and Mags identified with.
On Day 13- What the MCs feared- Art’s fear was, again, no-brainer. And again, trying to figure out what Ike and Mags’ fears were was much harder to do.
Day 20 was MCs favorite books. This time, Mags was the easy one with her airship research books. Ike’s was a long shot, and Art… Well, I really had no idea.
Thankfully I didn’t have to think about Day 23- MCs favorite TV show- because my WIP is Steampunk, and the Electronic Television hadn’t been invented, yet.
This challenge definitely had me question one of my MCs: What exactly does Ike do throughout the novel? Is he a dreaded Gary Stu character?
The Mary Sue/Gary Stu character is described as too-perfect, always knows exactly what to do in any situation, has no flaws, no bad habits, and rarely runs into any real trouble. They are boring to read about because there is no struggle and no real conflict about them.
Ike doesn’t always know what to do in any situation. But he’s usually quiet and observing because he’s thinking of ways to get out of said situations. He definitely has flaws (not sure about bad habits… they never surfaced in my WIP), and runs into plenty of trouble. There are a few chapters all about his struggles and conflicts.
Does that make him a well-rounded character? Maybe… Maybe not.
Hopefully my Alpha Readers will pinpoint the too-perfect flaws in him (if any), or maybe explain to me why it’s so hard for me to answer questions about him.
In the meantime, check out my Instagram account, and be sure to follow @thecommutingwriter, @thevanessaluisa, and @a.d_silver, the amazing hosts of the @augustauthorwipchallenge. There will be another challenge in November!
What are your thoughts on the Too-Perfect Protagonist? Let me know in the comments!
Raine