What traits should a protagonist have to make readers invest in them?

[CheertheSecond]

Since I will upload my story onto SH, I consider it's best to hear what SH dwellers have.

 

[LuoirM]

Stupidity

Every black hair isekai MC has it for a reaSon

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Forums are non-representative.

 

[Pasta-Gal]

Flaws, Soooo many flaws. Make them just real pathetic.

But actually usually just a dash of trauma can make a character compelling. The flaw really depends on what the character's arc(if they have one) is.

 

[Fairemont]

Hmm...

Generally, some sort of struggle is required. To be invested, you need a reason to invest. If they never struggle with anything, be it themselves or something around them, then there is nothing for a reader to latch onto.

 

[StoneInky]

Since I will upload my story onto SH, I consider it's best to hear what SH dwellers have.

I like mine introspective, but I am likely in the minority.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

They should be a dumb witch.

 

[Nezothe]

i like it when mc not pervs or average looking (and if they don't look average, they're not arrogant)

 

[JayMark]

MC should be a melon farmer or have a melon farmer friend who is always present.

Very big fruits. We're talking ginormous round honking honey dew melons. Some major badonkas. Mountainous Gaboonkas! They need to be featured prominently on the cover. I mean some huge honking badonkers. Like watermelons.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Traits, Lots of them.

 

[Edenc2708]

The very core, they need an author.

 

[CheertheSecond]

i like it when mc not pervs or average looking (and if they don't look average, they're not arrogant)

so good looking mc

 

[beast_regards]

Web novels love "smart protagonist".

The "smart protagonist", despite the name, isn't actually intelligent, but having all knowledge necessary to immediately resolve any issue presented.

In other words, they have a guide, and speed run the solution as much as they can.

The overpowered protagonist, which is different from the "smart" one, also can resolve the issue immediately, but does it through brute forcing the problem.

You could imagine the overpowered protagonist as one who does have all items and all powers in the RPG game from the start.

The smart protagonist, however, doen't. Instead, he knows how to obtain them in the first ten minutes through using some clever exploit, or knowing where to find it, or what to do. Where they get the meta knowledge is never explained and thus attributed to "smarts".

 

[dukerino]

A goal, and the drive to achieve it. Especially in webfiction I think a proactive character works better than a reactive character.

 

[ZanderDander]

Make them genuine. People can tell when characters are just hollow shells filled with whatever the creator(s) think will make them more popular. No amount of surface level qualities can substitute a character written with heart. If you can make people empathize, you'll have them going 'he's just like me' or 'I wish I was more like him'. Make them feel.

 

[soupsabaw]

Well, everyone has their personal preferences. Some people like asshole MCS like Li Luo (Dawning). But if you think about it, the bigger and well-known series typically have genuine, good-hearted, good-natured MCs. Like Naruto, Hinata (Haikyuu!!), Tanjirou (Demon Slayer), and Xie Lian (TGCF). Maybe even silly MCs like Wei Wuxian (MDZS).

But I hate doing what everyone else does... I'm personally a bit tired of all these MCs who have never done a bad thing in their life. Show me some good but slightly twisted MCs.