Is having a Lazy MC great?

[Aikii]

I wrote a novel and the MC is extremely Lazy... but do the readers kind of hook up to that kind of character or just say this story is pointless?

 

[Amelia-chan]

I wrote a novel and the MC is extremely Lazy... but do the readers kind of hook up to that kind of character or just say this story is pointless?

Most things in novels happen around or because of the MC. But you can write things around the other characters instead of the MC and force the lazy MC into acting.

 

[Eldoria]

It depends on how you portray a lazy protagonist, right? Well, if you create a lazy protagonist who somehow always wins and all the girls like him for no apparent reason, I'd definitely be disappointed reading a story like that.

Well, I can't really give you any good advice because my protagonist isn't lazy. But this anime might be a good reference for lazy protagonists who still have engaging plots:

Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu

The king of Natra has fallen ill, leaving the only hope for his kingdom to his son, Prince Wein Salema Arbalest. Known to be capable and wise, he is the perfect candidate to become the prince regent. However, if the prince has anything to say about the matter, he would rather sell off the...

myanimelist.net

 

[CharlesEBrown]

In his sci fi take on "1000 Arabian Nights and a Day" (Time Enough for Love), Robert Heinlein had Lazarus Long relate the "Story of the Man too Lazy to Fail"... One of the more memorable sections of the book, actually. So a lazy MC can work (Long himself might be a fairly lazy MC - a lot of his adventures happen around him rather than to him; he just happens to be in the right place at the right time for several thousand years to play multiple key roles in his Future History).
And then there's the self-professed lazy, cowardly criminal, Harry Flashman, who is motivated more by ladies, money, and keeping his own hide intact than ANYTHING else (usually in exactly that order), yet who winds up being (accidentally) a major hero of many British events (also one of the few survivors of Custer's Last Stand ... because he was kidnapped from the battlefield by one of his angry, illegitimate daughters just before things went south).

 

[Zenftiy]

I think it’s awesome, I love that kind of mc. Watching the main guy just chill while everyone else is dead serious is kinda cool. Tho tbh, that type of mc is tricky. If they don’t have a goal, what pushes the story forward?

BUTT, you can balance it out with the side characters.

Like in one pnch man, saitama is op and super lazy, but the series is still fun because the focus isn’t just on him. The other characters have their own goals and stories, so they feel like the mcs of their own lives too. So yea, maybe try that approach if you want your lazy mc to still be interesting.

(Buttt don’t mind me if you already have another plan. I’m not a pro writer. I just sharing my two cents lol)

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Usually no, unless if it is about them getting better or growing at some point. Though it depends on how it is written.

 

[SirContro]

My mc is super lazy, but also super competetive so you'll have parts of the story where he's pushing the plot foeward while he's getting stronger followed by parts where he's not motivated to do anything but by that point he's already gotten involved with enough events to come back to bite him that the story is not halted by his desire to not do anything.

 

[Roney]

I wrote a novel and the MC is extremely Lazy... but do the readers kind of hook up to that kind of character or just say this story is pointless?

I like seeing characters that are generally lazy going above and beyond when it comes to people they care about only to immediately fall back into their laziness.

 

[RainyLiquid]

If the story is good, sure.

 

[Aikii]

It depends on how you portray a lazy protagonist, right? Well, if you create a lazy protagonist who somehow always wins and all the girls like him for no apparent reason, I'd definitely be disappointed reading a story like that.

Well, I can't really give you any good advice because my protagonist isn't lazy. But this anime might be a good reference for lazy protagonists who still have engaging plots:

Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu

The king of Natra has fallen ill, leaving the only hope for his kingdom to his son, Prince Wein Salema Arbalest. Known to be capable and wise, he is the perfect candidate to become the prince regent. However, if the prince has anything to say about the matter, he would rather sell off the...

myanimelist.net

Well I kind of wrote a novel with a lazy mc but do you think he is somehow too lazy to hook up readers?

Me? Loved by Luck? Yeah, I Don’t know About That

Lairn Elcrest is just a lazy guy who loves to sleep and mess around. He has no idea that the world itself seems to favor him coincidences, timing, even miracles just… happen. No presence, no aura, no ambition. And yet, somehow, he keeps shocking everyone with “accidental” victories. In a...

www.scribblehub.com

if you dont mind here's the novel

I like seeing characters that are generally lazy going above and beyond when it comes to people they care about only to immediately fall back into their laziness.

ohh i see... if you dont mind, you can read this. It also has a lazy mc that want to rely on others. I'm kind of somehow new to this novel thing so if its genuinely bad, you can tell me straight ahead

Me? Loved by Luck? Yeah, I Don’t know About That

Lairn Elcrest is just a lazy guy who loves to sleep and mess around. He has no idea that the world itself seems to favor him coincidences, timing, even miracles just… happen. No presence, no aura, no ambition. And yet, somehow, he keeps shocking everyone with “accidental” victories. In a...

www.scribblehub.com

I think it’s awesome, I love that kind of mc. Watching the main guy just chill while everyone else is dead serious is kinda cool. Tho tbh, that type of mc is tricky. If they don’t have a goal, what pushes the story forward?

BUTT, you can balance it out with the side characters.

Like in one pnch man, saitama is op and super lazy, but the series is still fun because the focus isn’t just on him. The other characters have their own goals and stories, so they feel like the mcs of their own lives too. So yea, maybe try that approach if you want your lazy mc to still be interesting.

(Buttt don’t mind me if you already have another plan. I’m not a pro writer. I just sharing my two cents lol)

that's one of way of putting it... ~thanks really, it kind of motivated me to continue writing... btw I already wrote it though it only has 2 chapter... for now:)

 

[LightHikari]

I like lazy protagonists and would like to see more of it.

 

[Sekstifire]

I wrote a novel and the MC is extremely Lazy... but do the readers kind of hook up to that kind of character or just say this story is pointless?

I think the main things to avoid are:

1. Letting an MC do what they want when what they want is not interesting to read about.
2. Letting the MC whine too much about doing stuff that is interesting to read about.
3. Having the MC thing MC doesn't want to do be something a lot of people wish they could do. Like learn magic or ride a dragon.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Depends how lazy...

Are they lazy yet still get things done? Like the old adage, 'If you want to find a better way to do something, hire a lazy worker.'

or are they just some bum who couldnt care less about anything or helping anyone but themselves?

I could get behind the first type, but the second, Ill pass.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Just stumbled on a story on PocketFM where the MC claims to be lazy. He actually did replace a lazy version of himself - Ethan Clark was a scam artist in his first life. In another world, he was the son of two moderately successful ghostbusters; when his parents died, he tried to take over the firm, but found out they were just keeping the ghosts trapped in their offices and he couldn't deal with that. Lazy Ethan committed suicide at the same time scammer Ethan choked to death on a piece of pizza - and scammer Ethan woke up in lazy Ethan's life and tried to keep the ghostbusting company going... and failed until he got a System. So yeah, it's one of those...
He keeps claiming to be a lazy coward but then acting like anything but - and IS always motivated by the paycheck first, honoring promises second, keeping himself alive third.

 

[Wenlock]

I find lazy MCs quite funny. Like the entire world is burning down in flames and they are too lazy to get into it. That level of 'chill guy' is something I aspire to be ?