Writing Vulnerable Protagonist

[NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent]

How to write a vulnerable protagonist? I don't mean in just emotional sense, but as a whole. 90% of novels I read have this protagonist that always has the upper hand, whether we realise it now or later every circumstances and encounter makes him/her ridiculously more powerful and invulnerable.


How to avoid that? I mean how to make a protagonist that always is one or two steps away from danger?

The few things I assume are :

- Every clash/fight/encounter he/she loses something and gains something. Make it a dilemma if it was a profit or a loss adventure

- Have the protagonist ignorant of threats brewing, have the reader's know but the protagonist is oblivious to it and at the end...pays for it.

- Keep protagonist in poor conditions, like financially broke, apocalyptic environment, etc...

- Have a doomsday clock, not literally but in a sense have protagonist always racing against the clock to save their arse.


How to balance these though? How to keep these points, yet make sure their survival out of it doesn't look like a deus ex machina?

I don't want a OP protagonist or a Weak protagonist always surviving at mercy of fate. How to make it believable of their own capabilities and weaknesses?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Indicterra]

Ohhhh take inspiration from that MC dude from Rent a girlfriend.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Get the protagonist to have a meldown with her son and the story ended with her son beheading her. :3

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

Make them have certain weaknesses and strengths. Omniscient Reader Viewpoint has a protagonist that doesn’t know EVERYTHING, but his strength is that he knows a lot. That’s why he can build up losses until his ultimate victory against an opponent that matters. He only wins when it’s important he doesn’t lose.

Specialists in their field are OP, but aren’t good at other places. Bring up those other places consistently enough for him to not seem OP.

 

[esThr]

In my opinion, the best example of something like this would be the mc of "worthless regression" the manhwa. Man was regressed yet drags his feet in the mud just to catch up and is always struggling every fight to win. Also manages to have some great moments too. Definitely a great example of a vulnerable mc done right

 

[TheEldritchGod]

The problem is, it isn't popular.
Look at my sig file. Read HKN. the first 20 chapters. That's how you take an MC and make him vulnerable. You keep kicking him in the teeth.

 

[NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent]

Get the protagonist to have a meldown with her son and the story ended with her son beheading her. :3

The fuc you smokin homey?! Change your dealer man... That's twisted af

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Readers have an edge tolerance. It’s different for every reader, but it’s basically how long you can keep them on edge before they drop. I think this is also why Mystery is less popular in WN format. If you aren’t consistent, the readers could be on edge for days or weeks. They don’t want that, so they’d drop.

 

[Sylver]

Write them like a real person.

We are all vulnerable people, set with our own boundaries and reluctant to let people in as we grow older. If you want to write someone who is vulnerable, make them relatable. People can be clumsy, they can make mistakes, sometimes we are determined to follow one path and are reluctant to admit that it didn't work out. We lose battles, we fight for the wrong things, we fall down but we persevere.

We don't have to be the strongest, but even those people we look up to can have relatable weaknesses. Like a chosen one who buckles under external and internal pressure, lacking confidence in themselves and doubting whether they're the right choice.

 

[CheertheSecond]

How to write a vulnerable protagonist? I don't mean in just emotional sense, but as a whole. 90% of novels I read have this protagonist that always has the upper hand, whether we realise it now or later every circumstances and encounter makes him/her ridiculously more powerful and invulnerable.


How to avoid that? I mean how to make a protagonist that always is one or two steps away from danger?

The few things I assume are :

- Every clash/fight/encounter he/she loses something and gains something. Make it a dilemma if it was a profit or a loss adventure

- Have the protagonist ignorant of threats brewing, have the reader's know but the protagonist is oblivious to it and at the end...pays for it.

- Keep protagonist in poor conditions, like financially broke, apocalyptic environment, etc...

- Have a doomsday clock, not literally but in a sense have protagonist always racing against the clock to save their arse.


How to balance these though? How to keep these points, yet make sure their survival out of it doesn't look like a deus ex machina?

I don't want a OP protagonist or a Weak protagonist always surviving at mercy of fate. How to make it believable of their own capabilities and weaknesses?

Any help is appreciated.

Have you read "Weak Hero" by any chance?

 

[Succubiome]

I think danger has to come true sometimes to feel genuinely uncertain and dangerous.

So since it sounds like you aren't willing to kill your protagonist off, I'd advise focusing on the danger of the protagonist's death as little as possible, and instead having them face other potential consequences, and have a mixture of victories and losses and mixed results.

 

[J_Chemist]

I write as if my MC is on a roller coaster. Kick him in the dick, have him face an enemy that is difficult but not impossible, or foreshadow that he's got a difficult fight coming up. Then you ride it. Slow build with failures here and there but a steady uptick in growth. Climax with the boss/problem you set up previously, then back down the other side and repeat the process.

You don't want to do it so much that it's constant, as once your character is capable of existing at a certain level, you need to maintain that consistent strength going forward. The issue is that you end up forced into the typical LitRPG conundrum: Slime Killer building to God Killer. It's an inevitability as you need to keep feeding stronger and stronger mobs to your MC.

Hence, instead, get creative. Rather than develop raw physical might, one might look into other things such as intellectual challenges or a "power down" arc where the MC loses strength or even a limb and needs to adjust.

It's really not that hard. It really isn't. Just don't let the power creep get away from you and you'll be fine.

 

[Story_Marc]

Does this help? I can easily follow up on this, though.

 

[NineHeadHeavenDevouringSerpent]

Does this help? I can easily follow up on this, though.

Yes! This is exactly what I was looking for! Your videos are so good man!

 

[Story_Marc]

Yes! This is exactly what I was looking for! Your videos are so good man!

Now if only YouTube felt the same. Regardless, I'm glad it could help!