How do you write a believable human protagonist?

[SsemouyOnan]

Asking for my pet lizard.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Do not write human protagonists, they are overdone.

 

[Daitengu]

-can lose
-has opinions
-has preferences
-has desires
-has strengths and weaknesses

The main one is the first one. You'll never have a believable protag if they always win. Cause I damn sure feel life is 90% failing.

 

[Syringe]

Don't make everyone have the same opinions as them.

Make sure they have their own voice/identity in that regard, or else they'll appear like some marry/garry sue where the world is magically single minded / thinks just like them / believes the protag. is unquestionably correct in their world views.

 

[NotaNuffian]

For your sake, keep the bad traits at minimum and make sure he/ she does not go over the moral event horizon.

 

[Domoviye]

Write a cat, give the cat more insecurities, eccentricities and stupidity, throw in a love triangle, and you've got a human.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

First of all, listen to us when we talk.

 

[Le_ther]

Just like in business. Make your character having a SWOT analysis a.k.a having a strength, weakness, opportunity(the way your plot works), threats(villains, scenarios, and etc.)

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Have them breathe. That's the big one. I know several dumb fuckers who exposed themselves when they forgot to breathe. Also, do make sure they clean out every scale. I know, it sounds basic, but you won't believe how many folks get exposed when they don't check their skin costumes

 

[Puji-Maki]

 

[Nekroz]

Part of being human is not knowing things. So make it so that your protagonist doesn't know everything and sometimes come to the wrong decision/assumption. But not all the time.

 

[IanWhite2105]

Most of them are believable in the right context, it is the situations that readers tend to criticize. Keep the personality of the character, how their day/week/month was going, and the connection they have to the situation in mind when writing their reactions.

The reason why any kind of person is believable is because they have/do exist in real life, let alone in a fictional setting. You could also try to write them to fit the story and not the other way around. If you can think they would act like that then it is probable that it would happen.

A person who has been beat down every step of the way are unlikely to persevere without help (i.e. basically any mainstream anime protagonist). People who have high stakes in the situation are likely to freeze when things are tense (i.e choosing the life of a child over your spouse). People also act differently after a sudden change in their personal bubble. So a normally peaceful person is likely to seek vengeance after the loss of a loved one and vice versa.

 

[miyoga]

-can lose
...
-has strengths and weaknesses

The main one is the first one. You'll never have a believable protag if they always win. Cause I damn sure feel life is 90% failing.

Jumping in here with this tidbit. These 2 from Dai don't apply if you're writing Chuck Norris because he can't lose and has no weaknesses. Then again, you don't write a Chuck Norris story, it writes you. Beyond the old joke, this right here is what you need to keep in mind:

Most of them are believable in the right context, it is the situations that readers tend to criticize. Keep the personality of the character, how their day/week/month was going, and the connection they have to the situation in mind when writing their reactions.

The reason why any kind of person is believable is because they have/do exist in real life, let alone in a fictional setting. You could also try to write them to fit the story and not the other way around. If you can think they would act like that then it is probable that it would happen.

A person who has been beat down every step of the way are unlikely to persevere without help (i.e. basically any mainstream anime protagonist). People who have high stakes in the situation are likely to freeze when things are tense (i.e choosing the life of a child over your spouse). People also act differently after a sudden change in their personal bubble. So a normally peaceful person is likely to seek vengeance after the loss of a loved one and vice versa.

As a reader, I don't care if you're writing a human/elf/beast/demon/god/male/female/whatever character. I want to see individuality or, if you must have hive-mindedness, absolutely ridiculous scenarios with insanely humorous results. Some of the best stories that I've read on here and in other places have the authors making sure that the voice of each major and minor character is unique and doesn't get lost in the craziness of everyone being together. The only time that the voices "get lost" is when something profound happens to the character in the story or something happens to the author that gives them a new perspective on things or otherwise has a profound impact on their world view.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Humans are social animals, but also tribal in nature. Make sure to give your character a small number of loyal companions who would literally die for them, and who they would die for. Then, give them a small number of hated villains and/or rivals who they can ritualistically contend with through combat or other forms of competition. Once your human achieves victory over their rival/love interest, have them become extremely emotional and sexually assault the nearest human of the opposite gender. Or if it's a really important victory, it can be the same gender- but they must immediately regret it.