Did you have to work hard to create your central character? Or did they just seem to emerge? I had a clear visual for my protagonist, from the very beginning, she was just there. She’s called Martha and I will refer to her often throughout this blog. For those that have not read my earlier blogs, my novel is a cosy mystery, and Martha is a small town business owner who finds herself attempting to solve a murder.

As I started working through the first few chapters of my novel, I thought I already had a solid formulation for Martha’s personality and general demeanour. BUT…then I heard a chapter on James Thayer’s podcast – Essential Guide to Writing a Novel, where he talks about the task of developing the protagonist, and I found myself backtracking. I realised there was still work to do, and I should not skip or rush it, because Martha is so explicitly key to the success of my book!

James Thayer suggests 5 objectives to consider when crafting out your main character. I do not want to claim James Thayer’s advice as my own in any way, so must be clear that this blog is about my learning from his podcast. As discussed in an earlier blog, I find his guidance so very helpful, and I want to share this with you all. I will do this by explaining how I applied his teachings to the development of Martha.

James Thayer suggests the following 5 considerations when developing your protagonist:

1. Kind when it counts
2. Brave when they need to be
3. Active, not passive
4. Should not be a fool
5. Ability to grow

Number 1 – ‘Kind when it counts’ – I felt that I had this well covered, kindness was the first trait that sprung to mind, when Martha was created in my head. But I did think on the ‘when it counts’ part…I have concluded that Martha’s kindness and goodwill needs to shine through at the right moments in the book, but not in all the moments. I don’t want her to be a total pushover, that will not make her the lead character my story requires. The kindness should not be too overwhelming or governing for Martha, but she is infinitely kind, and this will be evident at frequent junctures.

Martha’s kind nature allows me to initiate opportunities for her. She is well liked by the small town community and people find her approachable and a good listener. They open up and share information with her, which will aid Martha in her quest to solve a mysterious crime.

Number 2 – ‘Brave when they need to be’ – I have not fully worked out how to portray this in Martha, but she is going to be attempting to solve a murder, so I feel confident I can inject bravery into her character, because she will face danger at various points. I’ve also considered ways I could do this earlier on in the story…possibly by referring to past adversity for Martha. I can see that these more complex dimensions of Martha will strengthen her character considerably. I also believe they will make her more appealing and enchanting to the reader. I haven’t yet worked out the role of Martha’s family in the book, they could be a way to introduce earlier adversity, or perhaps a friendship that went wrong (with someone in Martha’s tight-knit community), with Martha showing the courage to forgive and offer an olive branch.

Number 3 – ‘Active, not passive’ – Martha was too passive when I started this book. She has to push the plot forward, make decisions, and be the driving force for solving the mystery. I reflect on this often to make sure Martha is being assertive when interacting with others, and taking the lead in her investigatory endeavours. Martha has two sidekicks in my book, and without the advice in James Thayer’s podcast, I think these sidekicks would have ended up bossing Martha around, which would not have been right for my story. I talk more about the sidekicks towards the end of this blog.

Number 4 – ‘Should not be a fool’ – I quickly dismissed this when thinking about Martha, she is no fool. She runs a successful business, she has a nice home, she has close and loyal friends, and she has hobbies that enhance her life. I envy Martha in fact 😆. James Thayer explains that the readers need to respect the protagonist, they will not care or want to accompany a character they do not regard highly. This makes so much sense to me…a fool can quickly become tiresome and annoying can’t they! And that is not someone you want to journey through a story with. He also explains that the protagonist does not need to be brilliant or smart, and they can still do something foolish – this resonates a lot when I think about my own favourite characters from past reads. I looked up the definition of a fool – Google tells me a fool is someone who acts unwisely or does not care for the consequences of an action. This definition confirms for me that I don’t need to worry about Martha being perceived in this way, she is thoughtful, considerate, and she has good judgement.

Number 5 – ‘Ability to grow’ – Yes, this one I felt confident on. By the end of my novel, I anticipate Martha’s ability to grow will become very apparent, but I have pondered if this is enough. I’d like to show this side of Martha before the finale, which will require at least one small win fairly early on, either through her investigatory efforts, or something related to her personal life. I will make sure this starts to materialise after the first few chapters, once readers have gotten to know and understand her. I believe this will instil confidence in Martha and keep momentum going for her mission to solve the small town murder.

The constant awareness and reflection of these 5 objectives is necessary, because I know it will be easy to overlook them and get absorbed into other aspects of the story. As I continue to develop Martha throughout the book, I will need to keep critically reviewing these 5 dimensions of her character, to check I am threading them through Martha’s actions and the way she interacts with others.

What do you think about these character traits? What have been the key traits that you have focused on when developing your own protagonist? I hope that consideration of these 5 dimensions will help you to further develop your own central character.

I like Martha a lot, but I think I’ve enjoyed developing her two sidekicks the most, who I am sure will come up more in a later blog. Martha is more composed, calm and reserved, but her two sidekicks have quite different personalities, giving more balance to the narrative as the mystery unfolds. They had to be this way, in order for Martha to achieve breakthrough moments with her investigation. Martha’s best friend Lennie is bold and confident, she does not hold back, and this makes her the ideal sidekick for someone like Martha (most of the time!), although Martha’s more measured approach means she is often unaware of this. Martha finds herself trying to talk the fearless Lennie out of risky situations (to no avail). The other sidekick, Pippa, is the ‘Rachel’ friend that I talk about in an earlier blog (about basing characters on friends). Pippa is insecure and a little weird, she often seeks out advice and reassurance from Martha. After a cocktail or two, she will ask inappropriate questions and unwittingly stumble across new information, aiding Martha’s investigation. I like to think of Martha like Minnie Mouse, Lennie as Daisy Duck, and Pippa has to be Goofy. Have you balanced out your main character with trusty and lovable sidekicks? Or perhaps it is the other way around for you and your sidekicks are the voice of reason? Please feel free to share your own experiences of character development, all comments are very welcome. I’d love to hear about how this process has panned out for you📝.

Please also let me know if there is an area of novel writing that you’d like to hear more about. If I have relevant experiences/ideas/resources to share, I will try to write a blog on this for you.

Happy writing everyone 😊

Tabitha 💟