10 Ways to Introduce Your Main Character (Writing Advice)

Today I discuss the best ways to introduce characters who are everyday, average people. Examples from Breaking Bad, The Boys, Terminator, and more!

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[WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Please excuse the blurry camera footage in today's video. Believe me, I'm as frustrated with my camera as you are.

[aprilboden]

Sarah Connor. As a mother of a child with special needs, I felt I could relate to her, when you're challenged to protect your child who is especially vulnerable you have to get a lot smarter and tougher than you could have ever imagined.

[blinkbright]

I'll be honest, I love stories with characters who are introduced as perfectly normal people, and never really become heroes or villains, but just bystanders who are forced to live in and experience and learn from this utterly bizarre and strange world that they're put into. They remain "normal" the entire time, but eventually come to accept the world that they're in and even learn to adapt to it. It's the whole, "What would a normal person think of this scenario?" aspect that I love.

[gamewriteeye]

Additional ways to introduce your main character/villain:
1) Seemingly random thing but so cleverly hidden in plain sight - The Dark Knight heist scene with The Joker
2) Ordinary becomes supernatural - Harry Potter and The Sorceror's Stone
3) Reveal Best Character Traits/Flaws In First Scene They're Introduced - Iron Man - Tony Stark is a Billionaire, Playboy, etc.
4) Climactic Battle (Faux climax) - Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
5) Start With The Darkest Moment or Horror - You're Not My Mother

All good examples, and there's plenty more depending on the genres.

[faithful]

This is one of the best videos I’ve seen on this topic. It’s very hard to find any writing advice that doesn’t say generic, non-specific things like “introduce your protagonist’s main plot goal”, or “show your character in a normal, everyday scene" (which is actually bad advice). I like how you introduced 10 completely different things and most of them I’ve never heard before.

[doormatt]

Luke Skywalker is an awesome introduction of a seemingly every day character, who turns out to our hero. They use a ton of these methods in the beginning of A New Hope. They introduce Vader before Luke. He is introduced in a moment of weakness, wishing to be off the planet with his friends and stuck doing mundane tasks. He's surrounded by family and talking about friends. Then his journey is launched when his family is killed. And it's star wars, so even though we can identify with him as an average character, he's in a very different galaxy than ours. So that's numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, and 10. So they used 6 of the 10 methods described here... and man does it work as an introduction for one of the most beloved characters of all time.

[vpnightshadepersonal]

Excellent tips as usual, Brandon. My current WIP (Book 6 of my current series) I introduce my villain in the prologue at the deathbed of his mother. Then he doesn't take the stage again until about 30% into the book. It's something I have never done before and I am excited to see how it will be received by my readers.

[BrandonCase]

Hahaha "We all want something. If we didn't, we'd collapse on the floor and die."
Excellent delivery 🔥

[SysterYster]

Not gonna lie. The flash-forward, I think works better in movies than in books (because it's more fast paced). Also, embarrassing the MC can work, but it can also feel like a cheap trick to get sympathy, or, make the reader feel embarrassed, which is not good. So I'd advise being a bit careful with that one to not make it too cringe.

[TimberWolf_]

3:54 I don’t know if this would work, but in one of my stories, I decided to make the main character a zombie, and the main antagonists is their hunger. I introduced the main character before they were a zombie, talking to a close friend, and I introduced the main antagonist (the characters hunger for flesh) when the main character was dying in the arms of their close friend they were talking to in the beginning

[AllAhabNoMoby]

I am currently working on my first novel. I am using Google docs. And now YT is recommending me your videos. I don't like YT much but I have to be grateful for this recommendation, as well as for your videos. 👍

[_Uno_Cinco_]

Hiya! I’m making a simple comic about my version of the underworld. The main character is a young grim reaper learning how to do his job. I’ve been struggling on how to introduce characters, and I think this really helped.

[annett]

I used the first tip in my story without even knowing it's a good way for introducing my characters. I feel proud of myself)

[WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Who's your favorite character who starts off as an everyday person? Let us know!

[FindingMomo]

One my favourite films of all time to introduce an average, ordinary character with a lack of any traits before he's unexpected journey is Hiccup H. Haddok III from How to Train Your Dragon.

[DIGITAL_ARTS]

Thank you for the advice! I’m a horror writer and this really help me with a tricky part of my story!

[FisherBros]

Honestly, one of the best and most recent examples of the first tip has to be The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Illumination. one minute in and we're introduced to Bowser, showing his massive army, defeating another army (of penguins), burning an ice castle to the ground, and stealing the power star. then we get introduced to the Mario Bros. who are your average Brooklyn Bros just starting a plumbing business.

[noodlegod]

I’m writing a story where the villain and hero don’t encounter each other in person until almost halfway thru the story. (I plan things out - a lot) Now I’m rethinking my whole first half, since I’ve been rather stuck on where and how to bring in the villain.

Thanks for all your videos, you give super advice that visibly benefits so many of us.

[fragwagon]

Good stuff. I'm happy to say my draft is ticking many of these boxes for once!

[ZiptoZapto]

These are some genuinely great tips! As someone who loves to make some off the wall stories and scenarios that just mash everything I've looked at in the past month, I've always found I struggle with openings. Once I get into the meat, I can keep it going just fine, but these tips will help greatly.