5 SECRETS that Will Change How You Write Your MAIN CHARACTER (Writing Advice)

[@IkeMastree]

Having 2 characters representing two conflicting ideals and each learning the value of the other is a trope I will always love.

[@imaginepageant]

Brandon, never stop the “Get ready.” It’s magic.

[@cammarin]

Yeah! I always get pumped up after hearing it.

[@CougarBen02]

After he said it I was thinking, “That’s a great intro line and he OWNS it.”

[@deckardcanine]

To me, one of the hardest aspects of writing is making characters broadly relatable but not too predictable. Your #5 helps.

[@futurestoryteller]

Some writers get too caught up on giving characters contradictory attributes and write a batallion of unlikeable hypocrites. I think these "contradictions" can be perceptual. A serial killer who's a very good father is unexpected, but the two roles don't necessarily have much relationship to each other to begin with. Anything plausible that works against a cliche will pretty much serve this function.

[@DarinMcGrew]

I enjoy characters who (on the surface) just want to be left alone, but who (deep down) are compelled to do the right thing, to help those who can't help themselves. Captain Reynolds and Simon Tam both fit this pattern in Firefly. I've just started watching The Expanse, but Jim Holden seems to be following this pattern too.

[@futurestoryteller]

Jim Holden is 125% this guy.

[@MumRah]

Wait wait wait! I'm not ready! 😂

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

GET READY

[@Iona_Roe_Deer]

@@WriterBrandonMcNultyhe said it, he said the line. 😁😍

[@errantwinds-up8uu]

Wellll my favourite main character (among admittedly many main characters in the story) is Aragorn. Healthy masculinity, thank you.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Nice... I'm planning to discuss Aragorn in my next Bad vs Good video

[@smrndalodz7182]

A movie where 2 characters both seem to be willing to dispense justice (as they see it) I'd say Unforgiven. Eastwood's Munny is a former outlaw, and Little Bill (Gene Hackman) is the sheriff. Seeing Munny as an older, reformed man with a family makes him sympathetic, and from the beginning we see Little Bill not have a real concern for justice, more with just 'order' and the law. But both characters feel that they're in the right. The film really seems to work with the 'the villain is the hero of their own story' rule. You get 2 characters facing off who seem destined to face off.

[@austrociking4345]

Edmond Dantes from the Count of Monte Cristo

[@clementine9]

Such a great complex character! Dumas was a master ❤️

[@ludovico6890]

That's a real tough question. Michael Corleone (I know I keep answering your question of the day with The Godfather), Don Giovanni in the eponymous opera, Alex in A Clockwork Orange, Claudius in I, Claudius...

[@robertthomas6363]

Favorite: James T. Kirk. ... "Not chess, Mr. Spock. ... Poker." ... "Leave bigotry in your quarters; there's no room for it on the bridge." ... "He did exactly what I would have done. I won't underestimate him again." ... "He got his head caught in a mechanical rice picker." ... "Here it comes, Khan." ... "My god, Bones. What have I done?" ... "People can be very frightened of change."

[@LightningAdrian]

Hey Brandon, I think you should start adding timestamps to your videos to make it easier for viewers to pick a specific section.

[@GOF2013]

Agree

[@MethodMaster]

He usually has chapters in his videos. a lot of his older videos do at least.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks--I do sometimes, especially with longer videos.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Favorite main character? Let us know!

[@johnkingston7115]

Thorfinn.

[@tylereichhorst878]

Personally my favorite main character is Jack Sparrow from the first three pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not gonna count the last two pirates movies cuz they assassinated his character. Love the content and tell me what you think about Jack Sparrow.

[@Nate-139]

Dream from The Sandman

[@xenounde0]

Good ol Indiana Jones

[@pitchforker3304]

Burke, the main character anti-hero from Andrew Vachss' book series

[@diegofloor]

This is the first video of this channel that made me want to watch it again from the start.

[@somethingunoriginal17]

My favorite main character will always be Cloud Strife from FFVII, on the outside he is a brooding, edgy, badass who has a deeper layer of a soft, insecure, lost man, battling with his inner demon and Sephiroth playing with his psyche, my all time favorite protagonist

[@futurestoryteller]

The broody thing became kind of an overgrowth on his character, I guess because it seems to fit well enough into both sides of his personality: "cool" and "insecure" but when you start that game, he's really cocksure. I think a decent point of reference for an actor tackling the character would be King Ragnar from Vikings. That was a character who seemed to express sincere confidence and absolute doubt with equal emotional honesty - and even if it's not doubt, per se, he had a habit of retreating into himself, that seemed to go against his brazen forthrightness. It's really something.

[@BGsBooks86]

Once again, this video is very helpful, as I am still my book. My main character is certainly something. Thanks for the help.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching!

[@seanneff]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for pointing out that an interesting main character needs to make mistakes sometimes! Especially if the character is meant to be an Everyman who gets put into an extraordinary circumstance, he or she isn't going to know how to deal with these challenges right away, at least if you want the character to be believable. I think of Frodo Baggins in LOTR, who makes several big mistakes and suffers major consequences as a result -- putting on the Ring at Weathertop, or prematurely believing the danger from Shelob was past, for example. Another great example: Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs, who (with her boss) cooks up a scheme to deceive Lecter. When he finds out the truth, the resulting scene tells us more about both characters. He makes her admit the deception and uses it to force her to answer questions about her past, while she admits her mistake but keeps doing whatever she has to in order to achieve her goals. He wants emotional intimacy with Clarice, and now she has to give it to him in order to get the information she needs. We see his desire for a twisted form of human connection, and we see her mix of ambition and self-sacrifice: she'll let Lecter get in her head if it means she might be able to save Buffalo Bill's latest victim.

[@danielmobley4638]

I recently purchased and read BAD PARTS-loved it!!! Are you looking for more reviews on that book???

[@Shareef-zc1wp]

Thanks for the advice. Can you make a video of when the villan has a tragic or justifiable backstop

[@stigsmcqueen3178]

There's a lot of really great protagonists to choose from. If I had to just pick one, I would pick Betty Suarez from "Ugly Betty." I really liked how whenever she encountered some sort of problem, the writers offered a lot of insight into her thought process in trying to find a solution - whether it was the best course of action or not. It seems like with so many books, films, and television series including good ones that the protagonist does what they do without the writers really explaining why they chose to do what they did, and this show really broke that mold. I've only seen it once and that was years ago, but I will definitely watch it again at some point.

[@Tomasin19]

I don't know about having a *favorite* character (aside from the one whose story I'm writing right now), but a character that has definitely grown on me, especially these past couple of weeks, has got to be Molly Bloom, from the movie Molly's Game (and actually a real-life Megan Fox). She has so many of the flaws of modern filmmaking, but the movie tackles them one by one, and finds a satisfactory way to wrap them all up, all at once, before the movie's over. Really great film. Also, we got 2025 before we got GOOD VS BAD MANIPULATIVE CHARACTERS from Writer Brandon McNulty. Here's hoping this year will be the year! Happy new year, Brandon!

[@stephenwashingtonjr1625]

Man I don’t know if I have a favorite character but I will pick the three that jump off my head which are Rick Blaine from Casablanca, Indiana Jones, and Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. I’m sure there are more that I really like but those three jumped out of my head first

[@benjaminmccoy6828]

Hey Writer Brandon McNulty, I Just wanted to say thanks for all these great videos on writing. I absolutely needed this advice and it’s really helpful

[@K.D.Tackett]

Harry Dresden, Detectives and magic, two of my favorite things! BTW- I received your free story and WOW, awesome story! Love detectives and candy also! Thanks Brandon.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

I have that issue, because I did not created the villain yet, but it's still a shadowy force sensed but yet to meet.

[@christianfortner]

Eren Jaeger is definitely my favorite main character! Even though his surroundings change throughout Attack on Titan, he always holds true to his values… for better or worse.

[@elfinrez7299]

I started writing my first novel in December 2023 and just got it back from some proofreaders. It will be published soon (probably a month or so as I am self publishing) I don’t expect much from it. But I’m still excited.

[@RickClark58]

One of my favorite characters is the robot Jenkins in the anthology novel City by Clifford D. Simak. Even though Jenkins is a robot, in the book he is the ideal human, what humans should have been but failed. “Jenkins tried to say goodbye, but he could not say goodbye. If he could only weep, he thought, but robots could not weep.”

[@CosmicFilms-007]

I think counterdictions the first I thought of was in rdr2 Dutch yelled at Arthur for getting john back because laying low Then next mission in the middle of town he shoots a big powerful man Cornwall as a revenge mission and escape the law My favourite main character is probably Arthur Morgan

[@MethodMaster]

My favorite main character is either Candance from Phineas and Ferb or Batman from almost any production. Candance has a clear goal and a wacky personality-she is also pretty layered in some sense- and Batman is so many things.

[@JackKirbyFan]

I love your channel and I love that you respond to comments. It means a great deal. Now, this is ONE time I might have a question for you on this. First, I agree that the only way to write action and horror is with villains, but I personally love inner conflict and external conflict and find that far more enticing to watch. Look at the Wire TV show. Nobody was truly good nor truly bad. There were no villains per say but complex characters all entangled in the drug trade and the pointless attempts to both stop it - and control it. So, can I think that conflict is your 'villain' and you don't necessarily need to make it an individual person. But you are the writer so I ask you if this is a mistake on my part. Thanks!

[@j.munday7913]

Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle. (Both of the book and the movie.) Her arc is great, and she's curious and messes up in a big way that sort of ends up saving Howl's life. But it could have easily gone very wrong.

[@AndrewKelley]

Favorite main character: Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption. Admittedly, I can't seem to connect his personality to the 3 layers described in this video. He seems to have all 3 layers synchronized and yet is somehow incredibly compelling.

[@artu9913]

One of my favorite main characters from a story which has a beginning and ending is Naruto Uzumaki, and I love how he faces villains which are very similar to him in a few ways, just like Nagato, Obito or even Sasuke.

[@brucefreadrich1188]

Character foil. The term you are dancing around (with Indy and Belloq) is "character foil." Like Hamlet and Fortinbras (or Laertes - take your pick) or Buzz and Woody (in a non antagonist use).

[@robmaxwell3076]

I'm a slow reader and I often take a long time to finish novels, but I flew through the Half-Murders - couldn't put it down.

[@darkarpatron]

My favourite main character in anything would be Kain from the Legacy of Kain series. The things he goes through, how far he tries to fix things, his honesty and willingness to be the villain to the one who's true Destiny he's trying to help realise. (Poor Raziel).

[@larrythigpen3373]

This was an excellent video. Thank you!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful.

[@karlweber3527]

Mike Hammer from the Mike Hammer book series. Not the most complex character ever, but I love him for his unapologetic masculinity.

[@premium_chicken_nuggy]

Arisu from Alice in Borderland is one of my favorite hero characters. I love the irony that while he’s one of the weakest characters in the story, he’s arguably the bravest and most selfless one besides maybe Usagi ,Tatta, or Chota. Outside of his plot goal to escape Borderland, I love the internal conflict he deals with about feeling worthless and unworthy of existing. GOATED MC.

[@mystbunnygaming1449]

My favorite main character is Rimuru Tempest from That Time I got reincarnated as a Slime. Everyone I shifted between as my favorite before this, now they're not even close.

[@john_dosson]

My favourite main characters are two. The Winchester brothers, from "Supernatural".

[@juliusagh9038]

Great stuff, Brandon. Thanks for the content.

[@bld-11]

The main character should ALWAYS be a top priority, yet somehow hollywood forgets how to do that. Love these videos

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@bld-11]

@WriterBrandonMcNulty Of course ☺️

[@dinomonzon7493]

Fave main character's a toss up between James Bond & Jack Ryan Sr. Been working on a book where the protagonist works at an agency covered as a call center. Still working how to make it stand out without becoming something derivative.

[@aklok_cz]

Brandon, what about easter eggs in stories? Can I put to my story an easter egg or reference to some other story?

[@vxprado]

I would love to watch an equivalent of this video for antagonists

[@4xzx4]

I like it when the protagonist is relatable.

[@ktobias]

Well done!

[@Yearofthebows24]

Favorite main character? Ill go with Mark Watney from The Martian. Despite having a hopeless situation, he finds a way to survive through critical thinking, training, grit, determination, and a sense of humor

[@MUCKLEECH]

Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly/Serenity

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I need to rewatch Firefly. That show is sacred.

[@MUCKLEECH]

And criminally short. But that makes it great for binge watching, followed by the movie as "dessert"

[@stevensandersauthor]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@thomasmann4536]

love the tip, tho when it comes to mistakes, i think a lot of people can screw this up by having their protagonist make a mistake that makes the character appear stupid or careless.

[@poesc]

My favourite main character is Marty McFly from Back to the Future. I always thought he was the coolest.

[@Demonarrows1]

Number 1 = Start with conflict. The conflict is the story. Main character and antagonist want the promotion but only 1 can get it. Conflict comes first.

[@HazredIV]

Happy new year for all of you! \O/

[@magmakaktus5867]

My one of my favourite MCs is definently Light Yagami. I think he's really cool.

[@ShinGallon]

Too many writers seem afraid to let their characters have flaws and make mistakes, the internet seems to have adopted this "the hero cannot ever be problematic ever" because...I dunno, character arcs don't exist I guess. I don't want perfect, flawless paragons of virtue as the main character because outside of mythology that's boring as hell. I think that's why I find redeemed villains so appealing, they're almost always the most layered and interesting characters in a series.

[@sentineljm]

I love one of the meaningful mistakes was Rey supposedly killing Chewbacca, but actually nah she didn't because plot armor???

[@ShinGallon]

That movie is a masterclass in what NOT to do in a movie. I don't think I'd ever seen a film where there's not a single creative decision that worked until Rise of Skywalker.

[@shanardsmith218]

I hope you had a happy new year

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks, you too!

[@Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist]

It's not enough for a character to make mistakes; the character needs to face consequences for these mistakes. How they bounce back is what makes them likeable. Somehow, in The Last Jedi, Poe starts a mutiny, which puts the escape plan in jeopardy, and in turn lots of people died who would have otherwise survived. No consequences for him, though!

[@futurestoryteller]

I like how you get to eat your cake and have it too, by just declaring that the death of his allies is some kind of non-issue. I guess your problem is the plot doesn't stop to have him cry about it? Or else Spider-Man faces no real consequences for Uncle Ben's death, he still has his aunt May!

[@twistedlittlefables]

I enjoy the Stephen King character of "Lester Billings". He is an extremely flawed protagonist and yet, we find ourselves being moderately sympathetic to his bad life choices and his being hunted by "The Boogeyman". I also enjoyed the main character/antagonist "Richie Grenadine" from the King story, "Gray Matter" who is another highly flawed dual protagonist/antagonist character. There is something about making the main character the sympathetic character and also the villain that I find to be very intriguing.

[@serbrawl7981]

My favorite villain is brandon mcnulty

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Evil made human

[@kristopherhayes1957]

Great video! This will be helpful for writing my story. Can we do a video about how to write a mystery?

[@joshingaround2699]

New challenge: Brian McNulty should go a video without mentioning star wars

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I'll pass that along to Brian

[@marcusdow5356]

The substance was my favorite movie of 2024

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah, I loved it. I usually watch movies in 1-hour chunks, but I had to watch the whole thing in one sitting

[@bahlintvazsonyi6020]

Drizzt Do'Urden. He is the best thing since sliced bread.

[@ZIKRIL-HAKIMBINZAMWALMoe]

Could you do a video on how to balance multiple characters in 1 story. I've been struggling because it has 1 main character and other characters for subplots that contribute to the narrative and making sure it dosent feel overstuffed

[@futurestoryteller]

Write it first and figure that out later.

[@reinotsurugi]

Good video but I don't think Belloq is driven by greed. He is seeking the mysteries of the world like Indy. The difference is their scruples about obtaining artifacts and using them.

[@wikusklinkert]

Favourite main character is Nathan Drake from Uncharted - the video games, not the godawful film adaptation. Film is either John McClane, Martin Riggs, or the T-800

[@brownell.landrum]

The cast from LOST

[@futurestoryteller]

I actually like this video.

[@CosmicFilms-007]

Hope you have a happy new year :) happy 2025!

[@Ghost_Text]

Thanks for this. Whenever advice is given on Character or on worldbuilding, people rarely ask what is the primary value or function of this character/plot element to the story. They always start with the surface details that branch out from this core requirement.

[@greenaxilot]

Why not try a good vs bad protagonist video

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

That's the plan for next week haha (or two weeks at the latest)

[@mictoonanimation8852]

Hey Brandon, how about try to watch Hazbin Hotel. Both pilot and the series because the series expects you the viewer to already watched the pilot. Disclaimer: despite looking an animated show, it's mature but also immature too like excessive swearing. I swear, taking a shot each swear word (which don't) will get you killed.

[@AmIGoodAtGames]

This is so fucking good. I am trying to write a fanfic for tales of Arcadia called Aja Tarron - The Queen Who Is Fated, and these videos show me how much rework in need

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Awesome, best of luck with your story!

[@AmIGoodAtGames]

@ maybe you could look at the franchise for your some of your writing videos especially the main characters as examples because it is a slept on franchise from dreamworks

[@PatrickAshe41]

Favorite main character? Maybe Hamlet

[@blshouse]

Frieren

[@guimagsantos]

Love your vids. 2 questions if I may: Have you ever read Joe Abercrombie’s “First Law” books? (Amazing character development and a masterpiece in my humble opinion); Have you seen nickleodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood? (Best characters, plots and experiences I’ve had with animated characters… Im 36)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yes, I'm a huge fan of the First Law Trilogy. Glokta might be my favorite book character, period. Love Joe's stuff. No to Avatar and FMA. I need to finish AoT, then I'll check out Avatar. One of my best friends recommended it recently.

[@guimagsantos]

@ ATLA’s I recommend for every age and teaches coexistence, spirituality and personal growth, I recommend it for all the family. FMA its more mature, and political intrigue like a Abercrombie japanese anime. ;)

[@EntertainmentTalker22]

if I listed my favourite main characters, we'd be here all day so I'll give you my top 5 in no specific order: 1. Lorraine Warren (The Conjuring series) 2. Joy (Inside Out duology) 3. Peter Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy) 4. Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead saga) 5. Joel Miller (The Last of Us)

[@anthonycosentino463]

How are these secrets??

[@Komodo9104]

Question: what do I do if I need to convey a lot of backstory/information at the start of the book without ruining the pacing?

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

I think he already has a video about this. Basically, if it does not add to the story you are telling now, do not include it.

[@GoeTeeks]

Restructure it so you only need to sprinkle in pertinent information as it comes up. Take out anything that doesn't help further the story.

[@futurestoryteller]

"Don't do it anyway" seems like pretty good advice. I highly doubt that all of that information is as necessary as you think it is. Having said that, I've found that audiences are fairly forgiving about a lot of exposition in dialogue early on, as long as it's reasonably justified and lets up as soon as possible.

[@DIDYOUSEETHAT172]

😊😊👍👍

[@badasscomedy5126]

My favorite main character has to be Dante from the Devil May Cry games. He’s a cool, chill guy who hunts devils with style and is in a constant battle with his brother, Vergil. The two represents opposite values and it shows the most in Devil May Cry 3. In DMC3, Dante spends the whole game rejecting his demonic heritage, but in the end he comes to embrace it, while Vergil completely rejects his humanity, seeing it as a weakness. Shakespearian writing at its finest, and I say that without a hint of sarcasm, because it’s absolutely criminal how little love DMC gets

[@unicorntomboy9736]

What about Joker from the Persona 5 game

[@badasscomedy5126]

@@unicorntomboy9736 I don’t really care for Persona.

[@jamez6398]

A character either overcomes their flaws and succeeds at the end or they fail to overcome their flaws and are ultimately consumed by them in more tragic endings like the ending of Requiem for a Dream. My favourite main character is Walter White in Breaking Bad. My favourite main character in a movie in terms of who I like the most is Deadpool, and in terms of who I find the most interesting would be Michael Corleone. I don't know why I tend to enjoy villains and side characters more than heroes in a lot of movies. My favourite character in the original Star Wars trilogy is Han Solo, my favourite character in The Dark Knight is The Joker, my favourite character from Goodfellas is Joe Pesci's character not because he is likeable, quite the opposite, sure in Nightcrawler and American Psycho my favourite characters are the main characters, but in those movies, the main characters are the villains of their respective stories, and in John Wick he is an anti-hero. Mainly Iron Man, Captain America, and Die Hard whereby the heroic main character is my favourite character in the whole movie. The thing I like about Breaking Bad is that it lets the main character cross the line repeatedly. The show never chickens out and pulls any punches. Has the chance to save Jane? Almost any other show he would have ultimately saved her, not in Breaking Bad. Brock gets poisoned? Almost any other show, Gus truly would have been the one behind it, but not in Breaking Bad. Even being arrested by his own brother-in-law unexpectedly goes down even worse than anyone could have possibly imagined, almost a diabolical mad genius who came up with the concept of how wrong it goes for Walter in that episode, the creativity in the mean-spiritedness of that episode is impeccable.

[@saganitesh]

Attack on Titan video when? 😭😭😭

[@unicorntomboy9736]

The main character of my WiP grimdark fantasy novel is a teenage princess who was born with a curse that causes her to be shunned and alienated from the society, due to the uncanny valley effect she has on others. The book festires a negative character arc, where she goes from good to evil. The big plot twist of the book is that she is the reincarnation of an evil black dragon, that lived 1000 years prior, snd wiped out an entire kingdom in a single night, which is the cause of her curse she was born with. The first opening chapter of my book, which is fairly short at 1000 words or 5 pages, is dedicated to showing the black dragon and the apocalyptic destruction of a kingdom. I borrowed this idea loosely from the video game Horizon Zero Dawn, which used the reincarnation trope in a loosely similar fashion for its main character, albeit in a science fiction context.

[@MethodMaster]

That is an awesome story. I love dark fantasy worlds like Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz. Good luck with your book.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@MethodMaster The basic plotline is borrowed from The Lion King, a betrayal and revenge narrative as the primary conflict

[@MethodMaster]

@@unicorntomboy9736 When borrowing ideas i believe it is important make them your own and that is precisely what you seem to be doing.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@MethodMaster Exactly. In addition I believe Brandon made a video about that a while ago, funnily enough.

[@MethodMaster]

@@unicorntomboy9736 That is the origin of what I said. That was one of the first videos I watched from him, I think. lol

[@aritrachoudhuri6716]

Guts from berserk .

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

@aritrachoudhuri6716 and Griffith, too. His betrayal is probably one of the most brutal ones. You get many hints, but they don't prepare you for how big it ends up being.

[@CoveWeaverStudios]

My favorite main character? I just can’t decide, I’ll just say Truman from the Truman Show.

[@glentz716]

Just rewatched this movie with my daughter who was watching it for the first time. Great idea for a story.

[@jackvaraly3478]

Anakin Skywalker

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

The Substance is such a good movie. Wander if you watched the Nexflix series Arcane.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I watched and enjoyed the first two episodes last year but never got back to it. Need to revisit it soon.

[@stephenwashingtonjr1625]

Man I don’t know if I have a favorite character but I will pick the three that jump off my head which are Rick Blaine from Casablanca, Indiana Jones, and Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. I’m sure there are more that I really like but those three jumped out of my head first