By far the stories that have had a huge impact in my life are those about one or more outcast or underdogs making they're way through life, overcoming obstacles set by the expectations and lack of faith in them from those around them and their society in general, or the fate of the town and sometimes world depending on those that real or fictional society deems unwanted. The main characters in my WIP belong to this trope but I don't want to assume that I already know what I need to know about it, so I wanted to ask if there is any advice or tips anybody can give concerning this topic that can help me be more efficient when creating these characters and writing them down?
I would suggest looking at "save the cat" category, fool triumphant. The best current example of this is "The Wandering inn" by pirateaba.
Thanks bogart, That's gonna come in handy. Got to buy the "save the cat" book, already have "The Writer's Journey".
Underdogs tend to be the silent type. There's a lot going on underneath the surface. Often, they are misunderstood and underestimated. But they got a good grip on what's going on. They wait patiently in the shadows to reveal themselves. They are good observers. They don't show their hand. They have nothing to prove. But when push comes to shove, they tend to surprise.
There are so many ways to go with an underdog character. You'll have to make some decisions about what kind of character you want. There's the quiet introspective type who's afraid to speak up or assert themselves. That's one way to go. Often these people are bullied or otherwise dominated, or they're simply dismissed and overlooked by the people around them. There's the outcast misfit. These characters are often obsessed with something that makes them unpopular (I recently read My Heart Is a Chainsaw about a misfit teen obsessed with slasher films.) Alternatively, they could simply be awkward and say well-meaning but off-putting things. The trick with a misfit character is making them likable to the reader but weird enough to keep them from excelling socially or in their career. Underdogs don't have to be loners either. Shy people still have friends, and misfits are drawn to other misfits. An average Joe can be an underdog too, so long as they face seemingly insurmountable odds. Look at all the sports movies about disadvantaged teams facing teams that are apparently unbeatable in the beginning of the film. It's the same for the little man facing down the evil corporation or government. Those are underdog stories.
Got it That's exactly how I'm planning to make one of my MCs, after he overcomes his internal conflict later on. He's the silent type in the beginning due to his insecurities and battle with his mental health (kind of showing the negative side of being this way) but he then grows as a character and develops becoming a more positive version of the silent type. Thanks for the info Rzero, I was a little stuck with how the rest of the MCs stick out from the rest of their peers and society in their world, but in different ways from each other. Now I'm coming up with what are they into and what's their character voice and how they can interact with each other without breaking character. I know have to check My Heart Is a Chainsaw, the concept sounds really interesting.
Everyone loves an underdog. Be careful not to make your character too perfect of an underdog. This could mean watch out for slipping into something cliche, but it can also mean that you don't want to make your character too perfect otherwise, like if he can just overcome this thing than he'll be a perfect person. Just something to keep in mind.
Thanks a lot, I'll do some studying on the cliches to avoid them, and I'll keep an eye on myself in case I lean to much on the side of perfection
