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Can you provide some examples of stories with characters whose defining characteristics aren't innate? It seems like you're trying to say that you want to read

Can you provide some examples of stories with characters whose defining characteristics aren't innate? It seems like you're trying to say that you want to read stories about people who are 'normal', but that doesn't really mean anything. Are you just looking for books that don't have any element of fantasy to them?

yarrel 12y ago
It's the Disney Princess problem.
- CocaKoala 12y ago
  I'm unfamiliar with this problem, possibly because I'm not a Disney Princess. Is it referring to the fact that disney princesses tend to be women who have some exceptional circumstance thrust upon them?
LanceH 12y ago
Game of Thrones has tons of examples. The characters act according to the situation they are in, how they were raised, not generally because they are archetypes. Is this character conspicuous because things worked out for him? Or did things work out for this character because he is conspicuous in some way? Game of Thrones has a lot of the first, virtually no teen book does. They are imbued with something special and everything works out because of their specialness. Sometimes multiple other characters join the cause sacrificing or putting on hold their lives because this person is a prince(ss). With all this dystopian teen drama going around, I wonder how many SF authors are out there kicking themselves for not writing a romantic triangle into their story.
- CocaKoala 12y ago
  I haven't read Game of Thrones, so this doesn't clarify things for me that much. It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way, but it's also hard for me to think of books I've read where things simply resolve themselves for the main character as a result of that notability, as opposed to effort on the part of the character. So I guess the answer is "Yes, lots of people are writing those books"?
  - DanBC 12y ago
    > It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way It's a standard plot: ordinary person living an ordinary life feels constrained by that life; boom thing happens, causing ordinary person to go on a journey. Character development happens on the journey. I'm kind of surprised that you can't think of any book like this.
    - CocaKoala 12y ago
      Please list some. I can easily think of books which follow the plot you outlined; I have a much harder time thinking of books which follow the plot you outlined where the main character remains normal through the duration (as opposed to finding some innate quality within themselves which helps them triumph over hardship). edit: I mean, Harry Potter fits the bill you outlined, but is explicitly called out by the parent post as a half wizard.
      - bstpierre 12y ago
        In "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins is a boring little non-noteworthy hobbit who rises to his circumstances. The same thing applies to Frodo in LOTR. I read James Patterson's "The Beach House" on a pair of short plane flights this past summer. It's a commercial/pulp thriller. The MC doesn't acquire any superpowers during the story except for becoming a badass willing to take significant risks when his life and that of his friends is on the line. Edit to add: Jack Ryan, especially in the early Tom Clancy novels. In any story worth reading the main character won't stay "normal" for the duration. The protagonist's change through the course of the story is part of the point of telling a story.
seanflyon 12y ago
Lord of the Rings is a good example. The Hobbits are just normal people, but still have an element of fantasy. They don't have magical powers or a great secret destiny, they are just regular people at the center of extraordinary events.
- kedean 12y ago
  And yet they're surrounded by the last king of men (aragorn), a low level god (gandalf), a prince of elves (legolas), a prince of dwarves (gimli), and next in line to rule the biggest kingdom of men (boromir). Even after that, I'd argue that Frodo is only made interested through his posession of the one ring, not anything about himself. Sam is probably the only really interesting 'normal guy' in the story, and its only because he gets to tag along with the godly guys.

yarrel 12y ago

It's the Disney Princess problem.

CocaKoala 12y ago
I'm unfamiliar with this problem, possibly because I'm not a Disney Princess. Is it referring to the fact that disney princesses tend to be women who have some exceptional circumstance thrust upon them?

LanceH 12y ago

Game of Thrones has tons of examples. The characters act according to the situation they are in, how they were raised, not generally because they are archetypes. Is this character conspicuous because things worked out for him? Or did things work out for this character because he is conspicuous in some way? Game of Thrones has a lot of the first, virtually no teen book does. They are imbued with something special and everything works out because of their specialness. Sometimes multiple other characters join the cause sacrificing or putting on hold their lives because this person is a prince(ss). With all this dystopian teen drama going around, I wonder how many SF authors are out there kicking themselves for not writing a romantic triangle into their story.

CocaKoala 12y ago
I haven't read Game of Thrones, so this doesn't clarify things for me that much. It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way, but it's also hard for me to think of books I've read where things simply resolve themselves for the main character as a result of that notability, as opposed to effort on the part of the character. So I guess the answer is "Yes, lots of people are writing those books"?
- DanBC 12y ago
  > It's hard for me to think of books I've read where the main character is not notable in some way It's a standard plot: ordinary person living an ordinary life feels constrained by that life; boom thing happens, causing ordinary person to go on a journey. Character development happens on the journey. I'm kind of surprised that you can't think of any book like this.
  - CocaKoala 12y ago
    Please list some. I can easily think of books which follow the plot you outlined; I have a much harder time thinking of books which follow the plot you outlined where the main character remains normal through the duration (as opposed to finding some innate quality within themselves which helps them triumph over hardship). edit: I mean, Harry Potter fits the bill you outlined, but is explicitly called out by the parent post as a half wizard.
    - bstpierre 12y ago
      In "The Hobbit", Bilbo Baggins is a boring little non-noteworthy hobbit who rises to his circumstances. The same thing applies to Frodo in LOTR. I read James Patterson's "The Beach House" on a pair of short plane flights this past summer. It's a commercial/pulp thriller. The MC doesn't acquire any superpowers during the story except for becoming a badass willing to take significant risks when his life and that of his friends is on the line. Edit to add: Jack Ryan, especially in the early Tom Clancy novels. In any story worth reading the main character won't stay "normal" for the duration. The protagonist's change through the course of the story is part of the point of telling a story.

seanflyon 12y ago

Lord of the Rings is a good example. The Hobbits are just normal people, but still have an element of fantasy. They don't have magical powers or a great secret destiny, they are just regular people at the center of extraordinary events.

kedean 12y ago
And yet they're surrounded by the last king of men (aragorn), a low level god (gandalf), a prince of elves (legolas), a prince of dwarves (gimli), and next in line to rule the biggest kingdom of men (boromir). Even after that, I'd argue that Frodo is only made interested through his posession of the one ring, not anything about himself. Sam is probably the only really interesting 'normal guy' in the story, and its only because he gets to tag along with the godly guys.