forum Things You Want MORE Of In Books

Started January 21, 2019 by @HighPockets group

tune

How about bad guys that do not obsess over killing the Protag? (Voldy. Victoria)

Like If I were a villain my main focus would be carrying out my evil plan, if the protag gets in the way then yea I will try to kill them, but I WOULDN'T OBSESS OVER IT SO BAD THAT I LAY SIEGE TO A SCHOOL AND JUST KILL EVERYONE OR CREATE AN ARMY JUST TO KILL ONE PERSON.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'VE ALREADY FAILED SEVERAL TIMES EVEN WHEN THE PROTAG WAS A BABY

Yeah like Voldemort wanted to kill Harry because of the prophecy he thought Harry was going to kill him. I get that maybe, but after failing to kill him when he was a BABY, idk I just wouldn’t be so focused in killing him.

———

My antagonist, Nightmare, just wants to escape *its prison and plunge the world into an endless nightmare. But if the protagonists get in the way, it would try to kill them too. But it mostly just cares about the endless-nightmare thing

(*I use it because Nightmare isn’t human. It’s more like a shadow of pure darkness and evil that can take the form of a person)

WHY DIDN'T HE JUST THROW THE BABY OUT THE WINDOW???? IDIOT

One of my Antagonists doesnt't really even care all that much that the Protag exists because she is very arrogant (it's completely justified though. I means she's the big bad evil™) and actually knows that the Protag isn't powerful enough to defeat her. So she's kinda 'meh' about the Protag. That's not to say that the Antag hasn't tried to kill the Protag since she was a child for convenience sake, she just hasn't tried very hard.

My antags in End of Time (I have so many characters in there in general) have their own issues to deal with. You've got the eldritch creatures and their politics (which will be interesting to write), the parasitic aliens aren't even focused on killing the protags in general, they're just doing what they only know how to do, poor Achylemy's planet is getting colder and colder so they're trying to find a better planet for their people to live on, and many more. Even then my antag like Nuq is kinda apart of the natural balance of the world. He "ends the world" as if it is like recycling it, and starting anew. They all play their part, and have their own individual stories.
Give or take though some of them to attempt to kill the protags, the parasites to infect, Nuq probably wouldn't even notice he killed someone unless he was aiming for them directly which is rare, Eldritch creature most likely wouldn't either.
Even then some of the antags aren't even aware of the protags or don't meet the protags.
Although I have to admit I still really want to write the eldritch politics thing now.

The only case on which my Antag tries to directly kill my Protag, the Protag struck first, and the Antag was acting in self-defense, and both of them acknowledge that, so that's pretty interesting.

None of my antags really target the protag except for one (and in his case he's not even targeting Jackson or Geneva, but Victor. Still a main, but not as central, at least when he's first introduced).
Duchess Marlott targets the entire rebellion (although she does target Samuel earlier, I wouldn't say he's the protag, especially not at first) but her commanding officers do have personal grudges against specific people involved.
Talia just doesn't give a fuck and will target anyone, even her younger brother, and frankly couldn't care less about Leah.
Rosalind is more focused on taking out the secondary characters than Fern, that's Carl and Huxley's job.
Oleander does target Iam, but only because he's the only ruler he hasn't taken a blood oath to not harm, but leaves Vivian more or less alone. He does target women he finds attractive, but I wouldn't say that Ophelia is a MC

This is so overdone, but
The (usually murder) mystery where the MC decides to try to solve a case from years ago and it follows her and one of the victims/victim's friends from around the time the crime took place
I love it

That's how some of my protags meet lmao

Families! In! Books!
Especially YA books where there's generally no parents. Like, if you're not gonna include the parents, at least include a cousin, aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc.
The Hate U Give is a great book that doesn't have the 'invisible parents' trope. Starr's relationship with her parents, especially her father, are important to the story.

The Hate U Give is one of my favourites!

Yesssss!!!
And in addition to Starr and her parents, we also see Starr and her half-brother, brother, aunt, uncle, cousins, etc. and I feel like that's really rare in books, especially YA.

le gasp One of my favorite books! I have waited for this day says in ridiculously gravely frantic voice.

I'd like less romance. I would like to really explore the complex platonic relationships that humans can depend on. For instance, my current project is based on the PLATONIC relationship between a 17 year old boy and a 56 year old woman. The 17 year old is the central character, and he has no love interest. None at all. I'd really like to read some books with a deep exploration of the complex relationships we have!

I agree with all of that and congrats on a refreshing plot.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman has a great PLATONIC relationship as its focus!!!

Something I really like in books is when the narrator is unexpected. Prime example of this is the Book Thief, where the narrator is literally death.
In general, as a couple of you have already mentioned, it's fun when the narrator isn't necessarily the most important character in the story but someone who, from an outside perspective, looks like a side character.

That stuff is fun. Anyone else have a soft spot for the “The omniscient narrator is actually one of the characters”?

Never seen it but sounds intriguing

It’s great. Even better when it’s the protagonist when they are old. Also when it is known from the beginning that a character is a narrator.

I don't think I've ever read a book like that.

The Story Girl has the second.

I'd like less romance

I know I'm kinda being a broken record at this point, but same.

Anyways, I got 2 more things that I'd like to see more of.

1. Humour, especially in fantasies and sci-fis. I feel like a lot of protags in these genres are way too serious sometimes. And there's obviously times where it's not appropriate (especially if you have a really dark plot) but it's nice to lighten the mood every now and then. I actually feel like JK Rowling did a really good job with this in Harry Potter. Like, between all the really intense scenes you had the Weasley Twins being the Weasley Twins and "there's no need to call me, 'Sir', Professor." More of that kind of thing.
2. This wasn't actually something that I really knew I wanted until I read the Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, but more epileptic characters. I have epilepsy as well, so it was nice to see that not only represented, but also executed so well. Like even though Gentleman's Guide takes place in a drastically different time, there were still moments that were super relatable to me. It was nice.

Yes to both!!
The Grishaverse has a good amount of snarky and funny characters ("And an even better shot", Nikolai and the suit-wearing spider, etc.) but I need more!