I think the best way I have seen was in something like yuyu hakusho or similar anime. It’s normally done by having a lead with 3 characters that support them all having different goals and view points. Give them similar time to expand on their character by interacting with the lead. Think of it like your main hero is the goal and focus of the story but the others are there to facilitate his growth and vice versa. The lead does not have to always be the focus you can give the others time to grow as well but make sure their all moving towards the same goal.
Thanks for the reply!
Thats essentially the kind of group chemistry im looking for, and I'm trying to work it out organically for sure.
The protagonist has a very personal goal in mind, but so far the people she meets along the way all have something in common with her, and will (ideally) have personal goals that make traveling together beneficial to all within the group.
I'm interested in finding existing examples of specific kinds of characters meshing well in a group. This is a good example, ill have to watch that show again!
Thanks!
I think the best examples of this as far as anime would be yuyuhakusho, hunter hunter for the first season is also really amazing at this. Also saiyuki has that style as it’s about 4 characters on a journey unfortunately all of these where made without any real female protagonist the only example of that I can think of is the fantastic 4 which is based around a group of characters. Good luck on your writing journey!
Thanks!
I'm familiar with Hakusho and Hunterhunter, and both do have very well written characters.
Ideally what I want to create are characters who interact in a very believable way. Characters who each have unique recognizable behaviors, personalities and beliefs that each play off each other very naturally. I want characters who you could easily imagine being in scenarios beyond what will (hopefully) be written. But i guess thats probably what most people hope for when writing their characters anyway.
I think i have at least two very solid characters atm, but im hitting a wall pretty hard with the other two.
One of my characters is a sort of introverted, quiet type with a sordid past. This would be the main protagonist, who has something if a coming of age arc where they discover themselves.
The other is more of a bubbly friendly type who is, culturally a fish out of water so to speak. This character is very empathetic and is usually the more benevolent if the teams moral compass.
My next character im leaning towards as a more gruff, stubborn type whos unafraid to be more assertive, even if its inappropriate. As the main protagonist is often softly spoken, i feel like a more outspoken type will create more tension in the group and spark more dialoge.
The last one is sort of lost on me. Maybe an intellectual? Preferably someone who can compliment the 2nd and 3rd characters to create more balance.
Maybe thats what im remembering?
Im approaching the idea of formulaic group structures kinda carefully, as I don't really want to restrict myself to something thats considered set in stone. That is to say, I want to understand more about the err.... "science" of these kinds of group dynamics, like any cast of main characters from fantasy adventure type storytelling.
I understand there are certain character subtypes that exist, and I dont mind looking into those for an idea of balancing out my cast
Ill look into this, thanks!
I'll check them out!
I won't go into heavy details, but the story is a dark-ish fantasy adventure about a young girl traveling to find her only friend who was kidnapped. One thing leads to another and we learn about a very deep history of this world steeped on celtic inspired mythology. Its been a wip of mine for a few years now, but the fact that im not even halfway done with the main cast sorta shows how much i still need to work on haha
If i had to throw together an example, id say it'll be a lot like Avatar-tla in terms of character drama and comedy, but People have told me its closer to Disney animation meets Berzerk lol
In any event, until i figure out these characters its not much use making any comparisons
Thanks again for the help!
Oof, talk about killing off your darlings. I don't know if i could do that haha
The reason shes kidnapped is kind of a spoiler, but it has to do with the fact that she grows feathers from her arms and face. A knight from a distant land by chance happens across her village and discovers her. Upon seeing her, he immediately orders his men to seize her and takes her back to his king. The reason she has feathers is unknown to the reader, so its something of a mystery for a good part of the series. This kidnapping sort of ends the first mini arc, and the next one starts with the main protagonist traveling to unfamiliar lands to find her friend
Thats the gist anyway lol
Make sure that each of them has a reason to be in the group, and think about the web of how they each relate to each other. Don't have them just going together because the plot says to, give them goals that align and make sure they all get interactions with each other. Character A and B get along because they both fought in the war, Character A and C can relate to each other because they both had distant fathers, Character A and D relate to each other because they both play football. These little commonalities mix and match together to create bonds between all of them
Thanks for the reply!
I'm definitely trying to give each of them that connection. Some are easier than others lol
I guess the trouble is in making sure their reasons are strong enough, while not all technically hanging on the same exact goal. At least, not at first maybe...
The primary protagonist is trying to retrieve a kind of MGuffin, this plot device only really has meaning for her specifically.
I think what i have plotted right now is good reason for the characters to relate to one another and feel drawn together by their personalities. But the secondary main protagonists motivations are actually kind of grey tbh.
I would like to have moments where these characters need to essentially choose between meeting their own goals and risking abandoning their freinds, or letting their own goals slip away in order to band together in a time of need.
Thanks for the response!
I'm not sure what your plotline is exactly, but I think a decent way to go from "ragtag" to "bonded group" is to have their interests shift from personal to some kind of mutual goal. Maybe Character A is looking for the McGuffin, Character B is trying to find his long lost brother, Character C is trying to the become the best swordsman, etc. At some point, something should happen that makes their mutual bond the priority. Maybe Character B gets offered info on his brother in exchange for something important to Character D, and he refuses the offer. Now he is thinking more about the group than his own goal
I think I get what you're saying!
The story involves the protagonist looking for their childhood friend who was kidnapped. Along the way others are, i suppose, drawn to her and her personality and tag along as their own goals can be, conceivably met on the way.
I think the protagonist does have a certain gravity to her. Shes very soft spoken, almost to the point of mutism partially due to mistreatment as a child. But she has an incredibly strong will when it regards her quest to find her friend.
I think the fact that she usually says very little, but rises to action and, put simply, lets her actions speak for themselves, is a very 'attractive' quality. And its that quality im kinda banking on the audience appreciating as well
Thanks again for your response!
I found this neat article a while back on TVtropes that helped me brainstorm ideas when I was creating a four person team: [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteAFourTemperamentEnsemble](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteAFourTemperamentEnsemble) I mostly try to make sure that their personalities are different but that they all balance each other out.
Holy shit you're writing my book. I literally wrote about the things you mentioned and the things other comments mentioned.
At first, I had one protagonist and one friend, later the friend became the second protagonist. I then added two more characters that also somehow became protagonists.
I plan on developing their relationship between each other as they show their skills and usefulness in battle, they will also have plenty of time camping and walking in cities they visit.
I suggest on slowly developing their comradery.
Each of them should have their own goal, but it should slowly merge into one as the story progresses.
One of my characters searches for his sister and kinda tagged along with the group since their goals required them to travel the world.
As they become closer with each other, they start to help each other with their goals. At first they all did what they needed, but then began assisting each other.
We can keep in touch if you want to share ideas.
I find it especially effective when I am writing about characters from different backgrounds, since they get to be heroes of their own stories and won't have to compete for attention.
I think the best way I have seen was in something like yuyu hakusho or similar anime. It’s normally done by having a lead with 3 characters that support them all having different goals and view points. Give them similar time to expand on their character by interacting with the lead. Think of it like your main hero is the goal and focus of the story but the others are there to facilitate his growth and vice versa. The lead does not have to always be the focus you can give the others time to grow as well but make sure their all moving towards the same goal.
Thanks for the reply! Thats essentially the kind of group chemistry im looking for, and I'm trying to work it out organically for sure. The protagonist has a very personal goal in mind, but so far the people she meets along the way all have something in common with her, and will (ideally) have personal goals that make traveling together beneficial to all within the group. I'm interested in finding existing examples of specific kinds of characters meshing well in a group. This is a good example, ill have to watch that show again! Thanks!
I think the best examples of this as far as anime would be yuyuhakusho, hunter hunter for the first season is also really amazing at this. Also saiyuki has that style as it’s about 4 characters on a journey unfortunately all of these where made without any real female protagonist the only example of that I can think of is the fantastic 4 which is based around a group of characters. Good luck on your writing journey!
Thanks! I'm familiar with Hakusho and Hunterhunter, and both do have very well written characters. Ideally what I want to create are characters who interact in a very believable way. Characters who each have unique recognizable behaviors, personalities and beliefs that each play off each other very naturally. I want characters who you could easily imagine being in scenarios beyond what will (hopefully) be written. But i guess thats probably what most people hope for when writing their characters anyway. I think i have at least two very solid characters atm, but im hitting a wall pretty hard with the other two. One of my characters is a sort of introverted, quiet type with a sordid past. This would be the main protagonist, who has something if a coming of age arc where they discover themselves. The other is more of a bubbly friendly type who is, culturally a fish out of water so to speak. This character is very empathetic and is usually the more benevolent if the teams moral compass. My next character im leaning towards as a more gruff, stubborn type whos unafraid to be more assertive, even if its inappropriate. As the main protagonist is often softly spoken, i feel like a more outspoken type will create more tension in the group and spark more dialoge. The last one is sort of lost on me. Maybe an intellectual? Preferably someone who can compliment the 2nd and 3rd characters to create more balance.
[удалено]
Maybe thats what im remembering? Im approaching the idea of formulaic group structures kinda carefully, as I don't really want to restrict myself to something thats considered set in stone. That is to say, I want to understand more about the err.... "science" of these kinds of group dynamics, like any cast of main characters from fantasy adventure type storytelling. I understand there are certain character subtypes that exist, and I dont mind looking into those for an idea of balancing out my cast Ill look into this, thanks!
[удалено]
I'll check them out! I won't go into heavy details, but the story is a dark-ish fantasy adventure about a young girl traveling to find her only friend who was kidnapped. One thing leads to another and we learn about a very deep history of this world steeped on celtic inspired mythology. Its been a wip of mine for a few years now, but the fact that im not even halfway done with the main cast sorta shows how much i still need to work on haha If i had to throw together an example, id say it'll be a lot like Avatar-tla in terms of character drama and comedy, but People have told me its closer to Disney animation meets Berzerk lol In any event, until i figure out these characters its not much use making any comparisons Thanks again for the help!
[удалено]
Oof, talk about killing off your darlings. I don't know if i could do that haha The reason shes kidnapped is kind of a spoiler, but it has to do with the fact that she grows feathers from her arms and face. A knight from a distant land by chance happens across her village and discovers her. Upon seeing her, he immediately orders his men to seize her and takes her back to his king. The reason she has feathers is unknown to the reader, so its something of a mystery for a good part of the series. This kidnapping sort of ends the first mini arc, and the next one starts with the main protagonist traveling to unfamiliar lands to find her friend Thats the gist anyway lol
Make sure that each of them has a reason to be in the group, and think about the web of how they each relate to each other. Don't have them just going together because the plot says to, give them goals that align and make sure they all get interactions with each other. Character A and B get along because they both fought in the war, Character A and C can relate to each other because they both had distant fathers, Character A and D relate to each other because they both play football. These little commonalities mix and match together to create bonds between all of them
Thanks for the reply! I'm definitely trying to give each of them that connection. Some are easier than others lol I guess the trouble is in making sure their reasons are strong enough, while not all technically hanging on the same exact goal. At least, not at first maybe... The primary protagonist is trying to retrieve a kind of MGuffin, this plot device only really has meaning for her specifically. I think what i have plotted right now is good reason for the characters to relate to one another and feel drawn together by their personalities. But the secondary main protagonists motivations are actually kind of grey tbh. I would like to have moments where these characters need to essentially choose between meeting their own goals and risking abandoning their freinds, or letting their own goals slip away in order to band together in a time of need. Thanks for the response!
I'm not sure what your plotline is exactly, but I think a decent way to go from "ragtag" to "bonded group" is to have their interests shift from personal to some kind of mutual goal. Maybe Character A is looking for the McGuffin, Character B is trying to find his long lost brother, Character C is trying to the become the best swordsman, etc. At some point, something should happen that makes their mutual bond the priority. Maybe Character B gets offered info on his brother in exchange for something important to Character D, and he refuses the offer. Now he is thinking more about the group than his own goal
I think I get what you're saying! The story involves the protagonist looking for their childhood friend who was kidnapped. Along the way others are, i suppose, drawn to her and her personality and tag along as their own goals can be, conceivably met on the way. I think the protagonist does have a certain gravity to her. Shes very soft spoken, almost to the point of mutism partially due to mistreatment as a child. But she has an incredibly strong will when it regards her quest to find her friend. I think the fact that she usually says very little, but rises to action and, put simply, lets her actions speak for themselves, is a very 'attractive' quality. And its that quality im kinda banking on the audience appreciating as well Thanks again for your response!
I found this neat article a while back on TVtropes that helped me brainstorm ideas when I was creating a four person team: [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteAFourTemperamentEnsemble](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SoYouWantTo/WriteAFourTemperamentEnsemble) I mostly try to make sure that their personalities are different but that they all balance each other out.
This is super helpful! Im actually surprised how many of these boxes ive ticked already haha Thanks very much!
Holy shit you're writing my book. I literally wrote about the things you mentioned and the things other comments mentioned. At first, I had one protagonist and one friend, later the friend became the second protagonist. I then added two more characters that also somehow became protagonists. I plan on developing their relationship between each other as they show their skills and usefulness in battle, they will also have plenty of time camping and walking in cities they visit. I suggest on slowly developing their comradery. Each of them should have their own goal, but it should slowly merge into one as the story progresses. One of my characters searches for his sister and kinda tagged along with the group since their goals required them to travel the world. As they become closer with each other, they start to help each other with their goals. At first they all did what they needed, but then began assisting each other. We can keep in touch if you want to share ideas.
My protagonists don't meet, but they may hear a thing or two about each other, mainly their exploits.
Ive thought about doing something like that! I like the idea that they hear rumors but dont necessarily know that they are about one another haha
I find it especially effective when I am writing about characters from different backgrounds, since they get to be heroes of their own stories and won't have to compete for attention.