Thread: Is my main character too passive?

I am writing a story set in Japan 400 years ago. A 10-year-old boy is orphaned when his parents are caught up in a rebellion. He is rescued by a mysterious stranger. He is mostly following his mentor and reacting to a new environment for a good portion of the story. How-to books say there should be a strong story goal from the beginning. My character's first concern is survival and staying alive. He also wants to take revenge on those who are responsible for his parents' deaths. Later on, he finds purpose for his life in helping people escape the government persecution in the area where he was born. But again, in the beginning, he is rather helpless and at the mercy of the big, bad world. A lot of things happen TO him, instead of him MAKING things happen.

So I really have two problems (or maybe they aren't really problems):
1. Main character is a follower and observer for about half the story. He gradually takes more active roles as he grows and learns. Too passive?
2. Story goal (or main character's goal - what drives him) changes and develops along with the main character. It is not clear to the readers at the beginning.

If my writing is good, could it still be a story people find interesting and want to keep reading? What do you think?

It doesn't sound like a problem. A 10 year old character will have to be passive initially. If his parents are dead then you need to write the emotions of it so the reader feels for him/her. It sounds good that he learns and becomes more active later because that is usually what happens in all stories - Character has dreadful experience, loses loved ones, is down, pushed around in strange circumstances, slowly becomes more confident, comes to terms with what happened, seeks revenge/or a new life....etc

I think it's alright, as long as you do it well. In the story I'm working on, none of the characters have any control until the very end. They're pulled along by the plot instead of driving it. But, since I'm using the story to explore the concepts of uncertainty, dealing with the unknown, and adaptation, that's exactly what I need.

The fact that you're using your character's passivity as a launching point for his development is great. If he starts at the top, fully in control of everything, where can he go? Nowhere. Don't worry about a passive start, or even a passive character. As long as things are happening to keep the reader interested, it's not crucial for the protagonist to be behind those happenings.

I think the advice of having a character do things does not translate exactly to, "The character must drive the plot." In just about most of the books I've read that would require the protag to have been the antagonist.

Rather, its important that your character does do something, even if that something is very small, like ignoring a mentor's commands the first few times he says it, or refusing to eat for a day or two. We often think of big big events rather than small ones. So long as the character is changing or growing, it should be fine, and there's always the golden rule of writing:

If there's a wrong way to do it, there's a right way to do it wrong.

Don't confuse vulnerability and powerlessness with passivity.

Underdogs make for great reading. If you can get the reader's heart engaged with this 10-year-old boy so that they can struggle for survival along with him that's half the battle. Sure, things will happen to him, hopefully you'll be able to get into his skin and give him true-to-life reactions. What does he learn from these experiences? What ways does he try to deal with them?

If he never learns anything and simply sits there and cries for the whole first half of the book, that's too passive. A 10-year-old is plenty old enough (and younger kids are, too) to assess what's happening (as it fits in their frame of reference) and try to decide what to do about it. How will they react next time? How will they try to protect themselves? What have they learned about who to trust?

I've heard that it's very effective to write a scene from the point of view of the person with the most to lose. Don't be afraid to tackle it.

...and if he's more of an observer/narrator for the first half of the book then take that opportunity to tell a REALLY good story about the other characters. You may find out the the story is actually about one of them.

You can't get much more passive than Bilbo Baggins when Gandalf showed up on his doorstep and told him that he was to be a burglar. He grew into the role as a leader.

Even Bilbo had to decide to walk out of his front door, though, didn't he? Gandalf and the Dwarves didn't tie him up and drag him along.

Originally Posted by Foxee

Even Bilbo had to decide to walk out of his front door, though, didn't he? Gandalf and the Dwarves didn't tie him up and drag him along.

Arguably, doing what someone tells you to do because they tell you to do it is more passive than refusing.

Originally Posted by egriffith

If my writing is good, could it still be a story people find interesting and want to keep reading?

Yes, absolutely. You'll just have to keep the reader's interest by making your character fascinating, by describing the world vividly, or some other way.

Originally Posted by egriffith

How-to books say there should be a strong story goal from the beginning.

That's just the simplest and most straight-forward way to write a story.

I always feel like my main character isn't fulfiling their role as the protagonists - other characters seem to dominate him in style and prowess since he's quite subtle in his words and actions. I'm stuck as how to make him stand out in a world where almost everyone else is superimposing themselves 24/7. (okay, that might be exaggerated. But I do have a lot of bold characters). It might be a case of expanding on their reactions to the world and its events rather than the events that they cause and the world's reaction. Or making both more important. I'm unsure, really.

Think about a typical fantasy plot. You'll have a main character that typically has to be taught how to control their particular gifts by someone stronger than them. In short, there's always a Merlin/Yoda/Obi-Wan character to teach the main character how to be. However none of the main characters in this case are passive, even if you are to take away a characters actions, everyone is their own person, and everyone acts differently. So long as you realize someone as enough of a person to truly interact the way they do, then your character is not too passive.

Something else that will make other characters stand out in your story is the image of weakness or strength. Crying, freaking out, general mental weakness or some sort of affliction will make a character seem weak and this can make the reader lose interest if that character is supposed to be the Protag.

So in this case it all depends on the character of the kid and that depends on his background. Is he receptive to training or resistant? Does he have a reason to be afraid of his trainer, if not, is he anyways? (the answer should probably be no if he is a protag, though that couldn't stop the trainer from doing something or another that scares him in a way unique to his character). There's plenty of questions to answer and figure out, and plenty of ways to have a non-action protag be non-passive.

A character has to do something. Always be doing something. When a character stops acting, whether the actions be big or small, then either he get's killed off or the story has nowhere to go.

Originally Posted by Die Oldhaetunde

A character has to do something. Always be doing something. When a character stops acting, whether the actions be big or small, then either he gets killed off or the story has nowhere to go.

If your avatar is who I think it is, then you already know of an anime where that simply isn't the case. Sometimes a story is all the more profound when the main character is pulled along by events instead of driving them.

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

If your avatar is who I think it is, then you already know of an anime where that simply isn't the case. Sometimes a story is all the more profound when the main character is pulled along by events instead of driving them.

Nice!

You know, I've never really realized it, but my MC probably has more Shinji in him than I ever intended. It's strange the kinds of things that influence us.

I would definitely describe my MC as passive. His main motivation is avoiding pain and death until the climax where his forced to confront these things and has no opportunity to run away like he normally does.

I think as long as your MC becomes an active character by the end of the story, you it should be fine. You have to give him room to grow after all. Just make sure that his character progression is believable. If he starts being more active, there should be a reason why he becomes more active. In other words, if he normally freezes in the face of a fight, he should not all of the sudden find courage out of nowhere and start fighting. Something should happen to him that either gives him confidence to fight or his desperation reaches a level the surpasses his fear.