How to Create the Perfect Protagonist

This is, of course, highly debatable, as is every one of the following points.

However, generally speaking, you want your readers to be on the protagonist's side. For that to be the case, it's helpful if he isn't a loathsome, amoral scumbag. 

Typically, a likeable main character will be: a fairly decent human being (meaning well even if the results of their actions are less than perfect), smart/witty (although this isn't by any stretch a must), not too self-absorbed or whiny, and, in more general terms, the kind of person a reader might want to be friends with.

There are, obviously, countless writers who have broken the 'likeable protagonist' rule. One of the most famous examples is Emily Bronte, whose Wuthering Heights is littered with thoroughly dislikeable characters - and this was something critics of the novel pounced on.

So, a cast of rotten eggs can still make a great read. But, in most cases, if a protagonist doesn't gain a reader's empathy, it's tough to keep their interest, too.  

OK, so we've established that your main character needs to be essentially 'good', and now I might seem to be contradicting myself. Well, I am and I'm not.

Look at it this way, how do you feel about people in your life who are perfect? They never seem to do anything wrong, they're good at everything, and seem to have a boatload of luck. We hate these people, right? Same goes for fictional characters.

If you want a character to be likeable, he or she has to be flawed. How flawed do I mean? Well, that depends on your character and the circumstances you're thrusting her in to. But, think of some of your favorite characters and list their flaws.

• Hamlet's indecision
• Elizabeth's hastiness to cast judgment
• Frankenstein's insatiable curiosity
• Superman's kryptonite 

Flaws are often pigeon-holed into one of three categories: minor, major or tragic. Minor flaws are surface imperfections, like Oedipus' club foot.

Major flaws, meanwhile, are larger problems that will cause significant hindrance. An example would be Heathcliff's infatuation with Cathy. 

The tragic flaw, or as Aristotle dubbed it harmatia belongs to ...yes, you've guessed it, tragic heroes. It's the aforementioned indecisiveness of Hamlet, its the hubris of Oedipus or the jealousy of Othello - faults in a character that will, inevitably, lead to his downfall.  

I am aware that I have already mentioned one very famous protagonist for whom this does not hold true.

And, you've got to admit, there are moments when you want to slap Hamlet round the face and tell him to just get the heck on with it. A completely passive, moping, over-analyzing protagonist has the capacity to really get on your nerves!

Now, as with most of the above pointers, this one may hinge on what kind of novel you're writing.

But, as a rule of thumb, you do want to keep your protagonist focused and moving toward whatever goal it is they're chasing. Naturally, there'll be distractions along the route - distractions are fine, but it's important to keep coming back to the crux of the story.

Remember, a protagonist who is 'doing' is much more interesting to read than one who is having things happen to her. 

Even when you're writing in the first person, you don't want to put a protagonist's heart on her sleeve - at least not from the get-go. 

Almost every interesting protagonist will have some intrigue surrounding them - Clarice Starling's childhood in The Silence of The Lambs; what did Jack Torrence do during those drunken rages in The Shining?; the death of Harry Potter's parents.

Some of a readers questions might be answered, while other things may stay perpetually and deliberately obscure.

The important thing to keep in mind is that an interest in what makes a protagonist tick ensures a continued interest in the protagonist, and consequently, in the novel itself.