How do you write an MC with no friends?

This is exactly my point. Stories that present not have any human connection as healthy are dehumanizing. Most of us need people, whether that is online friends (which are totally valid) or coworkers or family connections or something else. I've seen a lot of media that present MCs who don't need anyone: total, complete true loners. And half the time, they stay that way the entire movie/book and never make any meaningful connections and never struggle with feeling alone. That, to me, is dehumanizing. I just don't see how it can't be. It's very rare that someone can live like that and not be depressed. I mean, there are people who have schizoid personality disorder and they genuinely don't need people, but do we really need more media that says it's ok to be completely alone? This message is too common in my opinion, and I think sends the message that we don't need each other, when, if the past two years have taught us anything, it's that we do, in general, need each other. Feeling alone is an almost universal feeling and it's horrible and to present it as anything but just feels inauthentic. That might just be me bucking against my own discomfort with being alone though, cause like, yeah, maybe some people just never feel alone. It's really hard for me to understand that, because, to me, even just having one friend is significantly different than having no friends, but logically I can accept that I am wrong and that it happens.

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... do you though? You're not exactly being any less contrarian by assuming you already know the answer. At least if you just asked the question, the other person can at least pretend it wasn't rhetorical and give their honest answer.

(I bet the answer is 'yes', because it's an incredibly common question people ask when trying to offer advice on 'how to write X'.)

Sorry, it just really bothers me when people insist they know what's going in other people's heads. (Kind of like how people insist that they know you're miserable if you have no friends, you might even say!)

@Breezy I do need deep human interactions, but that doesn't necessarily translate to needing friends. I can strike up meaningful conversations with complete strangers, and I'm satisfied with that. I'd be okay with not talking to the same person twice every again in my life XD

Oof. I don't think I conveyed what I meant well at all if this is how you interpreted what I said. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

I should clarify that I don't think there's anything wrong with writing a friendless character and they can be just as interesting as those with friends. My favorite fictional character of all time actually spends a decade of his life living alone in the woods, entirely disconnected from society, and these sections of his life story are just as compelling to me as when he's surrounded by people.

Furthermore, I really don't exaggerate when I call myself a hermit. I live a solitary life, but I'm considered (by myself, co-workers, family) a very happy, optimistic, functional, 'normal' person, and I've found ways to live a meaningful life without close friends. I don't intend to invalidate friendless people; I am one lol. I am intimately aware of what it is to be friendless and what that life looks like, so I know also that people don't choose it (or fall into it) for no reason at all, and it deserves to be handled with honest thought.

If this thread was titled "how do you write an MC with a lot of friends" I would still ask you 'why' (tangent: In this case, I'd argue that one shouldn't throw in a bunch of friend-characters for no reason, every choice should contribute to characterization, which should contribute to the overall story; I believe good stories cut out as much arbitrary filler as possible). I ask you these questions because I think as writers we should always question why we make the choices we do with regards to our stories and characters. Being thoughtful and conscious of what you're doing helps you create a more coherent, effective story, so I've always advocated asking 'why' constantly as a creator.

I stand by what I said, and hope that this comment clarifies my meaning a little; I really do believe there's always a reason for everything (and, especially, should be when you're writing a story), and that deciding on some believable reasons for why MC is friendless will help you understand her better as your protagonist, how her friendlessness will play into the story, and how it'll shape her character arc and direct her story.

Even if you don't intend it to be a huge defining part of her character with emphasis placed on it, most fictional characters do have friendships. There are entire genres built around interpersonal relationships, so your MC not having friends will immediately set her apart and change the tone/direction of the story whether that was your intention or not. For example, I've noticed that stories featuring solitary protagonists tend to be slower-paced, more contemplative, and center around a similar set of themes. This kind of main character type lends itself to certain stories and tones, so my question is simply: What are you wanting to write, and how does your MC tie into it?

True, true. I don't mean to say that relationships are the only part of our lives that shape us, only that they're an undeniably significant one. Didn't intend to offend. Again, I am one of these solitary people but I'm fairly confident I'm not an aimless, pointless, passionless blob with no character potential either. :')

Going back to the main question of this thread, "how do you write an MC with no friends", I still think you first need to ask yourself "why". Why are they friendless and what purpose does this serve in the story? There are a ton of ways you could write a friendless MC. Knowing what exactly you're aiming for, and what kind of story you want to write, will be helpful to you in determining how you're going to approach writing this character.

Also agree with BoomerZ that creating an MC before knowing your story is like putting the cart before the horse, and that a lonely character is a setting, not a story. Hard to advise before getting more information.

Reading from your summary, I think if you want a character with no friends and since this is about free will, maybe you would benefit with a Basara/Giorno-type character where they're whole gimmick is that they're forces of nature, therefore they tend to blend in the background a lot... even tho there's the poster boys (except for Basara). They don't talk a lot, but they end up being the biggest reason the plot is even progressing.

I have a character in a future story I'm planning who's this cowboy. He's expressive af but he doesn't want to hang out with others since he thinks they'll get in the way of his life's mission (also he doesn't really do friends). Although there's a reason why he doesn't want friends, and while he does end up questioning whether or not he wants a solitary life, he does stay committed to becoming this force of nature that everyone sees him.

So maybe just do that. A force of nature or someone who's so driven that they don't really care for relationships. Not that they wanna be attached or anything, it's just not their thing.

Perhaps we tend to see and remember messages that annoy us more than the ones that don't? We feel overwhelmed by messages in media that we disagree with or don't empathize with, when perhaps the reality is that there is more representation that we think. Not specifically about people with neurodivergent, because I will be the first to say I believe that is an underrepresented population in media. However, I have noticed that action films and plot heavy novels often generate characters that do not have strong emotional connections. Of course, this is not all plot driven media, just some. You mentioned the power of friendship trope and I mentioned the loner trope (which I do not define as someone who pushes others away, but simply as an individual who does not intrinsically need human connections or friendships). These are both tropes, so perhaps they are more common than either of us believe.

Personally, I simply believe that most good story telling is predicated upon the interactions between characters and that it is through relationships that character is most clearly developed and explored, but I'm willing to admit that's 100% personal taste. I imagine my favorite stories with the friendships and relationships stripped of them and, even if the plot remains, imagine I would not enjoy them. However, at the end of the day, I firmly believe you should just write what makes you happy. In the incredibly diverse world, even if you are in the minority, there will always be someone who enjoys the same things you do or is feeling the same way you are. I'm a huge sucker for the power of friendship stories, but I think it's alright if you aren't.

Just to clarify, I certainly do not people who don't have friends shouldn't want to live, nor do I believe our value comes from others, nor do I believe not having friends means there is anything wrong with you. Feeling lonely is an incredibly common experience and many of us will have periods in our lives where we do not have friends or don't connect with anyone. This does not make us any less valuable or human. To me, saying something like "Not having friends makes you less human" would be like saying "Not having food makes you less human". What I meant in my previous comments was that most of us will crave at least one person to talk to, that social interaction is a universal need, even if its just an online friend or parent or coworker. However, I was wrong. I was wrong in my previous comment to say that all people need others, because I recognize now there are forms of neurodivergence that completely eliminate this drive for friendships. To clarify, I'm not talking about ADS, because even individuals who have difficulty connecting with others, still crave human connection, even if to lesser degree. However, some individuals don't need friends at all and that's valid. If you want to explore that type of individual, you certainly don't need my approval, but I say go for it. You're right, there are people out there who will love it. I have no idea how to write that type of story, because I have never enjoyed that type of story, but if you feel like you are the type of person that literally needs no one then you're probably the type of person who would be able to write that sort of story most authentically and beautifully.

I apologize for my previously ignorant statements and offending you and hope you are able to write your character as you've been envisioning.