How do you write an MC with no friends?

DokiDokiTsuna 2022-04-24 20:03:58 UTC #25

Okay, since a lot of people have asked about the context of the story this MC is in, I'll take a crack at describing it. 6: But A, it feels a little weird because this is just a proto-story; it mostly exists in my head at this moment in time and I still don't know that much about the details.

And B...you're probably going to find that the existence of close friends in her life doesn't have a whole lot to do with this. ^^; Like, yes, of course the strength of her relationships will affect her opinion on the central conflict, but there's a reason I see it as more of an incidental facet of her life and less of a foundational pillar of her character.

Summary

So...as some of you may have guessed, this is an action-oriented story. To give a brief synopsis: human beings are used as avatars for extra-dimensional aliens to play a fantasy MMORPG. ^^ Each pair-up is voluntary, and the humans benefit from the aliens' ability to manipulate causality in their favor, based on how many 'points' they can rack up 'in-game'. This is the 'part-time job' I mentioned that the MC is occupied with.

As for the actual plot: over time, a lot of the human avatars in her area have been getting killed. Like, they are actually dying IRL, and this is not something that's supposed to happen. From the aliens' perspective, people's accounts are randomly getting deleted, so they're upset, too. And most of the story consists of figuring out who's behind it and resolving the problem.

Now, this is where things get fuzzy...as I said, I haven't actually worked on this story very seriously. ^^; But my current idea is that there is a certain player who doesn't want humans to have free will anymore, and their murder spree is an attempt to collect enough causality points to give the aliens full control over the world (and of course, their alien partner is totally on board with this). Eventually MC will have to confront this guy, there'll be a big final battle, maybe some anime speeches...you get the idea.

...And there you have it.

And now that I think about it (honestly, talking through this has helped a lot) I feel like her position in life of appreciating people and liking to be around them, even when these feelings aren't reciprocated, makes her a good foil to an antagonist who thinks people are so worthless they deserve to be made into mindless puppets.

Of course, yes, a typical 'power of friendship' MC would be a good foil to that, too, but this idea is more unique and I'm doing it instead. =p

P.S. I have this sneaking suspicion that some of you only asked for this context so that you can point at things and say 'oh, but look, these people could be her friends! Why don't you just write that?' As in, instead of what I actually want to write (see the title of the thread if you need a reminder).
Please...do not do this.

Really?? Because my experience has been the EXACT opposite. o_O The 'power of friendship' isn't a trope for no reason...it's everywhere. In everything.

'You don't have anything if you don't have friends', 'I would die without my friends', 'no friends no life'...these are the messages I've been bombarded with since childhood. That made me feel like I was some kind of freak or failure who shouldn't want to be alive.

And I'm not going to downplay the importance of social interaction for human beings as a whole...I've been through psychology classes, and I'm not stupid or self-centered enough to think that my experience represents the majority.
But, you know...I think people deserve a break from this messaging, occasionally? ^^; Just once in a while? People who are actually lonely and don't want to be reminded of what they're missing, or people who are just solitary and fine with it...or people who have bad friends. They deserve a break from constantly being told that other people that they can't control should determine the value of their lives.

Maybe this is just a neurodivergent thing...like, physical contact is good for most humans, but people who can't stand it still deserve to have a voice. Speech is important to the development of most humans, but people who don't speak still deserve to have a (figurative) voice.
We get that we're not the majority, you don't have to preach at us about how awful it is for neurotypical people to go without the things we spend our lives without, for the most part. But that doesn't mean our experiences are invalid, or need to be censored.

...I simply do not agree with that. :T I've been making stories for characters for years now, I've never had any complaints, and it's fun and works well for me and I'm going to keep doing it.

In general, I don't think the order in which you do things as a writer matters. What does matter is building outward from the ideas you start with, whether they're characters or events or even just settings, to create something that an audience can enjoy. And I think you should limit your advice to that process...y'know, the part writers actually spend time on and have control over.

skyfarron 2022-04-24 20:05:29 UTC #26

. w . i just write from experience

DiegoPalacios 2022-04-24 20:38:28 UTC #27

Well.....the time the person would otherwise spend socializing is spent in other activities, be it their hobby and/or passion, or something to distract them from their loneliness.

sometimes a person can use some coping mechanisms, like an imaginary friend

The lack of friends can be caused by different reasons....be it shyness, being a difficult person to deal with, being weird or sometimes it can be circumstantial, like a lack of common interests with the people they meet or other circumstances which may lead to them bonding more hard.

powerplantanimations 2022-04-24 20:45:26 UTC #28

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.

Breezy 2022-04-24 23:05:47 UTC #29

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.

bulgariansumo 2022-04-24 23:47:10 UTC #30

Sometimes writing out what you already have planned helps, so it's great that it worked out that way for you. Reading over your summary, it's perfectly possible to write your MC's belief in the inherent value of human life without friendships coming into play, especially since I'd assume most people who will read your story are human beings who believe in the inherent value of human life.

If you want to flesh out her downtime hobbies in a way where it's less likely for readers to assume "Oh, she's using her hobbies to compensate for not having friends," I'd suggest having her be the kind of person who does 'fetch quests' for other people for fun. Stuff like getting cats out of trees, walking old people across the street, etc. It could be different people every time. She may not even need to interact with the people she's helping if you want to go for a more mysterious vibe. Her finding satisfaction in helping people in their daily lives might also help solidify the 'humans have inherent value' theme without going into 'everyone MUST have friends' territory, but that's just a suggestion.

Jenny-Toons 2022-04-25 06:38:44 UTC #31

Kinda late to the convo, and I can't tell if someone else has suggested this:

But the MC could be a "floater".

That's usually someone who moves from group to group and just knows a lot of people. These encounters may not be friendships, but they are relationships that invoke community without labels and expectations. And since you're going for an MC that's normal, this could read more like someone who prefers to live in the moment and see the general good in people.

Some ideas can be her talking a stroll around town, mingling into the crowds and taking in the atmosphere. There's a lot of people who enjoy people noises, and often times they find themselves in crowded places to settle into that scene (cafes, parks, beaches, public resting areas, etc.)

You can also show how her hobbies have her interact with other people. If she enjoys bird-watching, maybe she's part of a weekly bird watchers club or volunteers with animal programs.

And you can balance that with moments where she's alone, just vibing by herself and enjoying her own company.

Just a thought to consider!

monotone_ink 2022-04-25 11:40:47 UTC #33

Get into their head

system 2022-05-25 11:40:50 UTC #34

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