*shrugs*

Well, we’ve reached the end of our week on clichéd male characters that you really ought to avoid, and I have one more guy I really want to talk to you about. And I’m going to be honest here. He’s in some of my favorite books. But that’s not enough for me to recommend writing him. In fact, that’s part of the reason why I recommend avoiding him entirely.

The Average Joe Who Does Amazing Things

Who is he, you ask?

Funny you should ask!

The Average Joe Who Does Amazing Things is… just that. He’s the most normal guy you’ve ever met, until he turns around and you realize that he’s really not normal at all. He’s awesome. And he can do anything and everything. How freaking cool is that?

How entirely overdone is that?

I’m going to use Neo from the Matrix as my primary example here. He’s the average joe, until he exits the matrix and finds out that he’s this super awesome guy who can and will do everything. That makes him really cool, except that he’s still really struggling to be normal, which makes his character fall apart by the end of the series. (I know, I know, that series fell apart for far too many reasons)

Okay, but like I said, one of my favorite series’ contains this character! So it has to be okay to write him sometimes, right? Let’s check:

Why should we read him?

What’s his purpose in life?

What is his draw, for the reader?

See, this is where the pros of the character really begin to fall apart. This character has been done, a lot, and done very well. So if you’re going to do him, like I’ve been saying all week, you need to find a new way to do it, a way that's not going to be the exact same character we've all read a million times.

Why? Because readers need a reason to read him, and we don’t always want to read the same character. In fact, most of us these days are looking for something new.

So maybe your version of this guy is different, maybe he is utterly unique, and in that case, I say go for it. But if he falls into the serious cliché category, it might be time to look for someone new, or to modify him to the point that he's no longer so overdone. 

Generally, I’d say find someone new. And for you, I have someone very special in mind. To be revealed, next Friday.

Woo!

[love]

{Rani Divine}

p.s. Don't forget to hop over to the RAD Blog today to check out a never-before-released excerpt from my next novel, Dwr: People in the Water! Preorders open April 1!