#MGMonday: The Main Character - A Brutal Guide

Characters in Middle Grade: The Main Character

Every story needs one!

Main characters in middle grade books follow similar rules, but there are some things worth mentioning that are more specific to this age range. Here’s a (somewhat brutal!) guide to developing middle grade main characters.

Age

Children generally don’t want to read about adults… they just don’t. Why would they? When I was a child, it was clear that adults got to go on more adventures than I did. They could choose where they went. If they wanted to run away with a magical ring to Mordor, then they could just up sticks and leave. Children don’t have that luxury.

But this also goes the other way. Children don’t usually want to read about younger children. A ten year old will be more interested in reading a book about 10-12 year olds that 7-8 year olds.

So, when you’re writing a middle grade main character, make sure you age them in the same small bracket as your intended reader. Personally, I liked to age my protagonists at about 12 years old. It’s a good age, where many children are beginning to experience a little more independence with the transition to Secondary School. They’re young enough to be interesting to children, and old enough to be an age to aim for.

Good or Bad

There’s no hard and set rules. Some authors, such as Eoin Colfer, have made very successful middle grade books with extremely morally grey characters. On the whole, however, the main character in a middle grade book should be morally good. They should have faults, and thereby be believable, but their intentions should be admirable.

After all, you want your main character to be something of a role model for the children reading the book.

This follows nicely on to my next point…

Perfect or Imperfect

Imperfect. Just… always imperfect. Perfect people are irritating. Be cautious, too, of making your main character popular with everyone. Realistically, that’s just going to switch the reader off.

Remember… the best role models are not perfect, but they strive to improve. They have flaws which they try to overcome. In “Taking Wing”, Freya loses control multiple times, endangering both herself and her friends. It’s something she needs to overcome before the end of the book, leading to her main character arc.

Every main character needs a character arc, meaning they develop in some way throughout the story. Perhaps they learn to speak up for themselves, or maybe they discover something important about themselves. A character arc is a must. And it is difficult to write a character arc for an already perfect character.

The Chosen One

When done well, this can turn into a great story. But, it is a trope and, as such, you should aim to do it slightly differently to everyone else you’ve read.

And I wouldn’t use the term ‘Chosen One’ in the book either. If someone came up to me in real life, and introduced themselves as the Chosen One, I would instantaneously dislike them. Honestly, it’s bad enough being around anyone who clearly think they’re God’s gift to mankind!

The Orphan

Again, it’s a trope in middle grade books, so be careful if you go down this route. The reason behind so many orphan main characters is that adults have a tendency to get in the way. But this can be a lazy solution, and should be done with care, if at all.

Visualising your main character

If you’re confident with art, then great! You might be able to draw a good picture of your main character.

On the other hand, if you’re like me, and not good at drawing people, then there are useful options for visualising your character.

I know AI has a bad name in the creative community but, used properly and sensitively, it is an important tool for writers. There are multiple options for generating AI pictures. Simply write a character description in a box and see what it generates.

I’m not suggesting you use these photos in your promotion when you publish your book. You don’t know where the AI software has taken aspects of the resulting pictures, and you could accidentally end up facing copyright issues.

I’m sorry, artists, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend getting character concept art from an illustrator before you finish the book. Quite rightly, artists charge a reasonable amount for their work. When you’re getting your book published, this is worth paying. But wait until your book is ready for that publishing phase. You may not get past the fourth chapter, and then it is simply a waste of money.

Don’t be put off by these brutal notes! After all, you don’t need to like a main character to enjoy the story. My sisters invariably dislike my main characters, and I don’t really like theirs, but they’re still great stories!

What's New With Crowvus

This week has been a little hectic, so time has had to be snatched here and there, but things are still looking up.

Sir Louis Curlewy is booked in for its cover reveal on the 10th February! That is just in one week time! It's available for pre-order as an ebook here or, if you'd prefer to have a paperback, it will be available on the 21st April. It's all uploaded to Amazon already - I don't think we've ever been this 'on it' with one of our books. We're still looking for book reviewers as reviews are worth their weight in gold. If you're interested, please get in touch.

I am currently editing The Stealth of Caledon, by Virginia Crow. It's already had a thorough edit, so there isn't much to add, but the more edits, the better!

February is the month of book covers here at Crowvus HQ! My main job for this month is to finish all book covers for 2025 Crowvus books. I'm so excited to share with you the final cover for Sir Louis Curlewy next week!

Sir Louis Curlewy Hidden Cover! Eeek! Check out the blog next Monday for the full thing!