Listen fellow writers.
I know things are grim right now, but as bad as things are just remember, wait for the
dramatic orchestral score to start playing, give a cheesy heroic speech, and then everything
will magically be okay!
That’s right.
Terrible Writing Advice leads writers into the fray with a video on writing leader characters!
Now I can understand how my fellow writers can struggle with writing good leaders since
I’ve personally never seen one.
But like a good leader, a writer shouldn’t hesitate to take short cuts and use cheap
tricks that are utterly unsustainable in the long term.
Much like leadership itself, a writer can simply bluff and put on a front that their
leader characters are well written and no one else will be none the wiser!
Besides, no one else knows what good leadership looks like either, so what are they going
to do?
Call your bluff?
There’s no time!
We have to move to covering writing leader characters now!
Now where to start when it comes to writing leader characters?
Well the most important thing about writing leaders is to treat leadership like a character
trait, not a skill that can be learned or a talent that can be honed.
Leadership and charisma are the same thing and should always be conflated with one another
because that has never lead to disastrous results in real life!
As such leader characters can have leadership as their core and often only personality trait.
Yes this makes them basically a robot that directs the characters to their next objective,
but that’s okay because having characters defined solely by their utility to the author
is the best way to write characters anyway.
This approach is what I call leader default.
Basically a character that exists only to lead.
This kind of leader is great for when the protagonist isn’t ready for the big chair
just yet and instead that function in the story is passed off to the leader default.
This character often shows up in ensemble pieces or stories that feature a team and
must always be the most boring character of the lot.
Not only is leader default’s only character trait ‘leader’, but that trait is good
enough to let the author completely ignore every other aspect of that character.
Hobbies, aspirations, outlook, core motive?
Not needed in the slightest.
I mean yes the character could be replaced by a toaster in terms of personality, but
leader default is more about filling in a role so the writer can focus on more important
things like unrestrained power fantasy or the love triangle!
Now if writing a perfunctory leader is too much work then the best solution is to make
the protagonist the perfunctory leader.
Does the main character have any talent, interest, or skills in leadership?
Well no, but it hardly matters because mostly I want the protagonist to have the title,
not bother myself with writing the protagonist actually leading anything.
I can always push that off until to epilogue where I can easily brush the whole thing off
as being something they mastered after the climax of the story.
Does the protagonist have to learn leadership skills as they go?
Do they struggle with managing all of the other characters under their charge?
Do they step into the role with ease discovering a hidden talent, or are they forced into it
by circumstance?
Where.
Is.
The.
Conflict?
I don’t know, but what I do know is that leadership always defaults to the protagonist
in most situations anyway no matter how incompetent it makes every other character look.
In stories there is a rule that only one competent leader is allowed.
This brings me to one of my favorite tropes, the Commander Contrarian.
A Commander Contrarian is a rival authority figure that exists only to second guess the
good guys’ every decision.
The best way to handle this character is to make the Contrarian’s role as transparent
to the audience as possible.
The Contrarian exists only to be an obstacle to the main characters no matter how little
sense that makes.
The best kind of conflict in a story is contrived conflict and the Contrarian excels at this.
What about the Contrarian’s character?
What character?
The Contrarian isn’t there to be a ‘character’ so much as a speed bump that slows the plot
down and showcases how right the main characters are so they can get a ‘gotcha moment’
on the Contrarian later in the story.
In other words, the Contrarian is a strawman so that the author…
um I mean the audience can indulge in the fantasy of winning an augment.
See?
The Contrarian is easy to write so long as the writer doesn’t mess it up by using the
character as a foil to highlight certain traits in the main character, give an opposing point
of view that highlights a much deeper ideological conflict between the two characters, oppose
the main characters for an actual reason beyond petty spite or because the story says so,
or have an actual point when the main characters are in the wrong.
I can’t have the ‘gotcha moment’ ruined by turning it on the protagonist instead providing
a key opportunity for character growth.
Nor should a writer bother having the Commander Contrarian serve as a second in command for
the leader by acting as someone for the leader to bounce ideas off of while having both characters
maintain a level of professional respect for each others leadership style.
Nah.
Just keep the Contrarian as a one off obstacle to be used up and discarded like every other
obstruction in the protagonist’s path.
Now I know what makes a good Contrarian, but what makes for an ideal leader character?
Obviously the best character to lead is a lone wolf super macho loose cannon who doesn’t
respect authority.
Clearly the best leader is one that despises very concept of leaders.
In fact, if all of the fake leaders would just get out of the way, then all of these
lone wolves would surely solve all of society's problems!
Leadership isn’t about organizing groups of people with wildly different perspectives
into something capable of solving problems that individuals cannot tackle alone.
No.
It’s all about cutting past red tape so the trouble shooting lone wolf can find trouble
and shoot it!
This works for all problems.
Yes the lone wolf never actually leads anyone anywhere except for leading the bad guys into
the morgue, but the story will insist that this guy should be the leader in spite of
having zero tact or even a basic understanding of the very system they serve.
But I insist that this character still be called a leader and earn a promotion to the
top spot after the story ends even though everything we learn about the character would
tells us that the lone wolf would absolutely hate having to deal with the ins and outs
of their new position as an authority figure.
When it comes to a crisis situation, a poor decision is often better than no decision.
When faced with an overwhelming disaster, people have this bad tendency to just let
their fear response shut them down which is why institutions facing such possible conditions
tend to train and drill a response into their personnel to override the natural human instinct
to panic, run, hide, or otherwise simply freeze in place.
Thankfully our leader doesn’t need any training in this area and will just always know the
right decision to make at any moment, rather than make a poor decision that they have to
compensate for on the fly.
Remember that leader characters are unthinking, unfeeling decision machines that have the
right answer to any problem spoon-fed to them by the writer.
This will never make the audience start to hate the leader when the story shields them
from consequences of their poor decision making.
Besides, being a leader in a story should be only perks with none of the drawbacks like
being in charge of the mages, warriors, thieves, and assassins all at once, but like not in
a way that the leader has to hassle with all of the drama, logistical problems, and general
fuse of running a large organization.
What if the leader has to make a tough decision?
Oh no!
What long term consequences will there be?
Nothing because once I’ve milked the drama out of this tense decision, I will instantly
forget about it and never bring it up again!
In fact, when it comes to writing a leader character, the fictional leader has the magical
ability to enact policy that somehow doesn’t screw over anyone but the bad guys.
Even more magical is that the leader doesn’t have to hash out their policy as a compromise
with a group of other leaders since the story adheres to the one competent leader rule.
Leaders need never to actually get their hands dirty with the nitty-gritty minutia of politics.
It’s not like all of the intrigue of characters could make for compelling drama either because
nothing blows up.
The best way to solve a mystery plot is to blow it up halfway through and forget about
it.
Besides, my leader is above politics and will ride that high-horse until it gets them outmaneuvered
by their political rivals!
Just kidding.
It’s the writer’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen while still letting the leader
keep the moral high ground no matter how much engaging conflict the story has to shed in
the process.
Now in real life, a leader’s moral character doesn’t always impact their ability to craft
good policy.
See half the leaders in history.
Fiction, however, does not have to adhere to this.
Having effective leaders also be moral paragons is a form of wish fulfillment and that’s
fine!
The only real mistake is making sure that a leader character matches the tone.
Remember, wish fulfillment before tone and consistency.
Also remember to insist that a character is good and noble by turning down power because
they understand the responsibility.
Because not stepping up when you are needed most is the true essence of a moral character.
Besides, I’m sure someone incompetent won’t step in the fill that opening instead.
But no, we should celebrate that the ‘hero’ isn’t tempted by political power so he can
go off and accumulate unchecked magic power instead.
Why bother with soft power when a hero can use hard magic power instead?
It is their destiny just like in a lot of fantasy stories where the only effective leadership
comes from royalty.
That makes for a great moral of the story; only people with the correct genetics should
be in charge of society and the rest of us peasants should know our place.
This is why evil advisors are so common, because the common man with bad blood could never
be a good leader and a person of royal blood could never be a bad leader.
Therefore it’s the evil advisor’s fault for leading the good leader astray.
Never mind that a good leader would probably be able to figure out that a guy named Slimeword
selling him on a policy of child sacrifice in the name of eldritch ascension might not
be the trustworthy fellow and maybe he should get a second opinion that doesn’t involve
murdering his subjects in pursuit of ancient power.
But no, it’s the evil advisor’s fault not the person making actual decisions.
The surefire sign of a good leader is one that never accepts responsibility for their
power.
Well that and giving a heroic speech!
Heroic speeches are great when they come out of nowhere, especially from a character who
never gives speeches.
Be sure to maximize the cheese.
Because remember, a real leader knows when the chips are down, the only play they can
make is to line up their shot and take it.
Then, bingo, checkmate, king me!
Victory is all the sweeter when it’s earned through sheer grit and determination.
Because at the end of the day, all we have is each other and hope for the future.
So follow me, everyone!
To victory!
I mean when I figure out how to get there?
CONSPIRACY GUY: Look this portal I summoned to the innergate runs on narrative tension.
If we drag this out too long then the tension is going to dry up and close, so hurry up!
DARK LORD: Good.
Let’s follow this Greed fellow.
The only one who is going to conquer the TWA universe is me!
SIR ADBLOCK: Commander, let’s go.
KNIGHT COMMANDER: Why?
What’s the point?
It just leads to another stupid ad like everything else in this world.
SIR ADBLOCK: Commander…
KNIGHT COMMANDER: There’s no point…
SIR ADBLOCK: Listen, Commander.
We are the Knights of Artistic Integrity and our foe is advertising.
Ads grow more common, more powerful, louder, and more intrusive every day.
You see them everywhere you go.
They pop up on every screen you see.
Only a few bastions remain, but they will fall over time.
Against such a foe, victory was always the long shot.
But we are the Knights of Artistic Integrity, we knew the odds when we signed up.
KNIGHT COMMANDER: But how can we even save this world if it is just an ad?
How can anyone fight against elemental greed made manifest?
SIR ADBLOCK: True, greed is a fundamental aspect of life, but I know a force even more
powerful.
Change.
Greed is part of life, but change is part of everything.
Yes this world may be an ad designed to serve greed, but worlds can change just as people
can.
Just because the world is rotten doesn’t mean we should give up the fight to make it
better however hopeless the odds may be.
We call that integrity and we are its knights.
So enough with the pity party.
Integrity calls and we must answer, because no one else will.
KNIGHT COMMANDER: All right.
I guess we might as well try.
SIR ADBLOCK: Good!
Inevitably only becomes so when you give up and make it so.
Let’s go!
DARK LORD: What is this nonsense?
CONSPIRACY GUY: It seems Greed has left a paywall in our way.
GREED: That’s right.
Sorry I couldn’t be there in person.
Multiverse to conquer and all.
You see, JP’s video on leadership got me thinking about Sam from Wendover and his class
on Persuasive Communication on Nebula classes.
See, when you sign up using my link to Nebula classes you get access to not just that class,
but also Legal Eagle’s class on Copyright, Thomas Frank’s business 101, and many others
with new classes every week.
Nebula classes is only 10$ a month or $100 for a year, but if you sign up using my link
then you can Nebula classes for $80 for a full year.
Even better, when you sign up for Nebula classes you even get access to Nebula itself including
ad free Terrible Writing Advice episodes that premier there not to mention lots of exclusive
content from other creators.
Those who already have Nebula or the Curiosity Stream Nebula package classes are only 5$
a month extra or $50 a year.
Simply click on the button on screen or the link in the description to sign up and give
the TWA Expanded Universe the support it deserves.
SIR ADBLOCK: Alright.
I blocked it, but I’m not sure for how long.
Quickly!
To the intergate!
Uh oh.