A book solely dedicated to my own opinions on writing, be it character tropes, powers, and other wonky ideas that I have something to say about. Everything written here is open for discussion and you may list your own verdicts in the comments. Now c...
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The main character.
The centrepiece of every story is, of course, its main character, most commonly I come across stories that have only one main character which is, in my opinion, the perfect amount. Some stories manage two or even more leading characters which are all well and good, however, it also means more work and a stronger burden on the writer because he has to develop them as individuals and as a group.
Why side-characters are more important than you think.
Side characters are much more important than people give them credit for and are generally pushed to the side, no pun intended, to leave a lot of room for the main character. This isn't necessarily always a bad thing if you are doing a Reader insert, because if you don't really plan to focus on other characters it's okay to just write mostly about the MC, after all, we don't read Reader inserts to read about characters we already know, but rather to see what the author does with the MC and how the plot develops. But despite this, you shouldn't push away side-characters and have the MC do everything solo. Side characters help the plot progress and also help shape and develop other characters' personalities in a sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle way.
Why I think Reader inserts are an easy and simple way to make a good story.
Fanfictions based on already existing plotlines are all well and good, but there's always something missing in them for me and that is the inclusion of something that gives the pre-existing world something, a breath of fresh air if you will. I, as a male myself, of course, prefer to read Male Reader inserts but I don't mind Male OC inserts either. I believe Reader inserts are a great starting point for any writer because they give you a lot of leisure, I mean, you don't even have to bother with their name for crying out loud! But, there are limits to how much freedom a writer should give to the readers. Personally, I HATE when people are bitching about things like the character already having a set colour scheme, well, it's mainly because its easier to write that way and we don't have to use a billion acronyms.
Overpowered MCs can still be interesting in the grand scheme of things.
A lot of people on this site love to make the main character overpowered in some way, which can lead to stagnancy and general disinterest in the story. Stories that are not heavily focused on combat and already have a pre-determined power scaling should not have a main character that can do something that is taboo. For example, if you take Houseki no Kuni, an anime/manga about sentient rocks and put a magic user as the main character, it becomes stupid. I can understand why you would want yourself (in the case of Reader inserts) or your original character to be overpowered and unique, but do it in a way that fits the story and doesn't contradict any of the already determined tropes. Here are my preferred solutions to having an overpowered main character. First, the story will include more overpowered characters so that the MC has at least an equal or even a superior to work towards. Second, the story doesn't focus on combat feats or dick-measuring contest and instead focuses on character development, in this case, it's important to remember that characters don't change on a whim and require time to develop their personalities in the way that you want them to. Third, give them a weakness that can be exploited and isn't pure bullshit, an example of this could be making a God character and literally giving them immortality only to say "It's not always reliable." like, what the fuck does that mean? If you want to have a God MC either give them a proper weakness, a proper opponent or focus on personality rather than power.
