Warriors Fanfics: Specialized Writing Guide

BASE | The Main Character

June 22, 2019

This section goes over how to build up your main character and make them interesting enough to carry your readers through your fanfiction. Because I only go over the parts about main characters not covered in other writing guides, the entire section will assume you have chosen to use an OC as your lead rather than a canon one. As a Base section, it has little to no examples drawn from canon Warriors.

In Warriors fanfictions, there is one thing that most stories lack: an interesting main character. What do I mean by this? I mean a character that does not feel like they are driving the plot forward. One that is not saying or doing much aside from what the plot demands. They are characters. Sentient cats with their own thoughts, feelings, and morals. This should not surprise you too much. Warriors is a plot-driven series, and naturally has slightly weaker characters than other fictional works. Think about it. Scourge was flat (not static thanks to the manga). Tigerstar was static. Firestar was flat and static. And there are so many named characters we just cannot be bothered to remember.

If you do not know those terms, that is fine. This section goes over that. But first, we need to discuss the most important thing a character can do for their story.

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M.C. INFLUENCE ON THE PLOT

Regardless of development, death, or dynamic changes, your main character must do something! By that, I mean they must have some kind of influence on the plot, its setting, and/or other characters. They should not just be cameras for your readers to see other characters with (some novels with 'narrator' main characters do this, but not in this fandom). If the events of our plot would happen, start to finish, exactly as we outline them with or without our lead, then what purpose does that lead serve? No matter how flat and static Firestar was throughout the books, he still had a large influence on the clans and those around him. He still had to be there for the events in the story to happen the way they did.

For our examples, we will use other fictional works with Warriors. I will go over what the basic fiction is and what influences its main characters have on their universes:

- Warriors - A pre-teen novel series about sentient cats who live away from human society and have their own laws, religions, and politics (we know).

For the first six arcs, the books' main protagonist is Firestar (Fireheart, Firepaw, Rusty). Firestar does not change throughout the story, maintaining his basic 'zero to hero' archetype throughout. However the plot directly involves him ("fire alone can save our clan") and without him, the plot would have ended differently.

- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - A Hasbro TV series about the fourth generation of its popular toy line My Little Pony. It mostly follows Twilight Sparkle, a young unicorn learning how powerful friendship can be, both metaphorically and literally.

Regardless of what you think of its fandom, the series has managed to capture the eyes of millions due to its characters. Their appearance helps greatly, but most of these characters have an impact on the episodic plots in some way. Twilight Sparkle is a powerful, book-smart pony who has had a great impact on those around her. Though she takes a back seat in later seasons, there is a whole cast of round characters to keep things fresh for its audience. For those who are fans, well-written characters include Pinkie Pie, Moondancer, Trixie, and Princesses Celestia and Luna.