Writing Tips and Reviews

The Main Character is Special

Self insert with super powers. This usually goes into the Mary Sue and Chosen One category. Mostly I see the writer make their own story, or fan fiction, with an MC that is over powered beyond anything else. Usually if it's a fan fiction, the MC has a power that doesn't exist in that world. Mary Sue basically.

You need to moderate this "specialness" or it'll turn into a festival of one person. Instead of making the MC part every race possible or giving them hundreds of powers only they have, make that list of hundred million reasons the MC is different to about ten. No one likes special snowflakes.

No one is going to like to an MC that is part everything, is the most powerful being in the universe at birth, and automatically the ruler of the universe at two years old, then brags about how much better they are than everyone else. That's not how you write a good character, that's a Mary Sue.

If you're going to make the MC have a power no one else does, explain why. Shrinks Naturae has a power no else does because of his experimentations. Those have different results depending on the materials used and the body's response to those materials, so it makes sense. Mileena has the silver flame, because she's the reincarnation of the original Savior, it's a power her and the other incarnations have, so it's not just her that can use it. In the long run, they're like everyone else around them with small differences in power. But they're special because of those differences. You don't need something big to differentiate the MC from everyone else.

Ickx Nieves is as normal as you can get in Tales of the Rays, he's like everyone else in the world and that's fine. It's his growth as a character and story that matters. It's not his power that separates him, it's his determination. Kocis, his son, is the same way. Even with the special powers Kocis has, he's not a special bean compared to everyone else.

In the Tales series, the MCs are usually like everyone else or like a small to big group of people. They're not ultra special because only they can save the world. They need others to be there. What I see many writers do with the "special one", is that there is no need for anyone else to be in the party. The MC can take care of the antagonist all by themselves because of how special they are.

An MC doesn't have to be like everyone else, character groups don't consist of the same people. Like I said, everyone is different and the same applies to characters. The MC just can't be on the complete other side of "god like special while no one else is". Because that gets old quick and the story is boring when all anyone talks about of how special that character is.

"Special" can just mean having a different type of that power, like it mutated. If the power can mutate over time. It can also mean the level of ability over that power. Child prodigies. It can mean a combination of powers. It can mean the character is a mix of races who hate each other so mixing is rare. Not that they've never done it before, since there's always someone who's done it before. Special can mean intelligence level, like chess master level (don't contradict yourself with this one. I've seen "is well educated" then the literal next sentence be "fails at tests without a magic pencil".).

Don't go overboard with the "special one" trope. Do it in moderations or have the power grow stronger or change over the course of the story, but it has to be known by someone it exists before. No one likes the "suddenly this power exists during the boss fight and takes out the boss".

A power that doesn't already exists is usually created during the story and is given to the MC, making them the only one who can use it. And don't forget to try a neat route with that one. A new power isn't always stable when it firsts starts off. Maybe try to show what happens with it's instability and the struggle the character is having with it. That creates a new plot point and shows that the character isn't as powerful as they thought they were. It's just a fun suggestion.