I am writing a fantasy novel like Harry Potter, but also completely different. I need some help with my...?

Question

Should my main character be a full elf, half elf and half human, half elf, half vampire, or half human and half vampire?

Answer 1

Just pick one. The story is coming from YOUR imagination, not ours.

Answer 2

You intend to be published, right?

Your character should be a human, or a race of your invention. Do not borrow from things like Warcraft, The Lord of the Rings, and Dungeons and Dragons, no books like that are published anymore. It's all about being original. And think about this for a minute, what is the difference between half elf, and half elf and half human? They're the same thing.

Be more original, unless you're just writing for fun, then go nuts.

Answer 3

First u need to know what ur basic story plan is. (btw, im not making any assumptiongs I'm not trying to discourage u or anything, but if a novel is a bit complicated, u might want to try something shorter first. i found a novel pretty hard because i totally wasn't ready...) You should start with creating basic characters, their desires, their thoughts, why they are important. Then go on with more detailed things. I kno race/species seems important at first, but unless there is something superspecial about ur character being that, you should do other basics first. (does that make any sense at all? I'm not a totally great writer, but writing is awesome and I get lots of feedback from my friends, so I'm learning... :) ) and what the character should be (sorry bout going a bit off topic) is entirely up to you. but just for the fun of it, I think full elf sounds awesome, if ur talking about the elves in Eragon and Eldest. if ur talking about Harry Potter house elves, maybe not... Harry Potter is a great example and a good guide for writing things, and it's an AWESOME series. try reading some other fantasies too so you have a wider imagination for it. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 4

It totally depends on the context of your world. What is acceptable, what isn't acceptable. Do all creatures live in harmony? Are they feauding? Would it be werid for a vampire and a human or a human and an elf to have a baby? If the main character is half something how will (s)he fit in with his/her fellows. All questions to consider.

Personally i would go with full human or full elf. Half something would just be weird and vampires have been done way to much.

Answer 5

First you've got to know what the character is going to do in your story. It appears to me that THAT is the reason of your indecision, though, of course, I might be wrong. If he's going to have human feelings and passions controling his mind and heart, the human half is a good choice. Most fantasy authors write about human nature, as ironic as it sounds. They explore their passions, their loves, their hates, in their most peculiar way.

I would suggest you make a list of the characteristics of an pure elf and a pure vampire are. From there, you can sketch your character. If he's half human & half vampire, will he have pointy canines, pale face but will he be able to let the sunlight touch his skin? Or will he look like a normal human and get the red eyes when he's angry or the pointy canines to show when he feels lust?

You can play with the different characteristics, give him some abilities and powers and some not. Mix them, have a nice time with it, and then choose which mixture suits the story best according to what he has to do in your plot.

These are some suggestions, but you need to have a very clear idea of who this character is going to be, where he'll go, what he'll need to be and do whatever he's going to do. Sometimes you need to write the story first to know how the character should be. You always have a vague idea, but the real character starts to take shape as you write. I like writing a lot, and this particular detail drives me nuts sometimes, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Your character becomes like your prodigal son once he's created and you learn to love him as so, but it takes effort. ;) Good luck!

Answer 6

I think half and halves have been over done, and it's really close to Harry Potter plus the character Wesley Snipes plays as the vampire and so many others, I don't mean to rain on your parade but originality is the most important thing in writing. Use your imagination, create your world for your characters, let your imagination run wild, and most of all have fun with it.

Answer 7

If you make it a half-vampire, I will track you down and.....ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As an editor, I am sick and tired of half-ANYTHING in books. WRITERS: EDITORS DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR GIMMICKS! THEY CARE ABOUT YOUR STORY! Tell a good story, I don't care what your protagonist is. Your protagonist should be WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE to tell the tale. Nothing more. Nothing less. So if you are telling a story that requires him to be an elf, make him an elf. If your world is all gnomes, make him a gnome. But unless there is some reason in the story to do otherwis, avoid HALF-fill-in-the-blank crap. It's trite. It's overdone. It's boring.

Answer 8

It depends on the plot: choose something that you can tie into the rest of the story- have a reason to choose it other than "Everyone on Yahoo says this is cool"

p.s.-How could it be half vampire?

Answer 9

A full elf.

Answer 10

Half vampire half human sounds really neat

Answer 11

shld inform ms rowling abt this. d fact u mention d char is like harry potter is a copyright infringement. dun even say harry potter.