Wattpad Pet Peeves

Clichéd Characters: The Nice Guy

So...

Remember last time when I was all "zenned" out, and I didn't say anything negative for the entire chapter? That's about to change!

I don't like the Nice Guy. Out of all the character stereotypes, I've noticed he's the most depthy, and I kind of have a problem with some of these "depths". It's weird because he's very detailed in aspects that most stereotypes seem to gloss over, but in other aspects he's very vague.

An example: his background.

I've never read about a Nice Guy that had a clear background. You don't learn much about what his family is like, if they have money, or if his childhood was bad in any way. Nice Guy just always kind of appears out of thin air, and is just like, "Hey! I'm nice! Come hang out with me!"(or something).

Though his background is very vague, he seems to have a lot of personality quirks that other stereotypes lack. In about half of the "nice guy" books I've read, the nice guy has some sort of anxious disposition. He reads heavily into others' actions and the things they say, and he has distinct nervous mannerisms.

So here we have Nice Guy and the Anxious Nice Guy variant. Though slightly different, both of them are the same in the sense that they are very passive characters. In other words, the Nice Guy is a simp (although maybe not in the stereotypical way). He never steps on anyone's feet, and the conflict always starts with something happening to him, but never him causing anything. The love interest just kind of sees him and randomly falls for him, and the antagonist always just kind of sees him and randomly dislikes him. The only decision the Nice Guy makes is what to eat for lunch. That's just how passive he is.

Bottom line: don't be like the Nice Guy, and don't let your characters be Nice Guys.

Books with Nice Guy protagonists are boring. The Nice Guy can never go out of his comfort zone. Sometimes, in a good story, the Nice Guy can overcome this, and learn to be his own person. But for now, don't let the Nice Guy remain "nice".