Wattpad Pet Peeves

Clichéd Characters: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl (or Boy)

Ah, yes! Another character that is the result of authors not thinking through their characters' personalities enough!

I'm sure at one point everyone has had that fantasy where you fall so hard for someone that your entire life gets better, right? I've come to realize that it's quite unrealistic, but I'm getting off track.

This is the formula for a manic pixie dream character. You know, a character whose sole existence in the story is to be the protagonist's love interest.

In older pop culture, particularly in movies and TV shows, you'd often come across the manic pixie dream girl. She never really has a personality. No clear background, other than a few details, no goals, not much of anything. She usually has a fun, childlike personality and only really cares about the main character. That's why you never see a manic pixie dream character that is the lead in the story.

In more modern pop culture, and oftentimes in Wattpad novels, the manic pixie dream character is a boy. I've seen him appear both in boyxgirl and boyxboy romances. He usually appears when you have a mentally unstable character, or perhaps just a character that's going through a rough time, and he helps the character get better. And they fall in love. And happy ever after. And blah blah blah.

This character just doesn't have a personality. Can I repeat that any more times? He/she only cares about the main character's wellbeing, to the point where you wonder if the manic pixie dream girl/boy has literally anything else going on in his/her life. It's incredibly unrealistic and it makes me wonder if the author is just trying to play out some personal fantasy through the existence of this character (which is how a lot of Wattpad clichés appear in the first place).

The bottom line is, flesh out your characters. So many issues can be avoided if every character has the following information: a backstory, likes, dislikes, a few quirks, and some goals. You don't even need to state all of that specifically in the book, but any major character should have those things going on. It makes them relatable and fun to read about.

Anyway, we've finally reached the end of the Clichéd Characters series! Whoopee! I'm very glad to have reached the end of this because I'm honestly getting tired of writing about every single character I've come across that I disliked. I don't think I'm going to be doing another mini-series like this for a while, so the floor is open for any of your personal Wattpad pet peeve requests! I'll be back next week for something completely new and not character-related! See you there!