Try this: Write a small story involving only those two protagonist, and plop them into a situation together. Use that to flesh both of them out, to make them more complex. Therefore, you may get more invested in them.
Or just make yourself not work on any of the other character's backstories until you worked on theirs. You don't have to like them, but you have to be willing to put them in the spotlight.
edited 9th Aug '11 7:59:12 PM by chihuahua0
Eye'm the cutest!
I would say write it anyways but an author that suddenly finds himself making The Scrappy out of his protagonists faces a monumental task. The task being "how can I write a good story about these people when I don't like them?!?!?!"
"Allah may guide their bullets, but Jesus helps those who aim down the sights."
@Chi: Those two might work. I think the reason I don't like them is because I gave them normal (Read: Not interesting) home lives.
@Tom: I'm kind of afraid if I do start my story with them, I'll end up putting too much focus on the other characters and these two will eventually fade out of the limelight.
Eye'm the cutest!
So make them a Decoy Protagonist.
"Allah may guide their bullets, but Jesus helps those who aim down the sights."
I'm going to propose the radical solution: delete the two characters and add new ones, or increase the roles of the other major players.
I know you probably don't want to do that, but it would solve the issue.
The future of warfare in UC.
Hmm. I thought you'd have more serious problems. I spent a lot of time on a work where I actively hated one of my main characters.
Nous restons ici.
@Betsy: If I did that, then it would feel like I was cheating them out of the story.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
What do you mean by cheated?
@Betsy: I started developing this story set on having them be the main characters, so... I don't know, it would just make me feel bad.
@Tidal: Ohhh, I see.
Well, then I'd have to parrot what the other people are saying. Reintroduce yourself to the characters by free-writing with them or reexamining their backstories until you can find a connection.
edited 9th Aug '11 8:17:50 PM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers
Okay, so I'll have to do a bit of dissecting, getting to know them again...
This should prove interesting.
I would try giving them some time to 'rest'- that is, put them down for a while, maybe a few weeks to a couple months, busy yourself with something else, and then come look at these protagonists again with a fresh mind.
I've worked with a few characters that I would actively despise if I ever met them in real life. I always figure out some sort of a reasoning for why I hate them so much that usually ends in making a backstory of some kind, thus making me care about them to a degree.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
About having normal home lives: Think about your protagonist's childhood like one of those slice-of-life children novels that you and/or your classmates would read as a child. For example, Superfudge. Think about what incidents made the character that he/she is at the beginning of the story. While they may have a mundane background, that doesn't mean what came before doesn't have to be interesting.
This foreboding is fa...
Just forget everything you think you know about the characters and write them again.
Look, you can't make me speak in a logical, coherent, intelligent bananna.
Ahr river
Step away from them for a few moments. You'll get back to them in a bit.
Now, start surfing. Be it tropes or your favorite series, whichever.
Now, find something you really like.
Apply to main character.
Profit.
I've done this once or twice, where I actually gave a shallow character the character/inspiration of The Soldier, where she went from a ditz to a enthusiastic blood knight.
...it worked for the story.
Anywho, I'm not saying to copy whole sale, just take broad strokes with things you like.
Read my stories!
I was going to say send the characters back in time to interact with their past lives and change who they turned into, just to make my shortest post ever.
Those things that make your more minor characters more interesting? Give one to your main character.
I'm working on something, which I'm not entirely at liberty to reveal right now, but I have a problem.
I don't like my two main characters. Well, I like one of them, but not as much as the rest. The other, I gloss over.
Its seems I spend too much time coming up with backstories for all my other major characters, but not enough on the two main ones.
Any tips on what I can do?