Character help? I dont want to be cliche!?

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April

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hia ^ ^
Well, im in the process of writing a story but I have a little problem. Lately, every book I've read the guy the girl is supposed to fall for is kind of cliche. It's the typical YA paranormal boy. Brooding, dark-haired, and tortured inside by something he can't share till the second half of the book. When I write my story, I want my character to be different. I can form an image of him in my head (not dark-haired!) but I dont want to make him into that sort of character. Can someone help me?
Thanks!
 
It helps to go extreme when you write fiction. I would say find those attributes that you find cliche and basically delete it from his personality makeup. Readers admire strong characters too! But every character needs a weakness, so whether it be something from his past, a weakness he has for some emotion or particular trait, whatever it may be, make sure you develop that. The reader needs to sympathise, that's very important in order to get the reader involved. The cliched character is too easy to sympathise with, and I'm sure you agree. Let your characters introduce themselves to you, and the rest will be taken care of! Good luck!
 
Brownish Blond hair that reaches right above the ear. Ecstatic.Can be mature and serious at times. Comic Relief kinda guy. Strong chin? Light brown eyes. That's all I can think of:) Hope it helps
 
Yeah, make him the opposite. A really funny guy, who never takes anything seriously, but the female character can find him frustrating because he's never serious, until she finds out that he uses humour to deal with something tragic in his life. You'll find most famous comedians have some darkness or tragedy in their past, and they use comedy as an outlet or an escape. As you get to know the character, have the cracks in the comedy facade begin to appear, until you realise there's another layer buried underneath. That's if you want there to be a dark past.
Alternatively, you could make him a super genius, who hides the fact that he's so clever because he wants to fit in, but gradually you begin to learn that he's got an IQ of 200, and sometimes his head hurts with all the incredible sh!t floating around in there, and doesn't want people to know.
 
If you want to catch the reader off guard you could make it this dark haired and/or seemingly brooding boy and present it in a way where he's implied to be that cliche but when the characters are actually introduced to him or talk to him for the first time he's a bubbly or loud and confident person.

You could also make him any other number of archetypes, like a loser or a jock or a class clown and twist it in your own way, just make sure there's a reason behind the things that he does and try and find a personality that would best fit the story that your looking to create.
 
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