User blog comment:BladeOfHope/When creating characters.../@comment-26432133-20161127214514

Characters? Oh, I can only think of good villains. Still working on adding personality and backstory to my main characters. Also, I don't write much, which is a shame because I think of a new story idea almost every day.

I think the best character is far from perfect. This goes for both villains and main characters. I once read a book on plot that stated you don't need to develop your side characters, which I find completely wrong. Hearth's story in The Sword of Summer added so much depth to the story, while Magnus, the main character, stayed relatively the same.

But yes, I have also seen trends with popular books over the past few years. The setting gets continually darker, though it's not a good or a bad thing. (i.e. Red Queen, The Young Elites, Atlantia). Characters are more complex than the Cinderella I grew up with. I've also found that there isn't much diversity in the worlds. European settings are common. Despite some little gems I've found set in Asian, African, and Native American worlds, they've never made it that big. I don't know why.

Other similarities with published books characters? Main characters are really dark. Again, not really a good or a bad thing imo.

With my own characters, I keep noticing that my main ones are bland and everyone else has these awesome backstories and personalities. Maybe I should just make the villain the main character or something.