As I am tired of the stereotypical Transmigration stories I thought I would write my own. One that does not have the love at first sight, OP MC, Revenge, etc. I plan on the MC being weak and cowardly, but because of a predicament she ends up becoming a target. So, she is forced yo have to learn to protect herself (which is a grueling and hard task). Also, ML doesn't love or even like her at first. So, I have a few questions about what you guys would think would be good to include. This will help me with brainstorming. I find it always good to bounce ideas off of people, it gets the creative juices flowing. 1. Should the MC be pretty, average, scarred? 2. MC originally is fat and then becomes skinny? Heavier girl transmigrated into a pretty body? 3. Should the ML be handsome, average, scarred? 4. Should the MC have a cheat? If so, what kind of cheat? -not doing combat, cooking, potions/pills OP ( she has to learn these skills)
You say you are tired of the stereotypical Transmigration stories and that you would write your own. One that does not have the love at first sight, OP MC, Revenge, etc. Before asking what type of MC should you make, I should ask you what type of idea do you have in mind? if you can answer this question then you pretty much got the answers to all your questions or at least you got a general plan upon which you can start figuring how to build your novel
I usually like to construct my plot around what the how I imagine the character to be, but that's a great new way for me to look at how to create a story.
The MC should be befitting of their station. If you go with average MC, then people should treat them as average. If they are pretty that should be taken into consideration as well. The worst thing is when authors sometime talk how beautiful/handsome MC is in one scene and in another scene people would describe them as some bum that's found anywhere. Consistent looks is what is important. Not what they are. The same applies, but if you go with the handsome route, do stray away from everyone in the entire world thinking they are the sexiest thing alive. People have tastes and they vary. Sigh, I think you are looking at things all wrong. The most important thing to a story isn't the MC, but the plot! The MC should be put inside to match the plot. When I came up with my story, things like what you mentioned didn't even enter my mind. I simply made up a plot to the story, then made the MCs personalities and abilities match the plot. In this way the character stays consistent in their role and doesn't magically have a personality change every time the plot demands it. Nor do I have to pull abilities out of a hat to overcome situations. So my advice to you is forget about the MC, and think about what kind of story you wish to write, then make the MC and their abilities match the story.
MC should be pretty or at least cute. ML should be handsome! Why? Coz we want to read about pretty people. We see ordinary people enough in real life. Same reason we want (or at least I do) our movie actors and actresses attractive. It's superficial as anything, but that's where I stand. I've read some novels (mostly classical) where the ML is scarred or straight up ugly and 10+ years older than the MC, and I can smell from 1000 miles away that it's the author trying to be 'different'. Like gee, no thanks. I want a handsome ML, at least let me dream a little. I can't get excited over the MC getting with some dude you can find at your local mart. But if you want to keep the dream and still be different, than you can limit the beauty descriptions to once or twice in the novel and not burden the reader with having to read about the characters' beauty every other chapter. Everything in moderation, lol. Now that we got the looks out of the way, the most important thing is to make them interesting characters. Like actually give them a personality. In the words of some youtuber reviewing books that I can't remember now, 'A quirk is not a personality.' So think what kind of people they are. You don't have to make them boring, serious and realistic. They don't even have to be relatable. Just make them pleasant to read about and invest emotions into. Almost all the TV series I've ever marathoned, I've done so for the characters rather than the plot. Example: I LOVE zombies, but got bored of The Walking Dead, cause I got annoyed at some characters... I don't care about crime drama or family drama, but sat through all seasons of Breaking Bad, because I loved the characters. Basically, you need characters that grab attention. And I'm saying it as if it's easy, lol. But anyway, they need some serious thought put into their creation.
My Advice: ONLY write a transmigration story IF the transmigration is necessary for the plot. Good Example: Release the Witch. The MC transmigrates and takes all the knowledge from Earth to apply on the new world. Without the transmigration there would be no plot. Bad Example: Most Xuanhuans/Isekais. Transmigrator MC from Earth won't use any previous knowledge on the new world, learning from local manuals/magical systems, finding hiding herbs/items and whatnot to get more powerful. If he was a local there wouldn't be any plot hole in the story. Transmigration by itself is a cheap plot device to increase immersion and empathy to the MC, but most often than not it makes the MC's motivations too simplistic and general, like be the strongest, living freely, etc. That's why local transmigrators with previous background are used soo much in xuanhuans: the guy comes with OP knowledge/powers and a plot from chap 1.
Other people's advice to start with the plot and then think of the characters and the cheats is very valid, especially if you want to write a coherent story that doesn't get abandoned midway... It sounds like you're thinking of more character-driven story, which is fair enough. I kinda picture it more slice of life where things happen to the character and he/she solves it with their cheat. And mostly characters interacting and romance development. Nothing wrong with approaching it this way, but I find it more difficult to make an interesting story that doesn't rely too much on fillers. And it's especially difficult to finish it or structure it properly. It's more like the fanfiction type where you write each chapter as it comes into existence in your mind... I might be wrong, but this is the impression I'm getting. It's also very typical for new writers. The advice people here have given you is of writers who have gone through such difficulties and have found what actually works better. Anyway, not stopping you from experiencing the difficulties yourself xDD. It certainly is more fun and freeing to write this way. Cheats...REALLY depend on the novel setting... But if you want a general cheat - then something like reading thoughts or seeing the future is very useful. Although it's not different and it's well used in novels... Another cheat I can think of that is useful, is being able to rewind time, like limit it by 10 minutes or an hour, or a day maybe. Another useful cheat - hypnotism. Anyway, your imagination is the only limit.
Depends on perspective. Usually when I create a character I think about why they are the way they are. Why did they learn to fight, how does this effect their decisions, how will those decisions effect the course of their life? And when I think of a compelling life story, thats my story. But, I do appreciate your opinion and it definitely gives me something else to think about in regards to how to write stories!
Either you design the characters first or you design the plot first, then build the other around the former. If you did not give out any information, then we also didn’t know what to add.
It seems to me that average person Isekai'ed to another world without cheats would be way below average in that other world... They wouldn't have any common sense knowledge of that world, no connections, no useful skills, no nothing... They would need some serious "cheats" just to balance out everything every native have but they're missing...
Quite... and thats assuming they lucked out and know the language. Skill systems usually balance things out but as every game they are so hillariously easy to break. In regards to pretty vs cute vs supreme beauty vs a troll: Whatever makes sense. Few humans are truly ugly if they give a damn. Sure, it doesnt have to be at the level of my novel's fey which completely lack a word to describe personal beauty due to their innate magic shaping them as they please, but at least give them some attractive features. Be it hair, eyes, skin, above average boob size or a well trained body. It also has to be added that this is HIGHLY subjective. That being said I still consider any sort of modern day isekai the cheap way out. No need to think much if the character uses the same values to describe a world as you would do. It also makes characters innately feel closer to the reader, making it ideal for (relatively) effortless writing in regards to making characters relatable (Try making people relate to a timeless demigod who uses mortals as tools and who thinks 50 years are nothing but a drop in the bucket compared to another high school edgelord)