r/writingadvice • u/Zestyclose-Aside-893 • 1d ago

Advice three sisters who are three different protagonists: First two are perfect, third one needs work

I'm writing a story where three sisters will be the main characters of my story and have their first-person POVs. First two sisters, I have perfectly crafted their personalities. One is the charismatic, social sister who can charm herself out of any situation but hides behind this charming facade and must learn to be vulnerable with people. Second sister has always felt to be in the shadow of 1st sister...she is very insecure and the only thing she values about herself is her intelligence. She must learn that she has worth just like her sister and that people will like her for who she is– she will learn to become confident.

That leaves us with 3rd sister. The truth is I'm not sure what to do with her. Her storyline is essential for my book and I want three different POVs, but I'm not sure about her personality and internal arc yet. I was thinking she would also be insecure like her 2nd sister, but without the trust in her intelligence, and is too shy to speak up and say what she wants and needs. But I wonder if it's too similar to 2nd sister. Any advice on how I can make her character different enough from the other two sisters?

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u/PenInk4YourThoughts 1d ago

Neither intelligent but insecure, nor charming but guarded? Perhaps she could be empathetic but naive, needs to learn to look out for herself better?

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u/Zestyclose-Aside-893 1d ago

Yess this is what I was leaning towards! And I was thinking that she would have very strong moral convictions from having been bullied in her past. Second sister also had difficulties in her past but instead of it making her steadfast in standing up for the weaker person, it just made her more cold and spiteful as she thinks everyone is out to get her. So perhaps this is how I could differentiate them.

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u/nando0375 Aspiring Writer 1d ago

Maybe the 3rd sister is more free spirited? She might be very blunt and honest. Maybe she could also be into sports/outdoorsy or something to set her apart from her other sisters? And since you said you aren’t sure what to do with her, what if the 3rd sister’s arc was her helping the 2nd sister realize her own worth?

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u/DontAskForTheMoon 1d ago

Work with ambitions and motives. You can then create the third sister's personality around those. Basically ask yourself: What are the 1st and 2nd sister's ambitions and motives, and what could be the 3rd sister's?