A lot of us older Fantasy readers have made the occasional complaint, usually in book groups, about how many protagonists in our genre are teenagers and that we can no longer identify with them.
The tropes are well known; the chosen one who will save the world, the two brothers, one a warrior and the other a magician, the super fighter, male or female, who can take of a horde of angry goblins single handed… the list goes on.
The frequency with which these characters are described as teenagers, often fifteen years old for some reason, is something almost unique to Fantasy genre. Horror probably holds second place for this phenomenon. Teenagers often get trapped in haunted houses or encounter vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures.
Science Fiction also has its share of young cadet protagonists and teenage computer hackers, though adult characters appear in around half of the stories in this genre.
Other types of story, like Literary, Mystery, Women’s Fiction or Thrillers, are more likely to have adult characters, perhaps in their thirties or even forties. Few of us seem to identify beyond the prime of life, though there are some great stories with elderly main characters, like A Grand Old Time by Judy Leigh, which features an elderly lady who leaves her care home and finds adventure.
People have speculated that older Fantasy filled a role that is now held by YA fiction, and I have to partially agree with this, but not all Fantasy was written from a teenager’s world. Those of us who grew up walking the streets of Sanctuary, following Elric’s quest, or shifting through the shadows of Amber saw a side of Fantasy that uses adult characters and appeals to the sense of adventure that requires an adult frame of mind to traverse.
These stories are also more likely to be more fleshed out with description and exposition to bring them depth and leave readers with a desire to experience the worlds, or even the characters, over and over again.
It can be an interesting experience to go back and re-read the books we loved as teenagers to see if their appeal can last the distance. Pern, for example, is familiar to most dragon story fans and often has young characters, hoping to impress a dragon or be accepted into the Harper Hall, but the adult characters who often fill the role of mentors for the younger protagonists, giving the stories added depth in the same way that Mr. Miyagi added dimension to the Karate Kid movies, giving young protagonists, or fans, someone to look up to.
As a writer who is long past the usual concerns of teenagers, I find myself including wise adult characters in my stories, even if some have young protagonists. Just as Harry Potter had Professor Dumbledor to mentor him and give readers a break from kids finding trouble in their adventures, in To Dance with Dragons, which has a very young protagonist, I felt the need to immediately let her encounter adults whom she could trust and who would help show her a way to seek her goals with some guidance.
I’m not against teenage or even child characters in the books I read or write, but as I grow older, I find more interest in those that strike a balance, at least giving the kids some adult supervision.
What about you? Do you tend to write protagonists in a specific age group? Let’s discuss in the comments.
Jaq D Hawkins
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Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
Most of my protagonists in fantasy are probably 50 plus
But I tend to have a cast of characters, so in my last Sci Fi, one of the lead characters was a heavily pregnant young woman 🙂
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That must have been a challenge to write!
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I’ve known plenty of people who’ve been through it 🙂
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That helps!
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I think it’s how most writers work. After all the idea that you should only write from direct experience seems to be comparatively modern.
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If we did that, all our characters would be clones of whatever we are!
And we wouldn’t have dragon riders!
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speak for yourself 🙂
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In my first historical novel my MC begins as a child, and we see him grow up until his 20s. I the second in the series, the MC begins as a teenager and ends in her 30s. The 3rd book has an MC of around 30. It’s still a WIP.
In my fantasy duo, the MC has just entered adulthood. Probably about 18 or 19, but in my other series, there are several MCs and they range from a 16 year old to around 30.
I haven’t thought of writing an old person. Hmm🤔I need to give that some thought.
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That could be an interesting challenge. When we write younger people, we’ve at least been that age at some time and can remember some of the experience. Someone much older, we haven’t lived yet, though stories from grandparents can give us material.
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I don’t think that will be a problem. I’m already old. 😊
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I highly recommend the book mentioned in the post, A Grand Old Time. Getting older doesn’t have to feel ‘old’.
I’m 68 myself, but old people are, erm, other people my age and up. 😉
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Only 68, Jaq? You’re quite a youngster. 😉
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My main characters range in age from early 20s into the 50s. Sometimes they’re the same characters growing older through several books. I’ve written younger mc’s (kids and teens) only in a few short stories.
Interesting problems: should older writers create teenaged characters? If so, how to make them seem realistic? Depends on whether the intended reader is young or older, surely. In fantasy it may not be necessary to get the slang right (you could make it up!) but young characters should have recognizably youthful attitudes.
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A greed! That’s where a good memory and being in touch with currently young people can be helpful.
In Fantasy, of course, making up new slang works very easily.
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“Oh lordy, Morty, I’m forty!” moans my heroine, Selena M, a popular singer, to her agent, fearing she’s going over the hill. “After my big tour I thought, I’m at the top of my game! Then it hit me–if I’m at the top there’s nowhere to go but down.”
By the end of the series, she’s in her mid-50s, and not worried about aging. She just got a marriage proposal.
In this series the characters range from newborns to college age to retired lady engineers to ageless aliens. It’s not written for kids, but young readers may well enjoy it.
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Covering all bases, excellent!
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