This is just a personal opinion, but I don't think its the violence in general that make a character more attractive but rather the TYPE of violence involved. For example, if your character is a wimp and all of a sudden loses his brain in rage and beats some a group of gangsters to death with chihuahua ... well I would read that. Hands down. But a generic man grabs a knife and stabs an antagonist? Well that's a bit generic. If a situation is going to be resolved with a fight, make it interesting. Uniquely so. Give it circumstances that I wouldn't expect. Have the grandma next to your character get irritated at all the gang activity and hold the whole group up with a bazooka she took out of her purse. Throw something incredibly insane and in no way practical into the situation. Have your barbarian rage out of control and start throwing party members at bandits. Real D&D situation by the way. Never seen so many nat 20's in my life.

Is your MC generally peaceful, looking for a solution without resorting to violence, but willing to accept that there are instances where violence must be used to resolve a conflict?   Because that sort of MC is acceptable.

Pacifists?  That will get you review bombed.  No one likes pacifists.  The only example they serve is as an object lesson to others when they are killed. 

BewareTheChain Wrote: So my question is this; is solving problems with violence going to bring in more readers in the long run?

What are you, some kind of mercenary writer?!!!


Oh, you are? Oh, okay, that's cool. Let's crack some skulls!

There are ways to make him more "cool" and "badass" that don't have anything to do with him being a pacifist, or how he handles himself in fight scenes. I think that's what you're missing a bit at the moment: in all situations, including conversations, in the classroom, when solving problems, or in action/fight scenes, it's really rare that the MC does something that is "cool" or "awesome" or "impressive". Most of the parts where he actually solves a problem is by talking some sweet sentences to a troubled girl, so that she feels nice afterwards. The other ones are him getting pummeled, and protecting students in that way. (This can actually be really cool, like his fight with the Oni). 

But it's hard to describe him as anything other than "wimpy" in general. He's awkward, anxious, clueless around women, doesn't have much self-confidence, lets other people step all over him and doesn't mind it, it's normal for him... Like the guy that I can push in the hallway at school, and he will apologize to me. It makes the readers pity him.

I mean, he doesn't have to be "badass" if you don't want him to, or if we're slowly getting to that point little by little, but the absence of that "awesome factor" is what makes him feel a bit underwhelming as a character. He's looked down upon by everybody (except the students that are slowly growing to like him), and he's also looking down on himself just as much. I think it would help if there were more situations where he does something witty, outsmarts somebody, thinks of a super-creative compromise that leaves all parties happy and resolves a conflict, etc. Something fun, something wild, even if it's not a fight scene where he's kicking ass. 

He's just super-passive at the moment. Whatever happens, happens because somebody else initiated it, and our MC is just reacting. 

I still think it's a 5/5 book, and the writing is high quality, the world is awesome, and I enjoy reading it. But I might enjoy it more of I didn't feel bad for the MC so often.

tfisb Wrote:

Nestor1079 Wrote: ...Clearly nobody here has bothered to read Heinlein...

Are we talking Starship Troopers or Strangers in a Strange Land?  These works of the great philosopher Heinlein have significantly different approaches to violence.

clearly we are talking about "I will fear no evil" here

Have you considered punching the people who made these comments?

Sake Wrote: clearly we are talking about "I will fear no evil" here

violence as opportunity - my workplace motto