Why I Sometimes Adore The Manic Pixie Dream Girl

I must admit that despite my more nit-picky behavior when it comes to things, that I actually really like a lot of tropes and cliches in fiction.

Now, of course, there is a bad way to write a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, which is why this type of character gets such a bad rap in the first place.

When it comes to side characters, remember: THEY ARE NOT THE CHARACTER ARC!!

Your main character's arc should not depend on a side character! A side character can help them along because people are often good influences on us, but they cannot carry your MC to the denouement.

And this is the problem with a lot of MPDG's, they are just these quirky fun-loving, perfect girls who drag the main guy character to his character arc.

The important thing to remember while creating characters that are realistic and human. And all humans have problems, hopes, dreams, fears, motivations, bad days, and good days.

It's funny that I'm writing this because just the other day I was in one of my weird moods while riding to town and I pointed out of the window to the person sitting in the car in beside us and said to my sister, "Do you see that person? There has been some point in their life were they cried until they couldn't anymore."

Was that off topic? Probably. I dunno.

But seriously, it goes without saying that people are complex, no one is always happy and upbeat.

So why do I love the Manic Pixie Dream Girl? Well, I don't like the one-dimensional type of the character, but I do love a quirky, spunky, life-of-the-party girl character.

 I feel like people call these characters out for being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, which discredits their uniqueness.

 For example, August in A Thousand Perfect Notes. I've read a lot of reviews calling her out for being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, when I really felt like she was just a sweet, funny girl.

When it comes to people getting mad about the MPDG, I really don't get it unless it's the one-dimensional kind, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a quirky character who is into different things than the typical girl you meet.

I think it's interesting, and aren't interesting people worth reading about?

What are your thoughts on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl? 

Can a character trope that was originally cheap and came from poor writing be redeemed?  

And yes, I know I changed things up on this blog again, shhh. Don't kill my vibe. 😉 

But seriously, all credit to FreePik.com for the new graphics!

Happy Writing,