What to do when your male character is more interesting?

I'm having the same problem right now with my FMC and her love interest. My first beta reader told me that he's very back and forth and it makes me wonder if he's more interesting. Just something I'll have to look at while revising.

As suggestions, I guess you really just need to think about what story do you want to tell, his or hers. Which one means more to you? If you think about books that have come out, sometimes the male characters have more interesting backgrounds but it's not from their point of views. (Divergent for example.)

I just recently ran into this when planning my current novel. My LI is very interesting and is keeping a lot of secrets--which I just figured out--and I'm really drawn to him and his story.

The reason I decided not to write from his POV is that I wanted the reader to be surprised by his secrets. If I told the story from his POV/perspective, those secrets would have been more up front. Less intrigue. BUT, if I told the story from my FMC's POV (1st person, in this case), the reader would be surprised by the secrets he's been keeping just as she would be. I think the reader will feel the impact more as the FMC goes through finding out his secrets and feeling betrayed by him.

I think you need to think about what you want to accomplish with your telling, as that'll help indicate what POV you tell it from. And, you can always start fleshing out your FMC more, especially as you write--or you can take a step back and do some character development before diving back in.

My first thought is that you need to give your FMC some secrets too. That'll make her a lot more interesting to readers, and a lot more fun to write. You can also give her an unusual hobby or sport that might also be able to tie into your plot.

Don't be afraid of writing from a male POV. But even if you do decide to write from MMC's POV, you're going to need to make your FMC more interesting.

I agree with Saanen. Your male MC is interesting because he's not giving it all away for free. It sounds like you're getting to know him at the same pace the reader is. How well developed are the backstory and motivation of your female MC? Are you telling the reader her every thought? Do you already know her whole history? It's possible that she's becoming boring by comparison because you've already gotten to know her. Just make sure you're not telling everything you know to the audience. Keep them guessing - you should know the answers, yourself.

If you're not prepared to write from the male perspective or to switch between your MCs, maybe you can engage his history in some way. But do it in a way that affects her. If you're writing her story and you want to include him more, make sure you insert his story for a reason. It's not just because you like him, it's because his secrets have an impact on her emotionally (etc.). Sounds like he has a lot of secrets - if they came out, it would really drive the plot, wouldn't it? What a lovely opportunity for you to get to know him!

Don't let her fall flat. You're the boss, here. You want to go there, so figure out his secrets. (Nothing wrong with guilty pleasure!) But if you choose to carry on in third person limited to her, then I think you just have to make sure that what you include serves her development.

I'm a little confused as to why this is particularly tied to sex/gender? Sometimes one character happens to steal the show, sex regardless. That's not unusual. A few years back, I was writing a fantasy with a fairly bland protagonist who teams up with a group of people, one of whom was another girl with a lot more fire and development. I realized that my current protagonist's story wasn't the interesting one -- the other girl's was.

Just... it's not unusual to have a secondary character steal the spotlight, but be careful not to edge into "guys are just more INTERESTING" territory. It's not that he's male. It's that he's the more interesting character right now. That's all.

When you stop to think about it, protagonists often have fewer secrets and mysterious backgrounds because we are usually inside their head. It's a lot easier to make a secondary character more distant, mysterious, complex background story, etc. because we're not inside their brain.

I agree with that maybegenius.

And I didn't mean to make it seem like males were more interesting, it just so happened in my story that he is intriguing. But I'm sticking with my FMC as she is compelling on her own.

I just had this problem too. In fact, I run into it a lot. Last time, it was another girl who was outstaging my MC. That story has been shelved because I couldn't write it from the interesting girl's POV. She's not friendly. I tried.

This time, it was a guy and I just gave him more screen time AND went back and rewrote my first two chapters from scrap to lift some of the dull factor off my MC. He's still more interesting, but he doesn't overshadow her anymore.

Since you're writing it in third person, you could always make it a dual POV book. A lot of my YA ideas have one male and one female POV character. I'm a guy, so I don't feel comfortable yet writing solely from a female POV.

Don't be afraid of a male POV, if that is the way this piece is calling.

Late, I know, but I definitely agree with Maybegenius. I side-eyed the thread title because having a male character more interesting than a female character is not inherently a problem—especially since some stories are told from a male POV and may not even have female MC's. But I can see the issue when a secondary is more interesting than a main.

Anyway, I think it's important to make all of your characters interesting, but you should expect more "intrigue" from someone when you aren't in their head, it's natural.

I'm having the opposite problem. I write 3rd, and my female protag is fine. My two male supporting characters are more than fine- so interesting and cooky that they're actually stealing the thunder of my male LI/main support. I didn't intend on these supporting characters to become such a big part of the story, but they did.
My male LI, though...I can't get a bead on him. I mean, his character is difficult to really understand anyway (for the other characters), but he's kind of falling flat. I'm not sure any of the readers will really care about him as much.