So you’ve got a great idea for your speculative fiction story. You’ve envisioned a fantastic future or a mythical realm, and presumably given some thoughts to it’s inhabitants and the problem they’ll need to solve in order to drive the plot forward. Good start. Now, what character’s point of view is this story going to be told from. A hero? An anti-hero? A hapless bystander? Perhaps a whole slew of morally ambiguous viewpoint characters of diverse ages and backgrounds a la Game of Thrones? If you’re writing short fiction I’d advise against the last one, but it never hurts to try.

In my time as a First Reader at Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, I’ve had some time to think about what makes the ideal protagonist. You could always go the more traditional route of an adventure story. Have them be a noble champion of the oppressed who…