A CYOS Protagonist and How Much Individual Personality They Can Have

From Create Your Own Story

O.K, everybody. Sit down because I'm about to drop a BIG surprise.

I'm not going to complain about Adult CYOSs.

I told you you had to sit down.

I'm sure you're all glad to hear me change my tune. After all, there's only so many ways I can think of to complain about Adult CYOSs. And this topic's actually something I think deserves some thought.

CYOSs a.k.a Create Your Own Story...s are

I think one of the worst flaws in having a CYOA protagonist with no personality of his or her own and leaving it entirely to the reader is that it leaves one vulnerable to rapid shifts in the protagonist's character. One could easily turn a charter that had been acting noble and brave into a sadistic rapist. That is something called "Character Derailment". It's when a character acts completely not like themselves in ways that make them seem like an entirely different person like a pacifist advocating genocide or a brash idiot exhibiting patience and cunning on the level of Lord Venitari of Discworld.

One way to stop is to give the protagonist an individual personality, one that stays consistent regardless of the choices the reader makes.