In the first draft of your story, it’s not uncommon to introduce too many characters, especially too many main characters. That is exactly what I did in mine.
I wanted to write an epic story after all, and you can’t do that (you can) without having multiple combating characters your readers can root for.
While you can have different independent plot lines and protagonists, what you need to do is make sure that the way you organize your story, where you choose to transition from one character’s point of view to the next, is clear and purposeful in moving the entire story along and driving the characters’ arches. Without clear organization and thoughtful transitions, the story can end up being fragmented and convoluted.
Although it may still be a great story, it wouldn’t achieve its full potential.
In this video, I offer a few tips to help you manage the different protagonists so your story can be read and enjoyed smoothly.
- Have one POV character per scene or chapter
- Make sure readers know which character they are following ASAP
- When all characters are together, pick an ultimate main character, the one with most scenes
Word of the video: “Dinkus” (noun): three consecutive asterisks or ***
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Elliot Chan 